Cheteshwar Pujara was a match-winner for India in the series with his 'man of the series' award nothing short of what he truly deserved for his run-scoring ability. Pujara was arguably the best batsman in the series and the difference between the two sides. Before the start of the series, the Australian media promoted the Test series as a clash between 'Kohli vs Australia'. However, Pujara was the man to watch out for with his brilliant gameplay and incredible consistency. During the series, the batsman broke the 90-year-old record of facing the most balls ever by a visiting batsman in Australia. He scored 521 runs during the series facing a total of 1258 balls at an average of 74.42, which comprised of a half-century and three centuries. There were questions over his ability to play Test cricket overseas, but he calmly won over his critics with his magnificent performances. (Image Courtesy: Twitter/@cricketcomau)
Jasprit Bumrah was the best bowler for India in the series and the joint highest wicket-taker against Australia as well. The 25-year-old holds the record of picking a five-wicket-haul in South Africa, England and Australia. Leading the Indian pace attack along with Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma, he made his presence felt with excellent bowling performances. His accuracy and variations played a key role in ensuring that India could bundle up the Australian batting line-up cheaply and register clinical wins in the series. Bumrah also became the country's first paceman to pick nine wickets in a Test match in Australia, on the final day of the 'Boxing Day Test'. Bumrah picked nine wickets while conceding just 86 runs at the MCG, registering a dominant performance against the hosts. The bowler also recorded the best figures by an Indian pace-bowler during a Test in Australia, in the same clash. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@ICC)
Nathan Lyon was the joint highest wicket-taker in the series alongside Jasprit Bumrah with 21 wickets in his tally. However, he certainly lost his effectiveness in the final two games. At the same time, Lyon was one of the main reasons why the series went down to the wire. He was the only bowler to pick two five-wicket hauls in the Test series for Australia. Only James Anderson, Muttiah Muralitharan and Imran Khan have taken more Test wickets against India, earning Lyon significant praise from legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar who said on social media that the Australian was a “very special spinner”. (Image Courtesy: Twitter/@cricketcomau)
Rishabh Pant made his presence felt for India, scoring more runs than Virat Kohli in the Test series against Australia. Overall, he was the second highest run-scorer in the series after Cheteshwar Pujara. He scored a total of 350 runs in 7 innings at an average of 58.33. This includes his sensational knock of 159* in the final Test which is new record for an Asian wicketkeeper batsman. Not only with the bat, even with the gloves he was as spectacular breaking some old and setting new records by taking more than 20 catches in this series. He is just 21 years old and seems to be the perfect successor of MS Dhoni, specifically in Test Cricket.(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@ICC)
Pat Cummins was the all-rounder Australia were searching for. Whenever he came out on the field with the ball in hand, he used to rip through the Indian batting. Similarly, with the bat in hand, he single-handedly frustrated the Indian bowlers and taught a lesson to the Australian top order on how to deal with this Indian attack. No one can forget his memorable performance in the Melbourne Test where he was the lone warrior for Australia in all the departments. His stats are enough to tell the whole story. He took 14 wickets in 4 matches which was the highest for an Australian pacer in the series with a few valuable knocks with the bat. (Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@/@cricketcomau)
