I predicted that Australia would win the series 4-0 after Adelaide,and with good reason. India looked shot and with all the selection issues they had,even their most one-eyed fans would not have predicted a comeback. Well,they have left me with egg on my face.
But I do not care. When you have cricket that good,and remarkable performances from rookie players such as Shubman Gill,Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur,I have no problem in being proved wrong.
That said,this is a result that will pose serious questions of Australia and give England real hope for the Ashes. Joe Root needs to win a series Down Under and India have proved that there are vulnerabilities in this Australian side – ones that we did not really know existed a month or so ago.
There is something not quite right with Australia at the moment. The batting – aside from Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne – has a soft centre,the pace bowling attack,rightly hailed as being the world's best a few weeks ago,lacked penetration at crucial moments in the last three Tests against India,and Nathan Lyon had no impact at all.
Then there is the captain,Tim Paine. Any time Australia lose a series at home,their captain is in a precarious position,and Paine is now under serious pressure.
He left himself a hostage to fortune with his comments to Ravi Ashwin in Sydney,where he called him a"d---head"and said that he could not wait to get him to the Gabba. To say those comments have not aged well is an understatement.