Australia’s Nathan Lyon bowls to India’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar with Australian fielders surrounding the pitch on the final day of the fourth Test at the SCG. (Source: Reuters photo)

When Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay walked out after the tea-break, India required 189 runs of the last 33 overs for a historic win at the SCG.

Some 28 days earlier, when the same duo had walked out to bat for the final session on Day 5 at Adelaide, the visitors were 159 shy of their target with 37 overs at their disposal. Then, as now, a historic win was being targeted.

So, four weeks later, we were back at the same stage. A determined Australian outfit desperate to run through the steadfast Indians with potentially all four results still possible. Yes, the task seemed slightly more uphill on this occasion. India had to score at 5.72 on a slow SCG pitch that was beginning to play tricks. But India still fancied it.

They had scored at 3.34 overall since landing in Australia. In the middle stood, their two most accomplished batsmen of the tour, one with four Test tons in the four Tests, and the other with almost 500 runs to his name in the series. It had been a positive declaration in the morning from Steve Smith that had given India a sniff.

The declaration and the subsequent chase in many ways embodied the tempo and the verve with which the series had been played out.

That two teams were ready to take on the gauntlet even at this late hour, with tired bodies and fatigued minds, was an ode to the four weeks of entertaining cricket we have seen Down Under. The series had commenced amidst the emotional turmoil of Phil Hughes’ passing away. But the two teams had done their best to provide some soothing balm to the grief by putting on a real show.

In Adelaide, India kept going and perished. Here, they shut shop sensibly enough and saved the day. But not without drama. The eventual series reult red 2-0 in the hosts’ favour. It was a victory of sorts for India. They had not only bettered the scoreline from the last Test tour to these parts. In Adelaide, they had shown that they had the gumption to go for the jugular.

At the SCG on Friday, they showed that they also had the grit to hang on. In one month, they had produced a brand of cricket never seen before from an Indian Test team away from home. Bold, brash and not prepared to back down, quite literally at times.

India were poor tourists for a major part of their cricket history. That began to change at the turn of the century under Sourav Ganguly. But India had gone from poor to hapless tourists in the last three years. Their last tour here had been a disaster. And that was a team filled with superstars.

This team had begun the series as no-hopers. After the wretched end to the England tour, they were touted as lambs being led to slaughter. But to their credit, Kohli & Co had surprised the Aussies in Trojan fashion, attacking their citadel when they least expected it.

Yes, the pitches might have played a part in it. A total of 5870 were scored by both teams, which is the highest ever for a Test series with four matches or less. But India had more centurions than Australia, even if the hosts had more centuries. If Steve Smith scored four centuries, so did Kohli.

India had as many of their batsmen averaging in the 50s as their opponents.

And if they had a couple of sessions go their way, the scoreline too would have revealed the parity between the two sides. For if you went through the four Tests, India won nearly as many sessions as Australia. For the record, if Australia won 31 of them, the visitors held sway in the other 24. There were also times, like Day 3 at Adelaide, were India dominated completely. India were overall substandard with the ball.

And Australia scored merrily at over 4-an-over in most of those sessions. India weren’t too far behind. Only in four sessions in which they batted did they go at slower than 3.5 an over.

Collapse that never came

In 2011-12, India made 400 when they lost by an innings at the SCG. This time around, they crossed 400 in each of their first innings. For the cynics, there was always a major batting debacle waiting to happen. But that never came. Both in Adelaide and Brisbane, it was Australia who were suffering more nerves with one session to go despite having declared in both innings on each occasion.

If only Vijay had not suffered the nerves at 99 in Adelaide, India looked well on track for a famous win. Some 50 runs extra — maybe with a few less short deliveries to Mitchell Johnson — might just have won them the Brisbane Test. The Aussie lower order averaged more than the top half, which is a sign of how India let things slip.

However, all this while they kept staring into the opposition’s eye, telling them that they were in for a fight. There was no question of backing down. There was no question of giving up. Right till the very end.