Ultimate Test Series: ICC Names AUS Vs IND 2020-21 Test Series As The Best Ever
Over 70 lakh people voted to make the recently concluded India vs Australia series the Ultimate Test Series. India vs Pakistan series of 1999 came second in this uniquely organized competition.
Ultimate Test Series: Australia vs India Test Border-Gavaskar series that happened in the past winter has been named the Ultimate Test Series by the International Cricket Council (ICC). ICC picked 16 all-time best Test series' and then the rest was decided by the voters. More than 7 million people voted to make the Ajinkya Rahane-led Test series, the best ever.
15 out of the 16 series kept getting knocked out one by one, just like a competition with Round-of-16 qualification. Take a look at the below chart to know which other series' were part of this Ultimate Test Series.
The series that was presumed to go Australia's way was eventually won by India. Team India was under the untested captainship of Ajinkya Rahane. With Virat Kohli absent from the team along with other senior members, India's problems were only increasing. India was all-out for 36 runs in the first Test and lost the Adelaide Test match by 8 wickets.
Fast-bowler Jasprit Bumrah also got injured which paved the way for T Natarajan to come in the team. India with 1-0 down in the series came back strong to win the Melbourne Test. The 3rd Sydney Test was also dominated by India.
But the real sucker punch came when India defeated Australia in dramatic style at the Gabba in Brisbane. This ground was considered Australia's fortress as they had not lost a single match for the past 32 years. India chased 329 runs on the last day to win the Test match. Rishabh Pant will remember this match for the rest of his life. Even in the first innings, after a shaky start, Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar scored 60+ runs to put India beyond 300 runs.
Nonetheless, this series was chosen as the Ultimate Test Series of all time. India featured in 4 out of the top 16 series' that were chosen by ICC. You can see the other teams in the table above. (In the ICC tweet)