While Australia dropped anchor to play out a draw with India in Ahmedabad in the final Test of the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, New Zealand won a last-ball thriller against Sri Lanka in Christchurch. New Zealand’s 2-wicket win helped India secure their second successive World Test Championship final and from thereon, you could sense two teams involved in high-octane cricket for the last one month, were just going through the motions in Ahmedabad. Over four weeks of intense Test cricket brought India and Australia to the series finale with hopes of a 3-1 finish for the hosts. But that did not happen thanks to the pitch which had little help for bowlers and the resolute spirits of the Australian batters. A 3-1 win for India in the 2023 BGT would have taken any other result elsewhere out of the equation and taken them to the WTC final; however, it was just as well for India that Kane Williamson played one of the finest Test innings in recent times to deny Sri Lanka a shot.
