The sight of Travis Head fending a sharp bouncer from Ishant Sharma and spooning a catch straight to gully on a fifth day pitch was a sight to behold for Indian fans. For as long as one can remember, it has always been the Australian fast bowlers that have been the antagonists, but yesterday the roles were reversed as India recorded a historic 31-run victory in the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Adelaide Oval to take the lead in the four-Test series.

This is the first time in 71 years that India have won the opening Test of a series in Australia. The wicket of Head in the eighth over of the day provided India an ideal start and that gave the Indian fans in the Eastern Stand plenty to smile about. But with the pitch losing its pace, Shaun Marsh and Tim Paine started forging a strong partnership. Marsh raced past his fifty to raise Australia's hopes. But Jasprit Bumrah returned to the bowling crease to kiss the edge of Marsh's willow for 60 as India sensed a comfortable victory.