India rout Australia by innings and 132 runs

Nagpur: India capitalised on the fear of spin in the minds of the Australian batters on a spin-friendly wicket, to bowl them out for 91, their lowest total in India and second lowest ever, winning the first Test by an innings and 132 run defeat in the first Test at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium here on Saturday.

India thus took a 1-0 lead in the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, setting themselves for the 3-0 win they need to comfortably seal their Berth in the World Test Championships Final to be held later this year at the Oval in London.

Ravichandran Ashwin bowled a devastating spell of 12 overs to claim 5 wickets for 37 runs as India bowled out Australia within a session after Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Mohammed had helped the hosts reach 400 runs in their first innings, adding some quick runs in the morning session, giving India a lead of 223 runs.

Brief scores: Australia 177 & 91 all out in 32.3 overs (Steve Smith 25 not out; R Ashwin 5-37, R Jadeja 2-34, M Shami 2-13) lost to India 400 all out in 139.3 overs (Rohit Sharma 120, Ravindra Jadeja 70, Axar Patel 84, Mohd Shami 37; Todd Murphy 7-124, Cummins 2-78) by innings and 132 runs.