BCCI announces INR 5 crore bonus for Team India after series win in Australia

Sourav Ganguly

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, on Tuesday, announced a handsome bonus for Team India soon after their historic series win over Australia. The Rahane-led side beat the hosts by three wickets to clinch the series 2-1 and win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the third time in a row.

India had their task cut out when day five of the Test started. The visitors needed an improbable 324 runs to win and a draw was looking like the best option for them given that the day five pitch had developed huge cracks. But Team India proved everyone wrong once again on Tuesday and went on to chase down the total with three overs remaining.

Rishabh Pant was the star of the show, scoring an unbeaten 89 to take the team home. While wickets kept falling at crucial junctures from the other end, Pant remained firm from his end. He shared a decisive 53-run stand with Washington Sundar to all but seal the game for India. Before Pant’s heroics, Shubman Gill (91) and Cheteshwar Pujara (56) had impressed with the bat too.

Sourav Ganguly announces bonus after the series win

Soon after the match ended, Ganguly took to Twitter to laud the team for the remarkable series win. The legendary skipper stated that the series win will be remembered forever as he pointed out how India overcame all the hurdles to emerge victorious. India were plagued by several injury setbacks and were also without their skipper Virat Kohli who was on paternity leave. Kohli returned home after the first Test in Adelaide where India were all out for 36 and had lost the game by 8 wickets.

Not many had given India a chance of bouncing back after the humiliating defeat, especially in Kohli’s absence. But the players responded in style and went on to win two of the next three Tests while drawing one to clinch the series. Expressing his delight over the win, Ganguly also announced a Rs 5 crore bonus for the team.