The Albany Gazette - Crowds, cracking cricket: Five talking points from Australia v India

AFP Sport looks at five talking points from a thrilling series:

- Alive and kicking -

Bumper crowds turned up to watch the first-ever five-Test series between the two teams, swelling as the showdown intensified.

Drawn in by fine weather, the holiday period and knife-edge action, attendance records were smashed to prove the red-ball game remains hugely popular.

The peak came in the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where a staggering 373,691 spectators streamed through the turnstiles.

That beat the previous record of 350,534 at the same ground during the 1936-37 Ashes series against England, when Donald Bradman ruled the sport and Tests were played over six days.

- Brilliant Bumrah -

Prodigious seamer Jasprit Bumrah reinforced his reputation as not only India's most potent bowler, but one of the best the world has seen.

He put in a mammoth effort to help carry the team and keep them in the hunt for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with his 32 wickets at an average of 13.06 the most by an Indian in a series in Australia.

Bumrah sent down 53.2 overs in the Boxing Day Test alone -- more than he has bowled in any match of his career -- and the toil took its toll in Sydney when a back issue restricted his input.

His pivotal role was further highlighted by the decision to hand him the captaincy in Perth and Sydney in place of Rohit Sharma.

- Exuberance of youth -

The emergence of Sam Konstas for Australia and India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy demonstrated that both teams continue to have a conveyor-belt of exciting young talent.

Konstas, 19, and Reddy, 21, both made their debut and had explosive impacts.

A fearless Konstas slammed a whirlwind 60 in his first Test innings in Brisbane, taking on Bumrah with little respect, to position himself as a potential long-term opener for Australia.

Reddy was equally impressive, proving able support to the frontline attack while crunching a maiden century in the fourth Test.

- End of the road -

Both sides face a transitional period and the series could have been the last for some of their ageing, and underperforming, veterans.

Australian opener Usman Khawaja, 38, hit 41 in the second innings at Sydney but never really got going. In his favour, Australia have no obvious successor.

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma is similarly under pressure, with a horror run of form seeing him dropped from the last Test in Sydney.

Rohit, 37, insisted he "rested" for the good of the team and would be back, but his days could be numbered.

Superstar Virat Kohli, 36, is also in the twilight of an incredible career.

He has almost certainly played his last tour of Australia and while he scored an unbeaten 100 at the first Test in Perth, he failed to make another big score.

- Smith to join greats -

The inimitable Steve Smith is set to join the pantheon of greats by bringing up 10,000 Test runs on their tour to Sri Lanka next month.

He was agonisingly left hanging on 9,999 in Sydney, but there appears to be plenty more in the tank from the fidgety Australian.

While others of his generation struggled, 35-year-old enjoyed a successful series with two battling centuries.

Smith shows no signs of retirement and is likely to be named captain for the Sri Lanka tour, should Pat Cummins opt out as expected for the birth of his second child.

(T.Wright--TAG)