With the win, Rahane, the Man of the Match for his 112 and 27*, etched his name in history for his inspiring captaincy while India extended their supremacy in Melbourne hence adding to Australia's woes at the venue.
While a lot many justifiable names were part of the lists, there were a few too many surprise omissions and selections made by ICC, one of the major omissions being the absence of Pakistan players from the Test and T20I team, for which they have received flak from across the globe.
The 104, still unbeaten, will forever stand as one of Rahane's finest knocks and he will now look to build on the score, which already seems to stand as the sole difference between the two sides, when day 3 resumes on Monday
In the last 96 Tests, going back to March 30 of 2018, pacers have combined to average 26.40, the best figure ever managed for a period of 100 Tests since 1908.
More than the leadership responsibility, Rahane will also be replacing Kohli the batsman, and latter responsibility has been a major issue with him over the last few years.
With four days to go before the second Test begins at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, here are some of the areas that the Indian team management might look for changes
The Indian attack had impressively reduced Australia to 111 for 7 on day 2 before Paine single-handedly carried the home team to add 80 more runs to the board, batting with the tail for 18.4 overs more which reduced the first innings gap to 53.
Ashwin finished with 4 for 55, the best figures for any visiting spinner in a day-night Test in Australia and his personal best Down Under surpassing his 4/105 at the SCG in 2015.
India, barring last week's first-class game, only made their debut in this format of Test cricket in November 2019 at home, comfortably beating Bangladesh, but now have a far bigger challenge to overcome when they face Tim Paine's men on Thursday.
Visiting spinners have struggled immensely in day-night matches Down Under, picking a combined 13 wickets in 23 innings at an average of 95.38 and strike rate of 150.6.
Despite the drawn pink-ball warm-up tie, India will head to Adelaide with a lot of positives gained from the three-day practice tie having ticked a few too many boxes amid a few happy headaches.
The century might have added to Pant's inclusion for the opener next week, but it has left the management in a dilemma with the more-experienced Saha in the waiting
The two combined to pick five wickets between themselves and conceded runs at just three an over in their 20-over combination, subsequently showing what a threat they will be in Adelaide next week.
In the format that presently matters the most, given that the next World T20 is less than 10 months, India fared the best, capping off their best calendar year and the best-ever registered by a full-member nation.
What makes Natarajan's story best is his performance in the T20I series in Canberra on Friday and in Sydney on Sunday which, still early days but shows that he can give a new dimension to India's T20I attack.
India revived form an ODI series set-back to win the T20I series and extend their supremacy Down Under against the Aussies with a record-extending tenth consecutive win in the format.
India will be playing two practice matches against Australia A ahead of the anticipated series that will give Team India a chance to answer a few many questions in a bid to arrive at their perfect XI for the Border-Gavaskar series
India cap of one of their forgettable calendar years with just three ODI wins. Just 2020 things, eh?
With the series already in Australia's pocket, India stand on the verge of a whitewash with the third ODI slated to be played at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on Wednesday.
Australia managed 59 runs with a loss in the Powerplays adding to India's ODI woes. This was the fifth time in a row that India failed to get a wicket in the Powerplays
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