Best Test: Brisbane. Momentum fluctuated throughout the series decider before an inexperienced Indian XI completed a record-breaking chase. All four results were possible at the start of a gripping final day that ended with a flurry of match-winning boundaries from Rishabh Pant.

Best knock: Ajinkya Rahane's 112 at the MCG. Leadership personified, given it came after Virat Kohli left the country (having been memorably run out after batting partner Rahane sold him up the creek in Adelaide, putting the hosts on track for a 1-0 series lead). The stand-in skipper helped India reach 326 from 4-116, doing it on a pitch where no Australian passed 50.

Best spell: Near impossible to split the work of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood in the pink-ball Test, where they did all the damage while running through India's entire XI in 21.2 overs. Hazlewood's haul of 5-8 was as statistically ridiculous, yet Cummins accounted for Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara.

Best debutant: Shubman Gill. A strong field given both sides unveiled some eye-catching talent. The 21-year-old looked cool, calm and collected while confronting a fearsome attack on foreign soil. To lead India's final-day resistance with a knock of 91, and do it so fluently, speaks wonders about his future.

Best shot: Factoring in match situation, it's hard to go past Washington Sundar's hooked six off Cummins at the Gabba during the final hour of the series. The debutant launched a bouncer into the stands with a casual flick, showing scant regard for the fact the match and series were in the balance - and the world's top-ranked paceman was bowling his final over of the series.

Best delivery: Cummins' first-innings dismissal of Cheteshwar Pujara at the SCG. It generally took something special to remove India's rock, especially after he got in. The world's top-ranked bowler bent his back, extracted some bounce and produced an unplayable delivery on awkward length that took a faint edge en route to the keeper.

Best catch: Ravindra Jadeja's chest mark at the MCG. The degree of difficulty was increased because it looked like being a nasty collision between the allrounder and Gill. Jadeja held onto the skied edge, even after his outstretched teammate did his best to dislodge the ball.

Best run-out: Hazlewood's direct hit at the SCG. The paceman swooped on the ball from mid-off and somehow threw down the stumps while diving, finding Hanuma Vihari short of his ground.

Best show of physical resilience: Pujara. Weathered a brutal barrage from Cummins and Hazlewood during his momentum-shifting knock at the Gabba. Copped blows to the arm, glove and helmet, having already been bothered by a finger injury that he suffered in Melbourne.

Best show of mental resilience: Mohammed Siraj's tale will become part of Indian cricket folklore. The 26-year-old was in hotel quarantine at the start of the tour when his dad, a rickshaw driver in Hyderabad, died. Siraj stayed on, made his Test debut in Melbourne, called out alleged racial abuse in Sydney then claimed a five-wicket haul when asked to lead the attack in Brisbane.

Australian Associated Press