Australia completed a six-wicket win in Sydney to clinch the fifth Test against India.

The home side rebounded from losing the opening Test against India to clinch the series 3-1 on Sunday and win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade.

The series was a real treat for cricket loving fans all over the world as there was no shortage of twist and turns in the five-match series.

Here there are some talking points from the 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, beating the previous record of 350,534 at the same ground during the 1936-37 Ashes series against England.

"It was a well fought series, a lot of good learnings for us ... being in the game for longer, creating pressure and sometimes absorbing pressure when the wickets are difficult and sometimes playing to the situation."

— Player-of-the-series Jasprit Bumrah

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.

"Obviously in the context of this series, it's been a massive series," he said after his 20th win as captain. It is one that a few of us didn't have. The boys have had their eye on it and it has lived up to the hype."

— Australia captain Pat Cummins

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.

HIGHLIGHTS

1. The win in front of a packed house at a Sydney Cricket Ground bathed in pink for Glenn McGrath's cancer charity yesterday ensured Australia will defend their World Test Championship title against South Africa at Lord's in June.

2. With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy safely in the cabinet, Australia now hold all the bilateral titles they play for in the longest format as well as the WTC crown they won by beating India in 2023.