Melbourne, Dec 30 (NationPress) Captain Pat Cummins and Scott Boland each took three wickets, leading Australia to a stunning 184-run victory over India in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday.
At tea, India was positioned at 112/3, with Yashasvi Jaiswal displaying a composed fifty and Rishabh Pant demonstrating exceptional discipline. However, during the final session of this thrilling Test match, Pant was dismissed by Travis Head, which allowed Australia to capitalize on India's collapse from 121/3 to 155 all out.
The visitors' failure to secure their last seven wickets for just 34 runs within 20.3 overs resulted in Australia taking a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, setting the stage for the final match in Sydney. India faces disappointment as they had the opportunity to draw the match but ended up on the losing end.
The shot selections of the batters in the second innings crumbled, and the underperformance of senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will undoubtedly face further scrutiny, as the upcoming final Test in Sydney is crucial for India to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Australia began the final session with an unconventional approach by employing the part-time off-spin of Travis Head. This strategy paid off when Head dismissed Rishabh Pant, who misplayed a pull shot and was caught at long-on for 30 runs off 104 balls.
Shortly after, Boland struck again, delivering a back-of-the-length ball that jumped at Ravindra Jadeja, who could only edge it behind to Alex Carey. Nathan Lyon then joined the wicket-takers with a delivery that skidded straight and took the outside edge of Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was dismissed for a mere one run.
Jaiswal continued to fight alongside Washington Sundar, while Australia tested his defense with short balls. Jaiswal eventually fell while attempting to pull a bouncer from Cummins, gloving it to Carey, who took an exceptional low catch.
Australia opted for a review, and third umpire Sharfuddoula ruled Jaiswal out for 84 runs, citing a clear and visible deflection between bat and glove, despite no line appearing on snicko. From that point on, the outcome was inevitable – Boland captured Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah in quick succession, while Lyon trapped Mohammed Siraj lbw, clinching a memorable victory for Australia.
Brief Scores: Australia 474 and 234 in 83.4 overs (Marnus Labuschagne 70, Nathan Lyon 41; Jasprit Bumrah 5-57, Mohammed Siraj 3-70) beat India 369 and 155 in 79.1 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 84, Rishabh Pant 30; Pat Cummins 3-28, Scott Boland 3-39) by 184 runs.
