Australia have won an all-time classic Test, taking seven wickets in the final session at the MCG to defeat India by 184 runs and go 2-1 up in the Border-Gavaskar series.
In front of a record overall attendance for a Test crowd in Australia, the hosts had to get past defiant star India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (84 from 208), who was dramatically dismissed by Pat Cummins.
Veteran spinner Nathan Lyon (2-39), who has struggled during this series, took the final wicket with 39 minutes left and 12 overs remaining to seal an extraordinary win.
AUSTRALIA V INDIA: Day five of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG:
SCORE: Australia 474 and 234, India 369 and 155. Australia win by 184 runs.
SUMMARY: Fittingly, this absorbing Test attracts a bumper last-day crowd of 74,362 and it brings the total attendance to 373,691. It’s the highest attendance for a Test in Australia, and breaks the old MCG record – for a six-day match in the 1936-37 Ashes. As day five begins, Jasprit Bumrah finally bowls Nathan Lyon to end the Australian late-order resistance and claims another five-for along with nine wickets for the game. That leaves India needing 340 to win, meaning it would be the highest successful run chase for an MCG Test and India’s third-biggest. A difficult few days in Melbourne end badly for Virat Kohli when he plays a poor shot on lunch and is caught in slips, leaving the tourists in disarray at 3-33. Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant then take it up to the Australian attack and reach 3-112 at tea. Part-time spinner Travis Head finishes the resistance, with Pant trying to hit him over mid-wicket and Mitch Marsh taking a superb catch to end the 88-run stand. Jaiswal is left fuming when dismissed for 84, and then the last three wickets fall cheaply. Australia takes a 2-1 series lead heading into the final SCG Test.
THE MOMENT: Jaiswal was lucky not to be given out lbw on 31, the video review strongly suggesting the ball would have hit the top of leg stump. Later, after a lengthy review, he is given out caught behind for 84, attempting a hook shot off Pat Cummins. Jaiswal has a discussion with the umpires before trudging off. With him went India’s last faint hopes of a draw.
THE PLAYER: Completing his excellent match with bat and call, Cummins dismissed the top three India batsmen to ensure the tourists would enjoy no last-day heroics.
THE STATS: Whatever happens in Sydney, Bumrah is the player of the series – 30 wickets in four Tests at an average of 12.83.
