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AUSvIND, 5th Test: India fight hard, but Australia make it 3-1!

By Mumbai Indians

Pheww… An enticing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 comes to an end with the home team emerging victorious in the final match by six wickets.

Jasprit Bumrah, who enjoyed a cracking outing as far as the individual performances are concerned, was named as the Player of the Series for his 32 wickets in five matches. 🙌

Even though things didn’t go our way for the majority part of the series, there are plenty of learnings to take back home and work on to bounce back stronger.

Here’s how the events transpired over the three days at the Sydney Cricket Ground… ⬇️

DAY 1 | Scratch everything, WHAT AN ABSOLUTE CINEMA END!

Opting to bat first, Team India’s scorecard read 185/10 towards the close of the opening day.

On a green pitch suited for fast bowlers, the hosts made the most of the pace on offer and didn’t let the Indian batters free their arms. Nonetheless, Rishabh Pant top scored with 40 as Ravindra Jadeja (26) and Jasprit Bumrah (22) chipped in with handy contributions.

However, what got the audience fired up was a heated altercation between BOOM and Sam Konstas at the non-striker’s end on the eve of the day’s final ball.

The national treasure didn’t hesitate in giving a befitting reply, dismissing Usman Khawaja & celebrating the wicket wildly with the entire team! 🔥 Words might not do justice to the moment of the day… Watch it yourself:

DAY 2 | A slender lead, Pant’s counterattacking knock

A spicy conclusion on the previous day set the tone for the rest of the match as Indian pacers breezed past the opposition batting line-up with a fine display of pace bowling and some terrific catching in the slip cordon.

Marnus Labuschagne’s wicket off Jassi bhai opened the floodgates. Breakthroughs at regular intervals helped the Indian cricket team bundle out the Baggy Greens at 181 just before the Tea break, pocketing a narrow four-run lead.

Mohd. Siraj and Prasidh Krishna, playing his first match of the series, bagged three wickets each.

Thereafter, Yashasvi Jaiswal came out all guns blazing, smashing Mitchell Starc for four fours in the first over itself to begin on a positive note.

However, it was Rishabh Pant who stole the limelight with his exquisite batting, registering a terrific 33-ball 61, including six fours and four maximums!

The half-century, completed in just 29 balls, helped Pant set the record for the fastest half-century by a visiting batter in Australia. Todla re Rishabh! 👏

India finished Day 2 at 141/6, leading by 145 runs. A series-defining Day 3 awaited both sides!

Day 3 | Boland’s mayhem, India’s spirited effort

With four wickets already to his name from the prior day, Scott Boland capped off his second innings by dismissing Siraj and Bumrah, securing figures of 6/45.

A target of 162 meant it was an uphill task for the visitors to keep the Kangaroos at bay, although Prasidh Krishna led the bowling attack, in absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who couldn’t take the field due to an unfortunate injury the day before.

The proceedings culminated an hour after Lunch where Travis Head and Beau Webster stitched a 58-run partnership following Usman Khawaja’s dismissal to take their team home.

The World Test Championship 2023-25 final will now be played between Australia and South Africa on June 11, 2025, at the Lord’s, London after the Indian cricket team failed to qualify for the summit clash for the first time since WTC’s inception.

 

Brief scores: India 185/10 (Rishabh Pant 40, Scott Boland 4/31) and 157/10 (Rishabh Pant 61, Scott Boland 6/45) lost to Australia 181/10 (Beau Webster 57, Prasidh Krishna 3/42) and 162/4 (Usman Khawaja 41, Prasidh Krishna 3/65) by 6 wickets.