The atmosphere was electrifying at the MCG as more than 66,000 people were spectating the beauty of the Test match, as Australia marked a famous victory in the 4th test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.
At the end of Day 4, the 50-plus partnership between Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland helped Australia extend their lead to 340 runs. After India came to bat in the second innings skipper Rohit Sharma looked more comfortable in the middle than in the first innings but once again Australian skipper Pat Cummins managed to claim his wicket as Sharma’s dry run continued.
KL Rahul was dismissed on duck as Cummins managed to get his edge and Usman Khawaja completed the job at first slip. Virat Kohli who was carrying a lot of expectations from the whole nation once again got dismissed trying to drive the full-length ball from the left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc.
Rishab Pant and the opener Yashasvi Jaiswal managed to calm things down for India as both batsmen looked comfortable defending the ball until Pant lost his focus by smashing the half-tracker from Travis Head and was caught by Mitchell Marsh on the boundary, it was the second time Pant was dismissed by playing the rash shot in this test match.
The wicket of Pant proved to be a turning point in the match and the aggressive approach of the wicket-keeper raised a lot of questions about his patience in the pressure situation.
Australian off-spinner who was going wicketless claimed the big wicket of first innings centurion Nitish Kumar Reddy for just 1 run. Skipper Cummins once again stepped up and picked the big wicket of well-set Jaiswal. However, the dismissal of the youngster was a controversial decision as the replay showed a clear deflection of the ball when it passed the bat but Snicko didn’t pick anything as India went to 140/7.
After the dismissal of Jaiswal all 9 fielders surrounded the batsmen in search of a wicket as Akash Deep was the next batsman to fall to Scott Boland, Lyonn wrapped things at the MCG after trapping Mohammed Siraj in front of the wicket.
Pat Cummins was awarded Man of the Match as Australia now seek a first test series win against India in nearly a decade.
The fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will start on 3 January at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
Read more: “Clown”: Virat Kohli Insulted By Australia After Clash With Sam Konstas
Jasir Basharat is a cricket enthusiast capturing the heart of the game through insightful analysis and storytelling sharing his passion for the sport through engaging narratives. He is a business graduate from University of Kashmir.
