In a heart-stopping finale that will go down in Boxing Day Test folklore, Australia conjured a miraculous 184-run victory over India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to seize a 2-1 series lead heading into the final match. On a riveting fifth day in front of almost 75,000 spectators, the hosts rallied to take seven Indian wickets in the final session, snatching an improbable win from the jaws of what seemed destined to be a hard-fought draw.
India began the day with hopes of chasing down the 340-run target after a defiant rearguard partnership between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant the previous evening. But the early exchanges belonged to Australia’s bowlers as Pat Cummins removed both Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in quick succession. An uncharacteristic lapse in concentration from Virat Kohli, who holed out to cover on the stroke of lunch, left India reeling at 87-4.
Pant and Jaiswal Dig In
Recognizing the precariousness of their position, Pant and Jaiswal adopted a cautious approach after the interval, blunting the Australian attack and gradually chipping away at the deficit. With the overs ticking by and India’s lower-order yet to bat, a stalemate appeared the most likely outcome as tea approached with the score on 154-4.
Boland Ignites Australia
Enter hometown hero Scott Boland. Having toiled manfully in unhelpful conditions for most of the day, the burly Victorian paceman found the elusive spark Australia desperately needed. A vicious bouncer accounted for the well-set Jaiswal on 84, and suddenly the match came alive.
Boland’s unerring accuracy and subtle variations then proved too much for India’s lower order to handle. Wickets tumbled in a frenzied final hour as Ravindra Jadeja, Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah all fell in quick succession, leaving Australia on the brink of a famous triumph.
Lyon Seals the Deal
Fittingly, it was Nathan Lyon who administered the coup de grace. The wily off-spinner, who had earlier removed first-innings centurion Nitish Kumar Reddy, wrapped up proceedings by trapping Mohammed Siraj lbw to spark pandemonium among the delirious home fans.
India may yet keep the trophy at 2-2 if they can rebound from disappointment, but their sequence of winning series in Australia is over.
While India will rue the late collapse that cost them a chance to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, they can take solace from a series that has ebbed and flowed with the intrigue and unpredictability that makes Test cricket so captivating. The onus is now on Rohit Sharma’s men to regroup ahead of the Sydney finale and ensure they don’t leave empty-handed.
For Australia, this heart-stopping victory will be savored for years to come. To pull a win from nowhere when all seemed lost is the stuff of champions. It was a match that had everything: masterful batting, high-quality bowling, endless tension and a denouement that rewrote the script in the most dramatic fashion imaginable. Test cricket at its finest.
