Joel Wilson (West Indies), Michael Gough (England), Sharfuddoula (Bangladesh, TV)
Referee
Andy Pycroft (Zimbabwe)
Toss
Australia elected to bat
Pitch Report
We could be in for a cracking final day. The pitch looks very very good. There are not too many cracks and divots that you associate with a day 5 wicket in Australia. The grass has been rolled and as the last wicket partnership suggested last evening, there are no devils in the wicket. If India apply themselves, the surface would not pose too many problems.
VENUE STATS
1st Innings
320Avg Runs
9Avg Wkts
53.04Avg
SR
2nd Innings
327Avg Runs
10Avg Wkts
51.59Avg
SR
3rd Innings
247Avg Runs
9Avg Wkts
50.88Avg
SR
4th Innings
175Avg Runs
7Avg Wkts
49.55Avg
SR
Weather Update
Weather Update
Melbourne,Australia
Updated: 30 Dec 11:30
25°CClouds
overcast clouds
100%
Clouds
0%
Rain %
49%
Humidity
15.5 kmph
Wind
Playing XILineups Out
Which team will win?
AUS
IND
Draw
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Experts are creating their teams, watch this space
Expert Team 1
J Bumrah
T Head
Expert Team 2
K Rahul
R Jadeja
Venue Details
Melbourne Cricket Ground
We could be in for a cracking final day. The pitch looks very very good. There are not too many cracks and divots that you associate with a day 5 wicket in Australia. The grass has been rolled and as the last wicket partnership suggested last evening, there are no devils in the wicket. If India apply themselves, the surface would not pose too many problems.
The commentary is not available for this match. Please check the scorecard for latest updates.
So that leaves us with only the final test of this riveting Test series remaining plus of course a lot of moments and incidents to relook and enjoy. It has been a brilliant 5 days of test cricket, a perfect advertisement of the purest form of the game and one which has seen the better team come out on top. Time for us to give our fingers and eyes some rest before we get back to bringing more and more live cricket for you. This is Sourabh signing off on behalf of Darpan and the entire team, good bye!
Australia complete a big win that will give them a whole lot of satisfaction and more importantly a 2-1 lead in the 5-match series. It has been a long one, it has indeed been in all fairness for a test match to go into the final session on Day 5 feels like once in a blue moon event. It feels like it was ages ago when Sam Konstas' opening blitz on Boxing Day when the 19-year old debutant took done Jasprit Bumrah to set the stage on fire. Bumrah, the champion, he is came back and finished the innings with 4 wickets to his name in an innings which saw Steven Smith get to his 34th Test Hundred equaling the great Sunil Gavaskar. That innings was a preface to what was coming though with the Aussie lower order getting them to 474 from being 299/6 at one stage.
India, in response to 474, got to 153/2 and were looking comfortably placed with Jaiswal and Kohli at the crease but then a much-talked about unfortunate run out ended Jaiswal's innings and triggered a collapsed as India slipped to 221/7. From there, young Nitish Kumar Reddy took centerstage with Washington Sundar and made a coming of age maiden century, a century which had his father in tears in the stands. That century propelled India back into the contest but eventually they conceded a first innings lead of 105.
Australia were then met by a rampaging Bumrah who had revenge on his mind as he castled Sam Konstas the second time of asking and reminded the youngster who the boss was. The Indian pacer breathed fire on Day 4 and with the help of Siraj at the other got Australia down to 91/6 and the prospect of a remarkable win seemed more eminent for the Indian team. However, a resilient Labuschagne along with a fiery Cummins got a partnership again, India struck thrice when they broke it after a while but the most frustrating part of the match was awaiting them. Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland batted nearly 20 overs together and completely deflated the Indians in a partnership which saw Lyon getting dismissed off a no-ball and adding 61 for the last wicket but more importantly punctured Indian spirits. Bumrah eventually was the man to break it registering yet another fifer. The innings was a case of what could have been for India specially with Jaiswal putting down 3 catches.
Rishabh Pant's wicket turned out to be the turning point on the final day of this test match as Travis Head got him out and then celebrated it in a unique style which was noteworthy. Here's an explanation of the animated reaction from Head 👇
Pat Cummins [Player of the Match (6 wickets and 90 runs in the match) and Australia Captain]: "What an amazing Test match. It was one of the best to be a part of. The crowd was amazing throughout the week and cricket was pretty good too. Marnus (Labuschagne) helped me out big time in the second innings. Happy to contribute. (Thoughts at Tea) You alway think that anything can happen. We bowled very well in the first session and took their win out of the equation. We had them 3/30. Obviously they played well in the afternoon but we came back well. We talk a lot about the importance of runs from the lower order. (On giving the ball to Travis Head) It was a bit of Midas touch. I will give the coach the credit for it. We were also a bit behind on overrate so we were trying to sneak through a few quick overs there. (On Smith's century) Amazing innings from Steve Smith set us up. Wasn't an easy wicket, he showed how to bat on that wicket. He also took some handy catches. It often goes unnoticed how crucial he is for us at slips."
Rohit Sharma [India captain]: "It is pretty disappointing. It is not that we went without intent to fight but we simply could not do it. Tough to assess the last two sessions. If we look at the whole test match, we had our opportunities and chances but we did not take them. We had them 90 for 6 but then we could not capitalise. Having said that, we know that things could got difficult here but that is what we are here for but we were simply not good enough. I went back to my room and thought what could be done about it (about the last partnership) but we tried everything we could, they did really well and fought it out. 340 was always going to be a steep target, we wanted to go for the win but we needed to set the base for it. He is coming here for the first time (on Reddy), the conditions can be really tough but he showed great character , solid technique. He has got everything to be successful on this level. Hope he goes from strength to strength, he has got the backing of the entire team. Absolutely brilliant (on Bumrah). We know his quality and we have been watching him do it for so long, he is not a big statistical guy and just likes to do his job for the team. He has unfortunately not had enough support from the other end. He has managed himself really well"
Post match presentation time now.
Here is what Travis Head had to say after the win: "I didn't feature as much with the bat this week so was happy to contribute (with the ball). We were still very calm at Tea. We had to do what we had to do. (On the plan to Rishabh Pant) Just roll the arm over and see what happens. I feel like I have to keep the boys under the check a little bit. Fantastic atmosphere through the five days. Two bloody good teams going after each other. There were moments when both teams stepped up. The match ebbed and flowed nicely. It wasa fantastic Test match regardless of the result at the end."
Mitchell Starc speaks to the host broadcaster, here is what he has to say: "(On where does this win rank) It is going to up there. Five fantastic days of cricket. The crowd has turned up, the atmosphere has been fantastic. There is always belief in the group. That has been a feature of this group — to have the calmness and have the belief that it can be done. The body is a bit soar, rest will see how it feels tomorrow."
17:23 Local Time (11:53 IST): Australia win the match by 184 runs and move into a 2-1 lead in the 5-match series
Yet another clinical performance from Australia and they have shut the door on India at the MCG in a test match that was attended by a record number of people over 5 days in an electric atmosphere.
Any chances of an improbable Indian win chasing a big 340 were put of the window when the top-order was removed early which saw them got reduced to 33/3 containing familiar dismissals of some of the big names in the Indian lineup.
India did put up a fight as Jaiswal and Pant held fort after that and showed exemplary patience and application to play against their natural game in the middle session which went wicketless and India needed 228 off 228 balls in the final one with 7 wickets in hand.
The script flipped once more as Pant fell to a long hop from Australia's unlikely partnership-breaker with the ball Travis Head as the Indian wicketkeeper holed out to long-on. From there, it was always going to be a herculean task for the others including Jaiswal who held one end up.
Australia, though, like they always do, if you give them a sniff they will take all of it. In the end, the final 7 wickets fell for a meagre 34 runs and the Aussies ran through what was a brittle order on either side of the Jaiswal-Pant partnership.
This loss has also put the Indian hopes of reaching the WTC final in a jeopardy, they will now have to win the next one as well as depend upon other unlikely results to even have a chance. While Australia have got one foot in the WTC final against South Africa to be played in June
79.1 Nathan Lyon to Mohammed Siraj, over the wicket, BIG APPEAL FOR LBW! UMPIRE MICHAEL GOUGH RAISES THE FINGER AND MCG ERUPTS! Of course, Siraj will review it. He was pressing forward but was nowhere near the pitch of it. It dipped on a length and spun sharply to beat the inside edge and ping into his front pad. Ball-tracker shows three reds and we hear another roar from the crowd as the replay appears on the big screen. Australia win by 184 runs and take a 2-1 lead in the series.
Mohammed Siraj lbw b Nathan Lyon 0 (2b, 0x4, 0x6)
The end is near now, can Australia do it even before the second new ball? Here's Lyon again
Aussies have been vociferous in their appeals specially in the final session specially their most enthusiastic appealer. Here's what Michael Vaughan had to say about him in a cheeky fashion 👇
78.6 Scott Boland to Washington Sundar, same length, straighter line. Sundar blocks it and the match moves into the next over.
78.5 Scott Boland to Washington Sundar, around the wicket, good length, outside off. The batter leaves.
78.4 Scott Boland to Mohammed Siraj, still over the wicket, good length, angling in. Siraj misses the leg glance but runs a leg bye as the ball trickles over to backward square leg after deflecting off the pads.
Crowd boos and the last batter for India Mohammed Siraj, RHB enters
With every wicket, Australia are showing the stark difference between both the teams and as to why they have been the superior team at the G. Fantastic catch from Smith to send back Bumrah and Australis are on the verge now
Video
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J Bumrah
T Head
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Washington Sundar
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Scott Boland
Melbourne Cricket Ground
![[Watch] Australian commentator explains Travis Head's celebration on Day 5 of BGT 2024-25 4th Test](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/12/9a9de-17355401111793-1920.jpg)
