Australia needed just over an hour after lunch on the third day of the fifth Test to wrap up the series 3-1.
They have regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 10 long years. It was in January 2015 that they last won a series against India and the Pat Cummins-led side have ended the drought. In the process, they have also qualified for the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Australia was ahead despite losing three wickets in the first session of day three. They needed 91 runs with seven wickets in hand. India were without their talisman Jasprit Bumrah and it would always be an uphill task defending 161.
Prasidh Krishna, who took three wickets in the morning, started the second session alongside Mohammed Siraj. However, both bowlers were inconsistent as Australia were barely in trouble. Travis Head and Usman Khawaja rotated strike nicely before the latter struck three boundaries in as many overs. Head also struck a couple of boundaries and was looking his fluent self.
The runs required came down under 60 before Siraj had Khawaja caught-behind. At 104/4, there seemed to be an opening but Beau Webster batted beautifully with Head. The Indian bowlers just couldn’t sustain the pressure and there were boundary balls dished out regularly. Both Head and Webster scored quickly.
India’s energy dropped and they looked flat in the field. Both Siraj and Krishna weren’t incisive enough as they bowled long spells in the absence of Bumrah.
Nitish Kumar Reddy got a bowl for a couple of overs but he wasn’t effective either. Washington Sundar came into the attack only when 11 runs were required. Webster smashed a couple of boundaries to wrap up the run-chase and give Australia a superb six-wicket win.
Webster and Head put on an unbeaten 58-run stand for the fifth wicket. Both batters remained unbeaten in their 30s. It was an excellent debut for Webster who struck a vital half-century in the first innings as well.
Scott Boland won the player of the match as he returned with a 10-wicket haul in the match (4/31 & 6/45). Meanwhile, despite ending up on the losing side, Jasprit Bumrah was awarded the player of the series. The ace India fast bowler returned with 32 wickets at a staggering average of 13.06. He was the reason why India kept fighting in the series and were alive even till the final day.
Australia’s first Test series win against India in 10 years
After being 0-1 down after the first Test in Perth, Australia bounced back to win the series 3-1. It’s their first Test series win over India in 10 years. India had beaten Australia 2-1 in each of the last four series (2017 and 2023 at home and 2018-19 and 2020-21 in Australia).
However, the Pat Cummins-led side turned the tide. He admitted at the start of the series that many members of the current team have not won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and were desperate to get their hands on the coveted trophy. They walked the talk and scaled that feat as well.
With this win, Australia have set up a World Test Championship (WTC) final date with South Africa at Lord’s in June later this year. Australia are the current holders of the WTC and will be eyeing back-to-back championship wins.
BRIEF SCORES: India 185 (Rishabh Pant 40, Ravindra Jadeja 26, Jasprit Bumrah 22, Scott Boland 4/31, Mitchell Starc 3/49) & 157 (Rishabh Pant 61, Yashasvi Jaiswal 22, Scott Boland 6/45, Pat Cummins 3/44) lost to Australia 181 (Beau Webster 57, Steven Smith 33, Prasidh Krishna 3/42, Mohammed Siraj 3/51, Jasprit Bumrah 2/33) and 162/4 (Usman Khawaja 41, Beau Webster 39*, Travis Head 34*, Prasidh Krishna 3/65, Mohammed Siraj 1/69) by four wickets.
