4th Test: Cummins, Boland pick three as Aus take 2-1 lead with 184-run win over India

Melbourne:  Captain Pat Cummins and Scott Boland picked three wickets each as a terrific bowling performance from Australia led them to a 184-run win over India in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday.

India were at 112/3 at tea, with Yashasvi Jaiswal hitting a controlled fifty and Rishabh Pant showing remarkable restraint. But in the final session of the gripping Test match, Pant fell to Travis Head and that opened up the door for Australia to barge in as India collapsed from 121/3 to 155 all out.

The visitors’ losing their last seven wickets for 34 runs in 20.3 overs has meant Australia now have a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, ahead of final match in Sydney. For India, they will be disappointed as it was a game that they could have drawn but have now ended up on the losing side.

The shot selection of the batters in the second innings fell like a pack of cards, along with the failing form of their senior batters, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, will come under more scrutiny as the final Test in Sydney now becomes a must-win affair for India to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Australia had a funky start to the final session by opening the bowling with part-time off-spin of Travis Head. The ploy worked for Australia when Head broke the 88-run stand by having Rishabh Pant miscue a pull to tumble long-on and fall for 30 off 104 balls.

Three overs later, Boland struck by getting a back of the length ball to jump at Ravindra Jadeja, who can’t help but fend at it, and edged behind to Alex Carey. Nathan Lyon joined the wicket-takers party by getting a to skid on straight and take the outside edge of a defending Nitish Kumar Reddy to first slip, as the batter fell for just one.

Jaiswal continued to battle hard alongside Washington Sundar, even as Australia tested him against the short ball. The ploy worked when Jaiswal looked to pull a bouncer from Cummins, but gloved behind to Carey, who took a great low catch.

Australia went for the review, where third umpire Sharfuddoula ruled Jaiswal out for 84, citing the enormous and visible deflection between bat and glove, despite no line showing on snicko. From there, the result was a foregone conclusion – Boland had Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah caught out while Lyon trapped Mohammed Siraj lbw to seal a memorable win for Australia.

Brief Scores: Australia 474 and 234 in 83.4 overs (Marnus Labuschagne 70, Nathan Lyon 41; Jasprit Bumrah 5-57, Mohammed Siraj 3-70) beat India 369 and 155 in 79.1 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 84, Rishabh Pant 30; Pat Cummins 3-28, Scott Boland 3-39) by 184 runs

–IANS