An energized In the last match of the World Test Championship (WTC), which took place on Sunday, Australia cruised to a win by a score of 209 runs, quickly putting an end to any aspirations that India had of pulling off a last-day comeback.
Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane were applauded all the way to the field as they walked out to restart India’s second innings on 164-3 on the last day of the match. At that point, India needed to score 280 runs in order to beat the massive 444 win goal that Australia had set.
However, the normally exuberant supporters at The Oval were left subdued and disheartened when Scott Boland and his other Australian bowlers ripped through the Indian batting order to remove the side with the highest ranking in the world for 234 and seal up the win before the lunch break.
On the last day of the competition, the Indians were only able to add 70 runs to their total before losing their final seven wickets, which allowed the ecstatic Australians to get together in a group hug and celebrate their victory.
“What a terrific test match this has been… there has been some fantastic cricket to see. “And yeah, we’re just really going to enjoy this moment,” said Mitchell Starc, an Australian paceman who picked up four wickets throughout the match. “This is a special moment for our team.”
Kohli and Rahane came out with the expectations of a country that was keen to win their first global ICC trophy in ten years and avoid suffering consecutive losses in the WTC finals. However, inside the first 35 minutes of the session, India suffered two wicket losses within the space of three balls, which caused the stadium to fall into a deathly silence.
When he edged a buzzing Boland ball to a diving Steve Smith at second slip, former captain Kohli had only added five runs to his overnight total of 44 before being dismissed.
Ravindra Jadeja, who was sent in as his substitute, faced just two balls before he was out for a duck. The left-hander made an error in judging Boland’s line and length, and as a result, he nicked the ball into the hands of wicketkeeper Alex Carey, which caused India to be reduced to 179-5 and leave them gazing into the abyss.
Even before play began for the day, the odds were stacked against India since no team had ever been able to successfully chase down such a high goal in the fourth innings of a test match. This meant that India had an uphill battle.
India accomplished a record-breaking final day chase to win the test and end Australia’s 32-year unbeaten streak at the Brisbane stadium. However, Rohit Sharma’s men still harbored aspirations of pulling off a miraculous victory like they did in Australia’s own Gabba backyard two years ago. At that time, India ended Australia’s undefeated run at the Brisbane venue.
Fans were left wondering if the match would even continue till the lunch break as Rahane (46) and Shardul Thakur (0) were both removed in consecutive overs, leaving India in a precarious position with a score of 213-7.
They didn’t have to wait long to find out.
Rahane, who led India in their first innings with 89 runs, seemed like he was headed towards a second consecutive half century, but instead he was left puzzled as his attempted drive off Starc landed up in the hands of Carey. Rahane led India in their first innings with 89 runs.
After he was out of the game, Australia wasted no time in eliminating Thakur, Umesh Yadav (1), KS Bharat (23) and Mohammed Siraj (1), resulting in India losing their final five wickets for a total of only 22 runs.