India vs Australia 3rd Test Day 5 Highlights: It did not take long for India to bowl out Australia after in Day 5. (Reuters Photo)
India vs Australia 3rd Test Day 5 Highlights: It took less than five overs for India to take the last two Australian wickets on Day 5. Jasprit Bumrah, who was later declared man of the match, fittingly took the wicket of Pat Cummins to break the ninth wicket partnership between him and Nathan Lyon. Ishant Sharma dismissed the latter in the very next over.
This was India 150th win in Test cricket and it takes Virat Kohli equalled Sourav Ganguly’s record for most Test wins away from home as captain.
Match EndedIndia tour of Australia, 2018/19 - 3rd Test
Australia
151 (66.5) & 261 (89.3)vs
India
443/7 dec & 106/8 decMatch Ended ( Day 5 - 3rd Test )
India beat Australia by 137 runs
India beat Australia by 137 runs
Live Blog
It was after the draw in the 2014 Boxing Day Test that MS Dhoni retired from Test cricket. In 2018, India came close in England and South Africa but now they have a genuine chance of securing a win in a Test series away from home. This may not be the best of Australian sides but even then, the Indian bowlers followed up a Pujara-Kohli masterclass with the bat in the first innings with some very disciplined bowling. That's it from here but you can read our match report by clicking here. A win in the Boxing Day Test does not come every day so there are a lot of things to talk about so we will be rolling out a lot more content.
"To play Test cricket is a great feeling: be it Boxing Day or any other day. I made my India debut in Australia, so great feeling. I always focus on consistency. When you have so many options, you may get confused. Someday you get wickets, someday another mate will, but we don't think about those. Bowled a lot, but I don't mind, because this is why we train. We bowl a lot in Ranji-Trophy cricket, and it pays off. When I made my ODI debut, I always just wanted to play Test cricket."
"We are not going to stop here. This has given us more confidence to play more positive cricket in Sydney. We've done well in all three departments, which is why we've retained the trophy. But we want to continue. This is how we played in South Africa too, and we're not ready for the final game. It's a good thing I don't read any comments or opinions (on not enforcing the follow on). I wanted us to bat more, and add some more runs, because batting would be difficult on day four and five. We knew that it would be tough for Australia, but credit to our bowlers, especially Jasprit. The three fast bowlers have broken the record for most wickets by pacers in a calendar year for a team, which is brilliant. I certainly feel proud as a captain when they bowl in partnerships. No one is looking to out-bowl each other. Our first-class cricket is amazing, which is why we won. Credit must go to first-class set-up in India, which challenges our fast bowlers in India, and that helps them abroad. Agarwal showed great character on Boxing Day. And Pujara has always been composed, so we just wanted a big partnership. And the fact that Vihari batted so long in the first innings, it allowed us to bat more confidently. And Rohit's 60-odd as well."
Tim Paine: "We made some strides forward in Perth, but this was disappointing. We're playing against some of the best bowlers, and we need to find positives before Sydney. Another huge challenge coming up. We had little discussions about the batting order, but conditions in Sydney will be different, so we'll decide on the best formula. The pitch was a good one, although some said it's a 'bad wicket'. I was glad I didn't win the toss, because I wanted to bowl anyway. Would've looked disastrous. Cummins has been superb all series. The quality was always there, but the Australian public can see his effort. We just need a few more guys to jump in with him. It's been a difficult year, but the silver lining is that we'll have some world-class players available for selection in a few months. And we'll see the benefits of what happened this year over the next few."
Rishabh Pant has got 20 dismissals in this series which is the most by an Indian wicketkeeper in a Test series. Virat Kohli has now equalled Sourav Ganguly's record 11 Test wins away from as captain.
Short delivery, Lyon tries to pull and nicks it to Pant. First time in 37 years that India have won a Test match at the MCG and the first time ever that they have won the Boxing Day Test. They take a 2-1 lead, which means that a loss for them in this series is impossible. Since they are the defending champions, it means Virat Kohli and co. retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Bumrah's brilliant delivery edged to first slip and Cummins has to walk. Delivery swings in and Cummins pushes forward hoping it will take the middle of the bat. It was an absolute peach of a delivery. India one wicket away
Ishant Sharma will bowl the first over, Australia 258/8, Cummins on 61, Lyon on 6. Here we go!
Covers are off and it doesn't look like there will be any more rains.
Rain is easing off but the players are still taking lunch, so a lot of time still left for the start. 11 overs have been lost so far and so, if play starts after Lunch there will 71 overs left for India to bowl out Australia.
Word from the middle is that Lunch will be taken at 12.15 local time. 15 minutes earlier than what was originally the schedule.
Facebook is a funny thing indeed.
Australia can find momentary happiness in this weather but they know that even half an hour of play is enough for India to win this Test match. Just two wickets to win for the visitors, 141 runs for the hosts. You do the math.
The players were sitting by the boundary line but the showers are back with a vengeance. Not only are the pitch covers on, they are covering up the run-ups too. The players, meanwhile, rush back into their dressing rooms.
...the banter has been unsavoury. In stands: ‘Show us your visa’; On air: ‘Why name your kid Cheteshwar Jadeja’. If Australia are serious about rectifying their image after the ball-tampering scandal, they might want to avoid all this nonsense. The latest jibe with racist connotations was not from an ignorant spectator but one of the commentators, Kerry O'Keefe.
...provided there is no further rain. There was a lot of banter yesterday as Rishabh Pant continued the war of the 'keepers. This has been a rivetting match and the stump mic recordings have only made it better. Read on...
Not great news if you are an Indian fan, the start of Day 5 has been delayed due to rain. But word from the 'G is that it is only passing showers and shouldn't cause too much of a delay. Yesterday, the series had practically become Cummins vs India.