Australia defeat India to win World Test Championship final
Nathan Lyon was the pick of the bowlers while Scott Boland gave him apt support by snapping up 3 wickets, including Kohli and Jadeja.
Australia defeated India by 209 runs to win the 2023 edition of the World Test Championship at the Oval on Sunday. India were in the contest when the day began but quickly lost their footing as Virat Kohli and Rahane both fell quickly.
Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur could offer little resistance as they both were dismissed for ducks. Nathan Lyon was the pick of the bowlers with 4 scalps while Scott Boland gave him apt support by snapping up 3 wickets, including Kohli and Jadeja.
Coming into the fifth and final day, A focussed Kohli was all that stood between Australia and World Test Championship mace with India requiring another 280 runs to create history.
Having been set a mammoth target, India lost Shubman Gill (18 off 19) to a contentious catch before skipper Rohit Sharma (43 off 60) and Cheteshwar Pujara (27 off 47) brought about their own downfall to make it 93 for three in 31st over.
Australia had declared their second innings at 270 for 8 midway into the afternoon session after an unbeaten 66 from Alex Carey.
The Indian openers, Rohit and Gill, made a brisk start and were not afraid to go for their strokes against the formidable duo of Pat Cummins and Scott Boland.
However, at the stroke of tea, Boland got one to bounce little extra from length and it flew from ball the shoulder of Gill’s bat only to be lapped up by a diving Cameron Green at gully.
It was the second time in the game that Green took a screamer though replay suggested it was a close call with the ball very close to the ground.
Rohit got most of his runs playing the pull-shot. The partisan Indian crowd really got going when he pulled Starc’s second ball of his opening for a six over fine-leg.
Lyon was brought into the attack in the 20th over break the stand between Rohit and Pujara and he did exactly that.
Bowling around the wicket, Lyon bowled a full one around Rohits’s pads and the India skipper went for the sweep shot only to miss it. Rohit reviewed the leg before call unsuccessfully.
Next to depart was Pujara, who played an uncharacteristic shot – a non-existent ramp shot off Cummins, to get caught behind. Pujara too had played some confident strokes in his 47-ball effort.
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