Virat Kohli exits the field after being caught off the bowling of Mitchell Starc. Photo / Photosport
Australia ripped out seven Indian wickets in the final session of a dramatic fourth test in Melbourne on Monday to win a thriller by 184 runs and go 2-1 up in the five-match series.
India crumbled to 155 all out with just 12.5 overs left in the match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and will need to win the final test starting in Sydney on Friday to level the series and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Set an unlikely 340 to win, India looked well placed to salvage a draw when opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant batted through the second session in unflustered fashion to take their side to 112-3 at tea.
But Pant perished trying to slog part-time spinner Travis Head for six to spark a collapse as India’s last seven wickets fell for 34 runs from 20.3 overs.
Top-scorer Jaiswal was out for 84 to Australia captain and man-of-the match Pat Cummins, who took 3-28, and Nathan Lyon ended the contest when he trapped Mohammed Siraj lbw to spark wild scenes of jubilation among the home team.
Pace bowler Mitchell Starc said the home side never lost faith they could force victory in the last session.
“There were a few patches through the day with the wicket not doing a whole lot, but we managed to find a way,” Starc said.
“I think that’s just a feature of the group at the moment, is that calmness, to have that belief that we can get the job done.”
The departure of Pant for 30, caught on the boundary from a wild shot, ended an 88-run partnership and rejuvenated the Australia bowlers.
Ravindra Jadeja and first-innings centurion Nitish Kumar Reddy came and went quickly before Cummins ended Jaiswal’s gritty 208-ball knock in controversial fashion.
The 23-year-old was given not out to a caught-behind appeal from an attempted hook.
But the decision was overturned by the TV umpire on visual evidence that the ball had changed direction, even though no noise was picked up by technology.
Akash Deep was caught at short leg off Scott Boland, who took 3-39, before Jasprit Bumrah scored his second duck of the match.
A tenacious Washington Sundar was left not out five after facing 45 balls.
Cummins completed an inspirational test, taking six wickets in total and scoring 90 runs, the best batting match tally of his career.
He terrorised India’s top order, removing opposing captain Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul before Starc dismissed Kohli from the last ball before lunch.
Rohit, who has not scored more than 10 in the three tests he has played in the series, said the early demise of the three veteran Indian batsmen removed any prospect of chasing their target.
“We wanted to set the platform where the last two sessions, if we had wickets in hand, we can go for those runs. But they bowled perfectly as well,” Rohit said.
“Then we wanted to fight till the end but unfortunately couldn’t do it. It is pretty disappointing.
“If you look at the overall test match, we had our opportunities, we had our chances.”
Rohit said Australia’s final-wicket stand of 61 between Lyon and Boland in the second innings was a major dent in their push for victory.
It came after exceptional Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who took 5-57 in the second innings and nine wickets in the match, had reduced the hosts to 91-6 midway through day four -- a lead of less than 200.
The final Australia second-innings wicket was finally taken early on Monday when Lyon was bowled for 41 by Bumrah, leaving Boland 15 not out.
The match set the record attendance for any game of cricket in Australia, with 373,591 going through the gates over five days.
Head said the players had found the crowds and atmosphere inspiring.
“I don’t think we’ve ever witnessed something like that so, yeah, what a week to be involved in,” he said.
“It’s two bloody good teams going at it, and I felt like it ebbed and flowed throughout and it’s probably one of the best test matches that I’ve been involved in.
“It’s just nice to come out with a win. It’s been a long five days.”
Jasprit Bumrah unleashed more destructive bowling but Australia stubbornly battled back to reach 228/9, leading by 333 runs in an absorbing fourth test.
Bumrah scythed through the middle order on day four in Melbourne to record figures of 4/56 off 24 overs and hand India an outside chance of victory in a match the home side has mostly dominated.
However, India’s hopes were diminished by a stubborn, unbeaten final-wicket stand of 55 from 17.5 overs. Nathan Lyon was at the crease on 41 while No 11 Scott Boland had seen off 65 balls to be 10 not out at the close.
Up by 105 runs on the first innings, Australia were rocked by losing four wickets for 11 midway through the second session to slump to 91/6.
Marnus Labuschagne and Pat Cummins responded with a vital partnership of 57, taking the steam out of Bumrah’s assault. A charmed Labuschagne scored 70, to back up his first-innings 72, while Cummins produced a captain’s knock of 41 - giving him a career-high combined 90 runs for the test.
Both teams are seeking to go 2-1 up in the series heading into the fifth and final test in Sydney. Australia remain in the stronger position on a pitch showing signs of variable bounce.
“Their middle to lower-order batting has been exceptional for the last four or five series we’ve played against them, so never comfortable with any amount of runs,” said Labuschagne after play ended.
“At one stage we probably would have taken a 270 lead, and now the lower order has just put us in an amazing position with 333.”
The conditions were exploited brilliantly by Bumrah, who continued his dominance across a series in which he has claimed 29 wickets. The 31-year-old powered past 200 test victims and he boasts the lowest average at 19.45 of all 85 bowlers to have reached that milestone.
Labuschagne was beaten on numerous occasions by Bumrah’s jagging deliveries but kept his nerve in a 139-ball knock. The Australian No 3 was fortunate, on 46, to survive a straightforward dropped chance in the slips by Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Jaiswal also couldn’t grasp a sharp chance under the helmet offered by Cummins in the final over before tea. Labuschagne was trapped lbw by lively seamer Mohammed Siraj before Mitchell Starc was run out for five.
Spinner Ravindra Jadeja had Cummins caught behind, heralding the 10th-wicket stand which could yet prove pivotal to the outcome. Siraj, who took 3/66, sparked the earlier collapse, dismissing first innings century-maker Steve Smith for 13.
Bumrah was at his best when removing Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh and Alex Carey cheaply in rapid-fire fashion. All-rounder Marsh was caught behind without scoring, continuing a series in which he has made little meaningful contribution.
“It just happened so quickly,” said Labuschagne of Australia’s middle-order collapse. “As a new batter coming in, it’s very difficult to start in any test match, let alone when Bumrah’s got his tail up with the ball nipping around.”
Australia lost both openers before going to lunch at 53/2. Teenage opener Sam Konstas was unable to match the fearless deeds from his debut first innings of 60, this time bowled for eight by Bumrah.
Usman Khawaja was bowled for 21 by Siraj, having been dropped early on by the butter-fingered Jaiswal at leg gully. India were earlier dismissed for 369 in reply to Australia’s first innings 474, after adding 11 to their overnight score, with maiden century-maker Nitish Kumar Reddy the last man out, caught in the deep for 114.
Reddy, playing just his fourth test, finished with the highest test score in Melbourne for any player batting at number eight or lower. He believed India could successfully chase a “big total” if they applied themselves.
“If you ask me, everyone is capable of playing on this pitch,” he said.
The Proteas are chokers no longer.