India’s hopes of retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on the Australian soil were dashed after another dramatic batting collapse. Pat Cummins-led Australian side clinched a 2-1 lead in the series, leaving India on the brink of losing the contest for the first time since 2014, with one Test remaining.
Chasing a challenging target of 340, India’s top three batters fell cheaply, putting the team under pressure early on. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant briefly revived the innings, offering a glimmer of hope for a draw. However, shortly after the final session began, part-time bowler Travis Head dismissed Pant, triggering a collapse from which India couldn’t recover. The team was bowled out for 155 in 79.1 overs, handing Australia a commanding 184-run victory in the Boxing Day Test on the final day.
India’s captain Rohit Sharma described the performance as “mentally disturbing”. While the target was a tough ask, Rohit emphasised that the team approached it with a positive mindset. However, repeated failures by the top order made the chase insurmountable.
While speaking to reporters, Rohit Sharma stated, “It is mentally disturbing when you can’t do what you have come to do. It is pretty disappointing. There are ways to win games and we fell short in finding ways to win the game here. We wanted to fight till the end and unfortunately we couldn’t do it. We had Australia 90 for 6. We know things can get tough, but we want to play tough cricket from hard situations. But we were not good enough. I went back to my room and thought about what else we could have done as a team. But we threw everything we had, they fought hard, especially that last-wicket partnership, which probably cost us the game there.”
He further added, “We knew 340 wasn’t going to be easy. We tried to set a platform and keep wickets in hand for the last two sessions, but they bowled perfectly as well. We wanted to go for the target, but we didn’t set the platform from our side.”
Despite the loss, there were some positives for India. Jasprit Bumrah shone with nine wickets in the match, while Yashasvi Jaiswal scored impressive knocks of 82 and 84 across the two innings.
Nitish Reddy also displayed talent, scoring a resilient century in the first innings to keep India competitive. Rohit praised Reddy’s technique, expressing confidence in his potential for success in Test cricket.
While talking about Nitish, Rohit Sharma said, “He came here for the first time, these conditions can get really tough, but he showed great character, solid technique as well. He’s got everything to be successful at this level, I hope he goes from strength to strength, and he’s got all the backing from the team as well.”
The fifth and the final test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be played at Sydney Cricket Ground from 3 January.
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