India’s hopes of winning another Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Australian soil were dashed after a dramatic batting collapse, putting their chances of winning the series in jeopardy.
With Australia taking a 2-1 lead with one Test remaining, India is now on the verge of losing the series for the first time since 2014.
Chasing a target of 340 runs, India lost their top three batsmen cheaply. However, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant fought hard to revive the innings and kept hopes of a draw alive.
But once the third session began, part-time bowler Travis Head struck, removing Pant, which triggered another collapse. From that point, there was no way back for India.
India were skittled out for 155 in 79.1 overs, handing Australia an 184-run victory in the Boxing Day Test on the fifth and final day.
During media conference, India captain Rohit Sharma expressed his disappointment, calling the performance “mentally disturbing.”
“It is mentally disturbing when you can’t do what you have come to do,” Rohit told reporters in Melbourne.
“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, but 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 in 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,” he added.
Despite the daunting target, Rohit stated the team was playing with a positive mindset to chase it down. However, once the top order faltered again, the task became much harder.
“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,” he explained.
Jasprit Bumrah, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Nitish Reddy were the bright spots for India in the match. Bumrah took nine wickets across both innings, while Jaiswal scored 82 and 84 in the two innings.
Reddy impressed with a fighting century in the first innings, which kept India in the game.
Rohit praised Nitish for his solid technique and character, noting that he has the potential to succeed in Test cricket.
“He’s coming 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," he said.
With the series hanging in the balance, India will need to regroup and put up a fight in the final Test at Sydney if they hope to salvage the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
- Rohit Sharma
