Summary

  • India needed 340 to win, bowled out for 155

  • Visitors lose three wickets before lunch including Virat Kohli for five

  • Rishabh Pant caught on the boundary after making 30 from 104 balls

  • First-innings centurion Nitish Kumar Reddy falls for one

  • Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal is caught behind off Pat Cummins for 84 from 208 balls as Australia close in

  • Akash Deep caught at short leg for five with second new ball due after 80 overs

  1. Australia win thriller to take series lead - reportpublished at 07:16 Greenwich Mean Time 30 December 2024

    Media caption,

    Lyon strikes to give Australia Test win

    Australia beat India by 184 runs in a thrilling conclusion to the fourth Test in Melbourne to take a 2-1 lead in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

    India were set a target of 340 in 92 overs and batted cautiously throughout the innings with little ambition to chase victory.

    But a sensational bowling performance in the evening session saw Australia take the final seven wickets for just 34 runs as India were bowled out for 155 in the final hour.

    Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal looked determined to seal a hard-fought draw for India after a top-order slip to 33-3 before he was caught behind off Pat Cummins for 84 from 208 balls with 21 overs remaining.

    Jaiswal had earlier battled through a wicketless afternoon session with wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, who made 30 from 104 balls - but they were the only batters to pass double figures.

    Pant's departure after tea sparked the collapse, as he ran out of patience by slogging Travis Head to long-on for another wasteful dismissal.

    Cummins and Scott Boland finished with three wickets each while spinner Nathan Lyon took two after his batting heroics, falling for 41 in the second over of the day as Australia were all out for 234.

    He was bowled by Jasprit Bumrah, who finished with 5-57 in another scintillating performance.

    The series concludes in Sydney from 2 January, where a win would secure Australia's place in the World Test Championship final.

    Read the full report.

  2. Deep falls as Australia need two wickets for victorypublished at 06:12 Greenwich Mean Time 30 December 2024

    • Jasprit Bumrah has been India's hero with the ball throughout the series but he now has to save them with the bat, joining Washington Sundar in the middle as Australia hunt two wickets for a 2-1 series lead.
    • Akash Deep was the latest to fall, caught at short leg off Scott Boland for five. It was initially given not out but a smart review saw the decision overturned.
    • India are purely batting for survival as they are still 186 runs behind with only 15 overs remaining.
  3. Cummins ends Jaiswal's resistancepublished at 05:48 Greenwich Mean Time 30 December 2024

    • Australia captain Pat Cummins gets the crucial breakthrough with India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal caught behind for 84 from 208 balls.
    • Jaiswal was initially given not out before the decision was overturned on review. There was no spike on the ultra-edge technology but the slow-motion replay showed a clear deflection which led to the third umpire's decision.
    • The second new ball is due after 80 overs have been bowled.
  4. Jaiswal stands firm as Australia chip awaypublished at 05:19 Greenwich Mean Time 30 December 2024

    With 25 overs remaining, the fourth Test is in Australia's favour as they require four wickets to win while India are 202 runs adrift.

    Here is what has happened on day five so far:

    • Nathan Lyon was bowled by Jasprit Bumrah for a crucial 41 in the second over of the day, leaving Australia 234 all out and setting India a target of 340 in 92 overs.
    • That completed another magnificent performance from Bumrah, who finished with 5-57.
    • India started cautiously before Pat Cummins removed Rohit Sharma for nine and KL Rahul for a duck in the 17th over. Mitchell Starc then removed Virat Kohli for five to leave India three down at lunch.
    • Rishabh Pant dug in for 30 from 104 balls before slogging Travis Head out to deep mid-wicket, Ravindra Jadeja was caught behind off Scott Boland for two and first-innings centurion Nitish Kumar Reddy only made one as he was caught at slip off Lyon.
    • Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has held firm at the other end with a gritty 82* from 197 balls.