India's Defeat in 4th Test Dims WTC Final Hopes as Australia Takes 2-1 Lead

Pat Cummins' Australian team defeated Rohit Sharma's India in the fourth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test at the MCG on December 30, taking a 2-1 series lead. After their thrilling Boxing Day Test win, Australia now heads into the Sydney Test with a chance to secure a spot in the World Test Championship Final against South Africa.

Steve Smith’s Century: Smith’s crucial 140-run knock in the first innings played a key role in Australia’s victory. His 140-run knock, along with fifties from Sam Konstas, Usman Khawaja, and Marnus Labuschagne, powered the hosts to a massive total of 474 runs.

Nitish Reddy Shines at MCG: Nitish Kumar Reddy emerged as the rising star for India in their first innings. After Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 82-run knock, most of the Indian batting line-up failed. However, Reddy, alongside Washington Sundar, built a crucial 127-run partnership for the 8th wicket. Reddy broke several records and helped India reduce Australia’s lead to 105 runs.

Boland and Lyon Spoil India’s Fightback: India made a stunning comeback with the ball in the third innings, reducing Australia to 91/6. But Marnus Labuschagne’s fifty, followed by Pat Cummins’ cameo and a game-changing final-wicket stand between Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland, helped Australia set a challenging target for India.

Australia Take 2-1 Lead: Once again, Indian batters struggled. Apart from Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 84 runs, no other batter could withstand the pressure. Jaiswal’s controversial dismissal further tilted the match in Australia’s favor. Eventually, Australia won the match by 184 runs, taking a 2-1 lead in the series.

India lost seven wickets in the final session of the fourth Test against Australia on Monday, leading to a 184-run defeat. This gave Australia a 2-1 series lead with one match remaining in Sydney.

Australia’s win also boosted their position in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings, moving them to second place with a percentage of 61.46. India, however, remained in third with 52.78 points.

South Africa, who defeated Pakistan in a thrilling match, sits at the top of the WTC standings with 66.67 points. They have already secured a spot in the WTC Final at Lord’s in June.

India's hopes of making the WTC Final are slim. Even if they win the final Test in Sydney, they would only reach 55.26 percentage points, which would still be less than Australia’s 57.84 points. India’s only hope now is for Sri Lanka to help by defeating Australia in their series.

If Australia wins the final Test and takes the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1, they will increase their percentage to 63.73. India’s percentage will stay at 50.00, a significant drop from where they were after their series win against Bangladesh.

India’s chances in the WTC Final have been affected by several setbacks. It began with a 3-0 series loss to New Zealand at home. Although India started well in Australia with a massive 295-run win, Australia bounced back with a 10-wicket victory in Adelaide. A draw at the Gabba didn’t help either side, making the MCG Test even more crucial.

India’s collapse in the final session of the fourth Test all but sealed Australia’s spot in the WTC Final, leaving India’s hopes hanging by a thread.