What a game of Test cricket India vs Australia 4th Test at MCG turned out to be! In the end, it was Australia delivering a thrilling win and seizing the final day to clinch the match. After the fourth test of India’s tour of Australia 2024-25, the hosts AUS take a 2-1 lead in the series.

On the fifth and final day, cricket fans were glued to their seats as India battled out of their skins to save the match. However, Indian resistance fell apart after the team as they lost seven wickets for just 34 runs to concede the test match.

Melbourne Test was a great advertisement for test cricket as it produced a rollercoaster matchup between the two evenly matched sides, with both battling fiercely over five days.

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be on the line in the fifth test match of the series at Sydney Cricket Ground, starting on 3 January 2025. Australia has not won a Test series against India in a decade, and they would fancy their chances with winning momentum on their side. With everything to play for both sides, expect a thriller finale to the BGT.

Brief scorecard of IND vs AUS 4th Test, India’s tour of Australia 2024-25

AUS 474 (Steven Smith 140, Jasprit Bumrah 4/99) & 234 (Marnus Labuschange 70, Jasprit Bumrah 5/57) 

IND 369 (Nitish Reddy 114, Scott Boland 3/57) & 155 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 84, Pat Cummins 3/28)

Match result – Australia won by 184 runs

Related Top 10 Performances by Indian Cricketers in BGT Trophy

Top 5 performances in AUS vs IND 4th Test at MCG

1. Pat Cummins: What an inspired performance from the Aussie captain, with both bat and bowl! Pat Cummins led from the front with 6 wickets in the match and handy batting exploits (49 & 41).
2. Steve Smith: One of the best test batsmen of this generation, Steven Smith set the game up for the hosts with a swashbuckling 140 in the first innings. It was his efforts that helped Australia dismantle the Indian spirit posting a mammoth 474.
3. Jasprit Bumrah: The Indian fast bowler is built differently. Match after match in BGT 2024-25, Jasprit Bumrah has produced fantastic performances. His nine-wicket haul in the match (4/99 & 5/57) will go down as one of the best performances by touring fast bowlers in Australia. With three 5-fers, Jasprit Bumrah now has 30 wickets in the series so far (second best is 20).
4. Nitish Reddy: Nitish Reddy has emerged as the find of India’s tour of Australia 2024-25 for the Indian National Cricket Team. He backed his performances so far in the series with a maiden test hundred that will be remembered for ages.
5. Yashasvi Jaiswal: The Indian opening batsman, Yashasvi Jaiswal had the most run aggregate in the match (82 & 84). He is now second on the most runs in the BGT 2024-25 tally, with 359 runs at a batting average of 51.29.

Related The Best Border-Gavaskar Matches of All Time

India vs Australia 4th Test Post Match Reactions

Pat Cummins (Australia captain and Player of the Match): What an amazing Test match, one of the best to be part of, the crowd has been ridiculous and cricket has been just as good, pretty happy change room at the moment, pretty happy to contribute. Marnus helped me out in the second innings big time, never really know what you going to get with our batting, fortunately it came off in this game. Happy to contribute, amazing innings from Smith to hold the first innings together. Getting more than 400 in the first innings set the game for us. You always think anything can happen. We bowled well in the first session to have them 3/30. They batted well in the middle session. We knew that we had to get one breakthrough and anything can happen and that proved to be the case. We had plenty of runs to play with, we had plenty of fielders with the helmet around. We talk about a lot about us as a lower order, we put a lot of work into it. We know it can be the difference in a lot of Test matches and we work on ourselves a lot, to try and contribute a few more runs. (On whose idea was to give Head a bowl right after Tea) I give the coach the credit for that one, we were also behind on the over-rate so we thought let’s get Travis in there and he might get a breakthrough. (On Smith’s knock in the first innings) Amazing, it wasn’t an easy wicket, he showed how to bat on it. He got an opportunity and he pounced and really upped the ante with the tailenders. He also took some catches which often go unnoticed. We are really happy with the way we played, we will savour this one before we head on to Sydney.

Rohit Sharma (India captain): Pretty disappointing. Not that we went with the intent of not putting up a fight, we wanted to fight till the end but unfortunately couldn’t do it. It will be tough to assess just the last session. We have to look at the overall Test match, we had our opportunities, we had our chances, but we didn’t take them and we let Australia come back into the game when we had them 90/6. I know things can get difficult but that is what we are here for, we wanted to be in tough situations and play hard cricket, I just don’t want to look at one incident in the game. I went back to my room and thought about it, what else we could have done as a team but we tried everything we could, we threw everything we had but they fought hard with the last wicket partnership, we had our chances and we didn’t grab them, probably cost us the game little bit there. We know 340 wasn’t going to be easy for us. We tried everything we could, if we have wickets in the final two sessions then we could go for the target, but they bowled really well. We wanted to set the platform but that didn’t happen. There are ways to win games and we are falling short. He (Nitish Reddy) is coming here for the first time, these conditions can get tough but he has shown lot of character and fight, showed solid technique as well. He has bright future ahead of him and he has all the skills to be successful. We know the quality of him, we have been watching him for a number of years now, coming here and getting the job done for the team, he is not a statistical person, wants to just come out there and play for the country, that is what he has been doing on this tour, unfortunately he needs little more support from the other side as well. The way he has managed himself is outstanding.

Related Top 5 Test Matches Between India and Australia (in the 21st Century)

Can India qualify for World Test Championship final?

Yes, India can still qualify for the World Test Championship final. However, the equation is a lot tougher after the defeat in AUS vs IND 4th test. To qualify for the WTC final 2025, India must win the fifth test of BGT 2025 at Sydney. In the event of a loss or draw in Sydney, their WTC hopes will finish. Moreover, they would root for Sri Lanka to beat Australia at least 1-0 to keep their WTC final hopes alive. 

Meanwhile, Australia’s strengthened their case to play the World Test Championship final 2025 at Lord’s. With South Africa already securing their spot, there is only one spot vacant for either India or Australia to grab. 

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