(Image source from: x.com/CricketAus)

India looked back on the last session as Australia won an epic Test in front of a record crowd to secure 7th place in the opening hours of the final innings of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Yashasavi Jaiswal challenged the home team's attack with 208 shots and lost on End against Pat Cummins. Nathan Ryan took the final wicket by pinning Mohammad Siraj LBW, sparking wild celebrations for the home team. After a crushing defeat in the opening game in Perth, where a 184-run deficit did not fully reflect the tension and drama of the final day and the significance of the result for the Australians, they turned their fortunes around. After India had fallen to 3-33, Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant added 88 in 32 overs to take India into the final session with seven wickets, but Travis Head stole Pant's wicket and Australia lost 34-7. The fast bowlers were invaluable: Mitchell Starc bowled in the 140km/h range despite leaning on his back, and Cummins and Boland added another season to their previous MCG triumphs. Cummins won the Johnny Muller Medal as Man of the Match for his outstanding all-round Test performance in which he scored 90 runs and six wickets.

There was also significant controversy when Jayval's rearguard was stopped by DRS after he got ahead of Cummins while wearing gloves. Sneko took no notes, but third official Sharafdola said he saw a clear deflection that matched what was shown on television. Jaiswal seemed to know he had batted but spoke to the umpire in the middle of the game. This meant that the lower order Indian teams needed 21 overs to survive, which proved to be too much. The defeat ended India's hopes of reaching the World Cup final but as far as the series is concerned, they can still retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a win in Sydney. For Australia, a 3-1 win in the last test means a place in the WTC final alongside South Africa, who qualified for the tournament with a comfortable win over Pakistan yesterday. The final day began with Australia trailing by 9 and they decided to bat on, adding just 6 more runs and dropping four overs from their quota for the day. Lyon became Jasprit Bumrah's fifth wicket and holds the record for most Test runs without a half-century. That meant India needed 340 runs in 92 overs and talk of the Gabba 2021 was never far away.

India were very cautious early on about their new Test bowling. Rohit Sharma later said that they wanted to lay the foundation for a chase, but that always seemed a distant goal. As is often the case, Australia had to wait for a breakthrough, but Cummins led the way. With Rohit struggling at the crease, Mitchell Marsh took a sharp hit and five balls later played a brilliant pass to KL Rahul that ended at first slip. In the final before lunch, Starc's fight through the wall of pain paid off as he lured Virat Kohli for a last-ditch effort that led to Usman Khawaja. The wicket ended a controversial period for Kohli in Melbourne and made it clear that there was no real chance for India to reach the target. Jaiswal and Pant bowled very solidly throughout the afternoon, fending off all Australian attacks. Jaiswal, who missed three yesterday, including a crucial chance from Marence Labuschagne, survived a tough lbw challenge from Starc in the 31st over to score his second fifty in 127 balls.

Soon after tea, India were 121-3. Head, who came on partly to improve Australia's over-rate, which was in danger of losing the WTC score, shortened the ball outside off stump and Pant moved to stretch, saw Marsh go long-on and Marsh hit the ball Great catch , which gave Australia a chance. Cummins quickly returned to Borland, immediately diving inside Ravindra Jadeja and sending the bat's shoulder through the delivery. In Lyon's next over, India's first-innings reliever Nitish Kumar Reddy stopped a straight delivery and Stephen Smith caught it beautifully at bottom slip on the left. Australia opened the innings 9-3.

Jaiswal's dismissal is likely to be reviewed in the coming days and DRS will be activated again to rule Akash Deep at short leg and with a thin edge on his pads. At the time, Australia were considered clear favorites to win, especially given the new ball, but in the end that wasn't even necessary. Borland found Bumrah's outside edge, Smith grabbed another excellent catch and Lyon sent a shot towards Siraj's front edge. Inevitably, India conducted a review, but the results were disappointing. When that decision was confirmed, Lyons was overjoyed. In total, the Test was watched by 373,691 spectators, a new record for a Test match in Australia. It will remain one of the most memorable.