Australia beat India by six wickets in Sydney to join South Africa in World Test Championship finals
Pat Cummins-led Australia produced yet another scintillating show and defeated India by six wickets in the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney.
The outcome helped the hosts clinch the series 3-1, also saw them join South Africa for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 finals. Meanwhile, Australia also regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a decade.
If we focus on the WTC standings, South Africa stand at top with 66.67 win percentage, followed by Australia, who have 63.73. India, on the other hand, are third with their win percentage dropping to 50.00, also marking the first time the country won’t be taking part in the summit clash of WTC.
The proceedings on Day 3, which turned out to be the final day of the match, started with Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar resuming from the overnight total of 141/6. However, the duo didn’t last long as India managed to add only 16 runs before losing their remaining four wickets. This left Australia with a modest 162-run target and with no Jasprit Bumrah, highest wicket-taker of the series, in bowling duties things only got easier for the hosts.
Barring Prasidh Krishna no other bowlers could make the impact that was expected from the visiting side. The Indian quick, who was only used in this Test, scalped three wickets and kept India’s hope alive. However, significant contributions by Usman Khawaja (41 off 45), Beau Webster (39* off 34), and Travis Head (34* off 38) saw Australia complete the chase rather comfortably.Antony Blinken to visit South Korea, Japan and France from January 4 to 9
