Australia delivered another dominant performance, defeating India by six wickets on Day 3 of the fifth Test in Sydney. This victory secured the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 by 3-1 for the hosts and also confirmed their qualification for the World Test Championship (WTC) final alongside South Africa.
India resumed their second innings on 141/6 but could only add 16 runs before losing their final four wickets. Pat Cummins and Scott Boland each took two wickets, dismissing India for 157 and setting Australia a target of 162.
Ravindra Jadeja was the first to fall, caught behind for 13, followed by Washington Sundar, who was dismissed by Cummins shortly after. Boland then claimed the wickets of Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah to wrap up the innings quickly.
Australia’s chase began strongly with Sam Konstas and Usman Khawaja, as India missed the services of Bumrah, who did not field during the chase. The opening pair added 39 runs before Konstas was dismissed for 22 by a short ball from Prasidh Krishna.
Krishna struck again to remove Marnus Labuschagne for 6, and soon after, Steve Smith fell for 4, keeping India in the contest. Siraj then took Khawaja for 41 early in the second session. However, Beau Webster and Travis Head guided Australia to victory, both remaining unbeaten.
Here are some fans’ reactions:
After 27yrs, India lost a bilateral ODI Series vs SL
Lost a home test series after 12 years (whitewashed)
Lost BGT after 10 years#INDvsAUSTest #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/ObAZydav8o
— GlobalStrat Insight (@YashBarapatre6) January 5, 2025
BGT summary for India :
They selected 18 man squad but only Bumrah went to Australia #AUSvIND
— 👽 (@_cummo) January 5, 2025
Aus take the BGT 3-1. That's true that it was a hard fought series, but still Aussies were much more organised & came back again & again, never letting Team India to Dominate. Barring Bumrah, no senior player stood up on crucial occasions, and that was the major diff. #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/eL3YwhTIXD
— Akshat_18 (@akshat_bang) January 5, 2025
Australia has smashed India win the BGT 3-1 🔥 ✌️ #AUSvsIND pic.twitter.com/P6twp9Dx9e
— JUMA KHAN (@KAPTAAN585412) January 5, 2025
– NZ won test series in India that too whitewash after 15 years I think
– Aus won BGT in Aus after a decade.
Who to blame
Batsmen other than Jaiswal
Bowlers other than Bumrah
Coaching who are too bad
If India loose championship trophy they should fire Gambir as coach.— Chakra (@chakra_cha) January 5, 2025
For the first time in a decade, Australia beat India in a Test match series, and with it…
They regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy! pic.twitter.com/N4qZpkeADz
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) January 5, 2025
🚨 INDIA ARE NOW OUT OF THE WTC FINAL CONTENTION…!!!! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/7o5HIKqXV2
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) January 5, 2025
India In Last 8 Tests pic.twitter.com/4Lwara0chU
— RVCJ Media (@RVCJ_FB) January 5, 2025
“Frustrated but Respecting My Body, Missed Spiciest Wicket”- Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah was well-deserved in winning the Player of the Series with an impressive 32 wickets across five matches, but it did little to ease the frustration of India’s poor team display.
He shared his thoughts during the post-match ceremony: “Little frustrating but sometimes you have to respect your body, you can’t fight your body. Disappointing, probably missed out on the spiciest wicket of the series,” Bumrah said of his inability to bowl in the second innings during the post-match presentation ceremony.
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