Bundled out for 155 on the fifth day of a test with just over an hour left on the clock, that's how India lost the Boxing day test at MCG. The Australians were spot on with their tactics and were rewarded with a win. On the other hand, India looked in survival mode right from the beginning of the chase. The second session of the day went wicketless as India's plan almost seemed to work but soon after the tea break, the partnership between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant was broken by Travis Head. From then on the Australians didn't allow India to settle down again. Australian captain Pat Cummins looked thrilled with the result as the hosts now have a 2-1 lead in the series with one match remaining. This win also makes Australia's path, to qualify for the World Test Championship Final, a lot easier.
For India, it looks like the tourists have lost more than just the test match. It is no secret that the senior players in the Indian dressing room are struggling with their form. Virat Kohli has, for a long time, been out of touch. And captain Rohit has looked out of sorts this whole series. The MCG test brought the frustration of the senior players to the surface. As, both, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were in headlines for the wrong reasons.
Kohli on the very first day of the match made headlines when he made physical contact with the 19 year old debutant Sam Konstas. Konstas opened the batting for Australia and took attack to the Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah. It wasn't just the attacking batting but the manner in which he was going against the Indian pacers. He was hitting ramps and reverse ramps successfully after a few misses at the start. Kohli, in order, to unsettle the young debutant went too far when he straight away made a physical contact with the youngster. The headlines termed Kohli as a clown and a bully. Kohli was fined 20 percent of his match fee for the incident.
As for Rohit, the captain seemed to be under a lot of pressure for his failure to score innings after innings. India is already coming at the back of a 0-3 defeat against New Zealand at their home turf. India has suffered a whitewash home series defeat after 24 years. And frustration of his own lack of form lead Rohit to look a bit too desperate on the fourth day of the Boxing day test. The incident occurred when Australia had lost 6 of their wickets for 91. Marnus Labuschagne and Pat Cummins had started to build a partnership. On one of the deliveries of Akash deep, Marnus tried to guide the ball to the third man region but he played it straight to Jaiswal who was placed at gully. Jaiswal couldn't hold on to the ball and dropped the catch. Everyone was shocked, none more than Jaiswal himself, who being a good fielder had dropped two catches in the day. But, what caught everyone's attention was reaction of the Indian captain after the dropped catch. Rohit standing at the first slip let his emotions of disappointment out a bit more than what may be expected of a professional player towards his own team mate. And such a reaction coming from the captain himself certainly would've done no good to young Jaiswal's confidence, who, by the way is the best batsman in the side and almost a guaranteed future superstar. Rohit's reaction looked like the result of increasing pressure on the veteran after failing to score throught the series. Also, his spot in the team is being questioned as he has failed to perform outside of India in Tests. His decisions as captain are being questioned. Team selection for the MCG test too has been scrutinized. Decision to leave out Shubman Gill and promoting himself to open has been criticised as well.
The loss at MCG puts India in a must win situation at Sydney in order to retain the BGT. But the loss at MCG might not have put India under that much pressure as these individual incidents may have. Jaiswal even after the dropped catches and captain's outrage showed his temperament to score 84 runs on the fifth day and was the only Indian batsman who looked in control of his innings. He scored 82 in the first innings and has looked a level ahead of any other batsmen, Indian or Australian, in the whole series.
It all comes down to the final test at Sydney. India needs to win the last match to retain the BGT while Australia being 2-1 ahead would take any other result. A win will confirm Australia's berth at WTC final. South Africa has already qualified for the WTC final which will take place at Lord's on June 11, 2025.
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