Australia stifle Bumrah blitz to leave India requiring record run chase on final day

Australia v India, Scorecard

The stage is set for an epic climax to the Boxing Day Test between Australia and India in Melbourne after another action-packed fourth day on Sunday that featured plenty of ebbs and flows.

India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah attempted to single-handedly inspire his side to victory with yet another sensational spell, but Australia fought hard with gritty knocks from Marnus Labuschagne (70) and Pat Cummins (41) to reach 228/9 at stumps on the fourth day.

Australia’s lead now sits at 333, with tailenders Nathan Lyon (41) and Scott Boland (10) to resume on Monday having already put on 55 for the final wicket.

It means India will face a record final day run chase if they are to claim the Test victory and open up a 2-1 series lead, with 332/7 the previous highest successful fourth innings score to win a Test at the MCG from England over Australia back in 1928.

India did chase down 328 for victory at the Gabba on their most recent tour Down Under and many of their heroes from that day are in the XI in Melbourne and will fancy their chances of doing similar on an MCG pitch that still appears decent to bat on.

Australia too will be confident, having successfully bowled out India on the final day for just 234 in the fourth innings when they claimed their inaugural ICC World Test Championship Final at The Oval in London last year.

Earlier, Bumrah claimed four wickets in a superb spell of fast bowling as he ripped through the Australian top-order to help bring India back into the contest after they were finally dismissed for 369 in their first innings early in the first session.

Bumrah (4/56) had his revenge on Sam Konstas (8) when he swung one back in between bat and pad to collect middle stump, before Mohammed Siraj (3/66) had the vocal MCG crowd on the edge of their seats when he sent Usman Khawaja (21) packing shortly after as the hosts crawled to 53/2 at lunch.

The real carnage came during the middle session when Steve Smith (13), Travis Head (1), Mitch Marsh (0) and Alex Carey (2) all fell in quick succession as Australia slumped to 91/6, before Labuschagne and Cummins steadied the ship and Lyon and Boland got the hosts through to stumps to leave the stage set for a final day thriller.

On top of bragging rights for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with the series locked at 1-1, the two teams are also in the race for spots in the World Test Championship Final at Lord's in June 2025.

Australia sit in second (58.89% of possible points) and India in third (55.88% of possible points), with table-toppers South Africa (63.33%) currently taking on Pakistan in Centurion.

World Test Championship Standings

Australia: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep