Follow Scroll.in’s coverage of World Test Championship Final here.
Day 1 talking points: Ashwin’s exclusion to Head’s century
Day 2 talking points: From India’s top-order collapse to Rahane’s return
Day 3 talking points: The Ajinkya Rahane-Shardul Thakur dance
Day 1 stumps: Australia 327/3 (85)
Day 2 stumps: India 151/5 (38)
Day 3 stumps: Australia 123/4 (44 overs)
Day 4 stumps: India 164/3 (40 overs)
Day 5: India 234 all out (63.3 overs)
India’s wait for an ICC trophy (men’s and women’s) continues for now. That will be all for the blog. Stay tuned for some post-match reactions.
Player of the final: Travis Head
Australia are champions: Some more reactions here
Australia are champions: Between Australian men and women’s cricket teams, the ICC trophy collection is complete.
AUSTRALIA WIN BY 209 RUNS!
WICKET! 63.3: Mohammed Siraj 1(6) ct Scott Boland b Nathan Lyon It’s all over for India. Australia are the World Test Champions! Nathan Lyon finishes with four wickets. India 234 all out
India second innings, 234/9 (63 overs): Shami with a few hits against Starc before the inevitable.
WICKET! 61.5: Srikar Bharat 23(41) ct & b Nathan Lyon And India lose their last proper batter. Australia inches away from victory. A caught and bowled dismissal for Lyon, who now has three wickets in the match. India 224/9
India second innings, 224/8 (61 overs): Mohammed Shami is attempting a few hits before it all ends.
Two wickets needed for Australia.
WICKET! 60.2: Umesh Yadav 1(12) ct Alex Carey b Mitchell Starc Australia are just messing with India now. Starc bounces Umesh Yadav with a nasty short ball and it proves to be too much for him. India 220/8
India second innings, 218/7 (59 overs): Starc continues to steam in at 140+ kph. Five runs off the over due to overthrows.
WICKET! 57.4: Shardul Thakur 0(5) lbw Nathan Lyon Shardul Thakur has to depart without a fight. The umpire hands Lyon the lbw but Shardul reviews it. The ball-tracking shows it’s plumb. India 213/7
WICKET! 56.2: Ajinkya Rahane 46(108) ct Alex Carey b Mitchell Starc And another set-batter departs before the fifty! Rahane, the top-scorer in the first innings, almost looked like he was on to something despite India’s bleak chances. Starc draws the edge as Rahane throws his hands at it. He’s livid with himself. India 212/6
India second innings, 212/5 (56 overs): Spin for the first time in the day! Rahane places on ethrough the cover point against Lyon. Six runs off the over.
India second innings, 206/5 (55 overs): Starc continues to steam in at 140+ kph. Rahane drives one straight past mid-off in the very first delivery.
India second innings, 202/5 (54 overs): Just one run off the Green over.
India second innings, 201/5 (53 overs): A terrific off drive by Rahane for four in that Starc over.
Back after the drinks break. The win is in Aussie sights.
India second innings, 195/5 (52 overs): Bharat drives one past the square point for four. Five runs off the over.
India second innings, 190/5 (51 overs): Starc comes in from round the wicket. Three runs off the over.
India second innings, 187/5 (50 overs): Green comes back into the attack. 1 run off the over.
India second innings, 186/5 (49 overs): Boland surely has to be in the XI for that Ashes first Test you imagine.
India second innings, 184/5 (48 overs): Cummins bangs one short and it hits Bharat’s helmet. The physios come to check on him. Everything seems okay.
India second innings, 179/5 (47 overs): What an over from Scott Boland though. Decisive.
WICKET! 46.5: Ravindra Jadeja 0(2) ct Alex Carey b Scott Boland, One brings two! Jadeja is out for a duck and Australia are back in the game in a matter of two balls. India 179/5
WICKET! 46.3: Virat Kohli 49(78) ct Steven Smith b Scott Boland, It was the classic grind from Kohli up until now. Australia, particularly Labushcg thought there was something in previous delivery too. A lapse in concentration and Kohli edges one to the slip in the next ball itself. India 179/4
India second innings, 179/3 (46 overs): Three runs off Cummins’s over. Kohli nearing his half-century.
India second innings, 176/3 (45 overs): Australia are keeping things tight so far but Rahane and Kohli have been steady so far. Just one run off the over against Boland.
India second innings, 175/3 (44 overs): The ball hits Rahane’s helmet and bounces to the boundary for four. Six runs off the over.
India second innings, 169/3 (43 overs): Boland appeals for LBW and it struck between middle and leg but Australia don’t review. Just one run off the over.
India second innings, 168/3 (42 overs): The running between the wickets will always be a highlight with Kohli in the middle and he runs hard for his first run of the day. Four runs off the over.
India second innings, 164/3 (41 overs): A maiden over to start with for Australia.
Scott Boland to start the proceedings for Australia.
Hello and welcome to our coverage of ICC World Test Championship Final, Day 5.
India finished at 164/3 at stumps on Day 4, still needing a further 280 runs to reach what would be a record-breaking total of 444 on the fifth and final day.
Australia, by contrast, require just seven more wickets Sunday to win the only major global men’s trophy to have so far eluded them and ensure they head into next week’s Ashes opener against England at Edgbaston in buoyant mood.
India pacer Mohammed Shami, said after the end of play on Day 4: “A hundred percent everyone believes that tomorrow we will win the match, because we have always fought. We perform well around the world... It doesn’t matter if it’s Sydney or Brisbane, we are playing here.”
Playing XIs
Australia XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
India XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj
Screenshots in the blog courtesy: Disney+Hotstar / ICC
With text inputs from AFP and ICC Business Corporation FZ LLC 2020 via Online Media Zone