India slump on final day of MCG Test despite Yashasvi Jaiswal’s redoubtable showdown

An unfortunate collapse on Day 5 saw India sliding down in Melbourne as Australia got their noses ahead in the series after five days of intense action to win the game by 184 runs. Chasing 340, India had an early wobble to brave with Rohit Sharma (9), KL Rahul (0) and Virat Kohli (5) heading back to the pavilion early.

Despite the fall of the cream of the Indian batting, Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant put their foot down and started defending with their lives. After weathering the initial jitters, India slowly started coming out all guns blazing as the duo of Jaiswal and Pant looked confident with their shots.

Jaiswal (84) and Pant (30) added 88 runs for the fourth wicket and India started to believe. With just a session to go, if not a win, a draw was definitely in the radar. Much to the visitors’ woes, it all went horribly downtown as the collapse started with the fall of Pant.

With Travis Head getting the better of Pant, the floodgates opened and from thereon it was only a vertiginous descent into chaos. Ravindra Jadeja (2), Nitish Kumar Reddy (1) and Jaiswal headed back to the pavilion in no time whatsoever. All that remained was mopped up by Australia in no time as India was bundled out for 155. Australia secured a staggering win by 184 runs, surging ahead 2-1 with a game to spare.

Pat Cummins was awarded the Player of the Match for his overall tally of six wickets in the match and scores of 49 and 41 in both the innings respectively. The challenge got a whole lot tougher for Rohit Sharma and his men with a solitary Test remaining in the series which will see the two powerhouses duking it out from 3rd January in the SCG.