India have lost the fourth Test at the MCG, conceding a 2-1 lead with a game to go. Sarah Waris relives the moments that cost them the game.
After four successive series wins against Australia - home and away - India will exit the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a draw as their best possible result. A win in the final Test is unlikely to see them through to their third consecutive World Test Championship final either, as question marks over Rohit Sharma the captain continue.
Despite the 184-run drubbing in the fourth game, the match still ebbed and flowed, presenting both sides with plenty of chances but India’s failure to latch onto them ended up hurting them.
A careless, careless run out
Australia had scored 474 in the first innings and India had quickly been reduced to 51-2 in reply. It brought Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli to the crease, with their contrasting approaches bringing India back into the game. While Jaiswal played his strokes, Kohli showed great discipline, shying away from the balls on the off-stump channel against which he has struggled recently.
However, an ill-timed run out changed it all. A complete loss of communication - Kohli was ball-watching and Jaiswal decided to run nevertheless - resulted in the left-hander walking back for 82 late on day two, with five overs to go until stumps. India were 152-2 before his departure but slumped to 159-5 in the next 21 balls. Kohli, seemingly flustered at the run out, fell edging one to the wicketkeeper, undoing the 85 balls of hard work before that while nightwatch Akash Deep was dismissed for a duck.
With the MCG producing its best batting conditions on day three, the last half-hour proved to be huge in the context of the game. Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy applied themselves the following day to take India within 105 runs of Australia’s total, but how close could India have got had it been Jaiswal and Kohli walking out on day three?
