Australia win the World Test Championship after beating India by 209 runs
Australia win the World Test Championship after beating India by 209 runs as Pat Cummins’ men produce a clinical display to lay down a marker for the Ashes
- Australia wins the World Test Championship by beating India by 209 runs
- The win is ideal preparation for Australia as they watch The Ashes
- The men’s team has also won the T20 and 50-over World Cups this year
Australia head to Birmingham in good spirits for the Ashes after taking a landslide 209-run victory over India at The Oval to win the World Test Championship.
Set 444 for an improbable win, India had started the final day at 164 for three hoping for a miracle, with Virat Kohli in the fold and apparently in the mood for something special.
But Kohli could only add five to his overnight 44 before being sucked into a loose ride by a generous delivery from Scott Boland. Steve Smith dove athletically to the right at second slip, and another large crowd—again consisting mostly of Indians—was silent.
And they were even quieter when Ravindra Jadeja nibbled on his second delivery from Boland and was busted on the back for a duck by Alex Carey. From 179 for five, there was no turning back for India.
The rest was a procession. Ajinkya Rahane undid more than 35 overs of stylish concentration as he flashed to Mitchell Starc to fall behind for 46. A run later, Shardul Thakur was leg-before to off-spinner Nathan Lyon for a duck as he played forward to a ball that spun against him from the wicket.
Australia defeated India by 209 runs to reach the final of the World Test Championship at The Oval
Scott Boland was the bowlers choice and took five wickets in the match
Virat Kohli could only add five to his score of 44 before going down
Nathan Lyon also claimed five wickets for the match, taking three scalps on Day 5
The only question now was whether India could extend the game past lunch. But Umesh Yadav gloved Starc down the leg side to take off for a single, and wicket-keeper Srikar Bharat skyed an easy return catch to Lyon for 23.
With that wicket – the ninth – falling four minutes before the scheduled lunch break, the session was automatically extended by half an hour.
The Australians needed just six minutes: Mohammed Siraj beat Lyon to point and India were all out for 234, having lost their last seven for 54.
Lyon finished with four for 41, and Boland – who has made a strong case in this match to play at Edgbaston on Friday – three for 46. India, meanwhile, remains without a world title since winning the Champions Trophy in 2013.