Australia secured their first-ever World Test Championship title by defeating India with a comprehensive 202 run win in the final. Throughout the match, Australia maintained a dominant position and ultimately sealed the win during the first session of the fifth day.
Australia had set a formidable first-innings total of 469, with Travis Head scoring an impressive 163 and Steve Smith contributing 121. In response, India managed 296 in their first innings, led by Ajinkya Rahane’s 89 and Shardul Thakur’s 51. Pat Cummins claimed three wickets for Australia. Australia then declared their second innings at 270 for 8, with Alex Carey top-scoring with 66, and Ravindra Jadeja taking three wickets for India.
On the final day, India showed resilience and fought hard for six sessions, instilling a glimmer of hope. However, Australia’s relentless bowling attack eventually shattered India’s resistance. Scott Boland played a champion’s role, delivering a match-winning performance. India started the day needing 280 runs with seven wickets remaining, and the fourth-wicket partnership between Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane was promising. However, Boland’s precision bowling led to a breakthrough. He enticed Kohli into an edge, which was caught brilliantly by Steven Smith at second slip.
In the same over, Boland dismissed Ravindra Jadeja with a perfectly angled delivery, exploiting the left-hander’s weaknesses. Rahane continued to battle, adding 33 runs for the sixth wicket with KS Bharat. However, Rahane’s resistance ended when he played an ill-judged drive to a length ball from Mitchell Starc. Starc, despite being expensive in this match, secured a crucial wicket. The fall of Rahane’s wicket triggered a collapse, with Nathan Lyon dismissing Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav, while Lyon himself claimed the final two wickets, concluding the match before lunch.
This victory marked Australia’s ninth ICC title, solidifying their status as the only team to have won each of the major trophies: five ODI World Cups, two ODI Champions Trophies, one T20 World Cup, and now the World Test Championship. Having showcased their superiority in English conditions, Australia will now prepare to face the host nation in The Ashes series. The man of the match was South Australian Travis Head who scored 163 runs in the first inning.
