Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Team India put on another outstanding display, defeating Australia by eight wickets to level the four-match series 1-1. After bowling Australia out for 200 in the lengthy first session on Day 4, the Indian pacers continued to control the action. This meant that the visitors needed just 70 runs to win the series.
In the first hour of play, overnight batters Cameron Green and Pat Cummins put up a fight, but with Australia struggling at 149 for 6 in 80 overs, stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane chose to take the second new ball. Their choice proved quite effective as Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Cummins on 22 runs in the 83rd over, followed shortly after by the dismissals of Green scoring 45 runs and Nathan Lyon scoring 3 runs before getting out by Mohammad Siraj. Before lunch, Ravichandran Ashwin finished the match by dismissing Josh Hazlewood in the last over.
Bumrah, Ashwin, and Jadeja each took a couple of wickets, while Umesh Yadav, who bowled just 3.3 overs on Day 3 before leaving the field due to a calf injury, took one wicket. Siraj was the best bowler of the match with three wickets for 37. The Indian spinners once again controlled the action to bring the visitors within striking distance of a historic victory in Melbourne, with Green and Cummins sharing the seventh wicket, the highest partnership for Australia in this innings.
Following the break India got off to a bad start as Mitchell Starc dismissed Mayank Agarwal at just five runs. Later Pat Cummins picked the wicket of Cheteshwar Pujara which left India with a score of 19 runs and two wickets. Later Shubman Gill and Ajinkya Rahane stood up strong and stable the batting of the team. Which resulted in India’s win on Boxing Day against Australia for the second time.
This was a full turnover for India after their poor defeat in the Pink Ball Test match at Adelaide Oval in which India was all out for 36 lowest score in the second innings.