Australia won the fourth Test match played between India and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) by 184 runs, giving India a 2-1 lead in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.

Australia scored a total of 474 runs with significant contributions from their top-order batsmen Sam Konstas, Usman Khwaja, Marnus Labushanhe and Steven Smith. They scored 234 runs in the second innings, giving India a challenging target of 340 runs on the fifth day.

First inning India scored 369 runs with their middle-order batsmen Nitish Kumar Reddy’s century and Washington Sundar’s half-century.

Chasing 340 runs in the second innings, India were bowled out for 155 runs. Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 84 runs before getting out. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant could not do anything special from India’s side. Jasprit Bumrah is the most successful bowler in this series so far. Australia’s bowlers dominated the final session on day five and sealed a seven-wicket win.

Pat Cummins and Scott Boland took three wickets each while Nathan Lyon took two.The match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground saw a record spectators attend the MCG over five days.

A controversy erupted over the Decision Review System (DRS) after Jaiswal’s dismissal, which led to a lot of controversy.

Australia captain Pat Cummins played a key role in the win, earning Player of the Match honours for taking six wickets and scoring 100 runs in the match.

The win has put Australia in a strong position to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, needing only a draw in the final Test in Sydney.

India’s chances of reaching the World Test Championship final have diminished, making the upcoming match in Sydney crucial to their campaign.