Australia

Who would’ve thought this would happen when there’s not much time left on the final day’s play but we got a result to settle though and it turned to be a good one with Australia victorious over India by 184 runs in order to keep their series hopes alive 2-1 going into the Sydney Cricket Ground decider starting Friday.

We began the morning with the Aussies all out for 234 with a 339 run lead after Nathan Lyon was bowled through the stumps for 41 by India’s frontline fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah who did collect his 5fer after all. That leaves India 340 to chase in order to not just win this match but also retain the series where they’ve been holding that firm for so many years now since March 2017 on home soil.

Fortunately, Australia got away with early wickets with one by Mitchell Starc and two from captain Pat Cummins – he’s a top bowling all-rounder of any kind even though scoring 40 odd runs across both spells at No.8 isn’t bad. Here’s a special shoutout to Travis Head by the way despite an underwhelming batting shift who got a wicket off Rishabh Pant and he’s a part-time spinner by the way in addition to batting on the top order (No.5).

Then Scotty Boland “the MCG hero” came in to save the day by dismantling the other India half batting card. That lower order they’ve got on there can still be terrifying as if all of their starting XI are batters including one that has eventually shrugged the good look of Yashasvi Jaiswal’s face after he actually knicked the ball straight into Alex Carey’s gloves. 

He top scored 84 by the way and has been a brilliant opener through the course of this series so far but safe to say that he mistimed that hook shot unfortunately. 

And the rest as the Aussies say is history who somehow managed to reach their arm’s length towards victory with thanks also to Nathan Lyon via LBW against Mohammed Siraj. He’s usually good when bowling offies having got rid of Day 3 centurion Nitish Kumar Reddy while he can bat a bit at the tail as seen throughout yesterday afternoon & he is still at it at 37.

What more can we say? Our batters are revved up and still on track to achieve something special again that could be championship-winning for the Sydney decider.

We’ve got a new cult hero and he’s only under 20 in Sam Konstas as sure he will continue to keep learning on what it takes to have a positive approach at Test level like scoring heaps of quick runs along the way when David Warner is now gone as message already sent worldwide including England who will come here next Summer for the home Ashes. Also, Steve Smith still on form, so does Marnus Labuschagne, and Usman Khawaja still has something left in the tank at 38 – at least for another 12 months when he wants to finish off on a high note especially against the English.

Now that we’ve done a victory shoutout lap to the Aussie Men’s Cricket Team after their triumphant win, they only have one job to go and they better take this series deciding opportunity with both hands. That way, we know the Aussies will go one step closer to not just beating India for this next Test but also the series on what has been a top-notch World Heavyweight Championship contest so far as if cricket meets boxing or WWE when writing an excelled scripted series storyline like this Test.

We thought the Aussies were so doomed following their okay start when our top and middle order cards may have been collapsed during the fourth day’s play today but at least they’ve hung in there through the end at around 6pm AEDT with thanks to Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland even though they only have a wicket remaining against them. Now they are in a good position to not just lock in this 4th Test, the Aussies can also keep their series hopes alive going into the 5th and final test in Sydney 2-1 starting Friday.

As said, it was lovely to see Lyon scoring runs wherever possible by filling in the gaps with Boland backing him up while Captain courageous Pat Cummins scored another 40-odd run haul in his 2nd shift – all coming from the tail end sans Marnus Labuschagne who scored not bad at 3.

Other than that, things are still left to be desired where they could’ve done any better. Yes, felt sorry for 19-year-old Sam Konstas but he needs to be more like a proper Test batsman and not just swashbuckling shots downtown all day off the back of his debut 50 back in Day 1, particularly when playing against the red Kookaburra ball. What disappoints me the most though is fast bowling all-rounder Mitchell Marsh who keeps on failing to justify his spot in the team both bat and ball apart from his brilliant catches on the field – about time we bring Beau Webster in & it needs to happen now, that’s all!!

What else? India also continued to enjoy a solid day until Lyon & Boland saved the day for the Aussies this afternoon with Jasprit Bumrah leading the way in the fast bowling department alongside Mohammed Siraj, although he wouldn’t be impressed after giving away a few no balls whilst being tired trying to finish off Australia’s 2nd innings total right there – so frustrating isn’t it.

Who knows if Bumrah will be getting his next 5fer tomorrow despite his expansive afternoon v Lyon & Boland today but I guess the Aussies would want to declare a bit later if Lyon gets his 50 as soon as we’re back to finish things off tomorrow morning.

As it stands, Australia are currently 228/9 with a 333 run lead – so whichever score they end up either way through the last wicket fall or a declaration if Lyon gets his 50, India would have to chase that total to both win this one as well as this series.

Then it’s up to our bowlers to get this done quick smart including India’s lower order who can be ruthless as if all of their batters are more than capable at scoring runs than everyone else but so can the Aussies as proved this afternoon. They have one job to get this done by the end of tomorrow at 6pm and that is to win this match on what has been a top-notch four days between the two teams at the MCG!

The Aussies had a great opportunity to finish off the work with the ball when Day 3 resumed first thing this morning but not what we wanted unfortunately off the back of India’s stunning lower-order batting extravaganza that kept them going like Washington Sundar’s 50 while their fast-bowling all-rounder scored his maiden Test 100 after only four caps at 21 years of age in Nitish Kumar Reddy. 

Yes, it’s been a bitter pain pill to swallow from the Aussies when they just couldn’t make the most out of their catches while letting runs slide against their way. 

But they only got a wicket to finish off now albeit with a reduced 116 run lead at 358 as the Aussies will need to bat again since they can no longer take advantage of the follow-on option now that Day 3 has already passed due to bad light and rain with two more days to go in this Boxing Day Test of 2024. We will need to count on our new opener and cult-hero Sam Konstas to deliver the goods quick smart like he did on Day 1 when the Aussies won the toss to bat with his debut Test 50 (scored 60) as his 2nd spell should be the key to keeping this series alive with one Test to go (a draw wouldn’t be bad to bring this to a decider) even though he’s just getting started at the ripe age of 19.

I mean, wow, two youngsters making a name for themselves at such a young age from the moment they were born in the mid 2000s to making a name for themselves through the ranks from juniors and now both of them have made a statement for themselves in front of 70,000 to 80,000 odd people – how good!!

This is what we love to see from the best of our characters in this long-running game in red ball cricket through one era to another that makes his contest so special and competitive to be fair. No doubt we will get to see more and more youngsters like these being thrown into the deep end, especially at the highest of levels like Test Cricket over the next couple of years. 

For now, India are doing so well thanks to their lower-order batting saving grace while the Aussies need to think quick in a bid to bring this match home with the win. Meanwhile, yes, We got the Domestic T20 Big Bash League going through each and every night including tonight for at least the next month. But if you can’t get enough of sport, there’s always the United Cup Tennis at Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney with the Aussies also in action first up in their group v Argentina.

Okay, the women’s singles tie was a bit out of reach for a start but we got Alex De Minaur though to try and turn this around against Tomas Etchverry and also our double pairs too in Matt Ebden and Ellen Perez if he wins this match. Update: De Minaur did bounce back fair and square in straight sets, just a shame our mixed doubles efforts fell short unfortunately that gave Argentina the 1st series match win 2-1 at the hands of Etchverry once again this time with Maria Loudres Carle.

Now they would need to be at their very best against Great Britain on New Year’s Day Wednesday but Monday’s result between GB and Argentina would of course depend Australia’s status in this United Cup group phase (Pool F).

What a fantastic Day 2 we’ve just had that can change everything in a flick of a switch having saw India settled in at first after the Aussies were all out for 474 off the back of Steve Smith’s second straight 100, especially with Pat Cummins somehow found a way to break the Yashavi Jaiswal & Virat Kohli partnership and Jaiswal had to go via run out for 82. 

You just couldn’t see the shock look of Jaiswal’s face when he thought he was getting a single but Kohli said no before being given the direct hit and there goes his spell that ended so abruptly whilst trying to secure his 100 since his team’s 1st Test win in Perth.

Then the returning Scotty Boland came back to score two quick wickets to share the workload with courageous captain Cummins including Virat Kohli for 36 and nightwatchman Akash Deep as the Aussies are currently on 164-5 with a 310 run lead over India going into tomorrow. Good to see him back which was much-needed by the way while he can score a couple of runs too at the tail end (No.11), especially when he was doing up and firing two tests ago that led to the Aussies fighting back with the win in Adelaide but then the Aussies dropped him for Josh Hazelwood last week during the rain-hit Gabba and unfortunately it didn’t go well due to his calf strain and Josh is out for the series for a while anyway.

Speaking of our courageous captain, he’s the man who can not just lead with the Kookaburra ball but can also bat a bit where he reaped some handy runs despite being a run short off 50 and also a gun fielder too. I mean, what more can we say other than the fact we’re so grateful to have Pat onboard to try and win back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series off India. 

For now, there’s still unfinished business for the Aussies to get the job done ASAP first thing tomorrow morning for Day 3’s play, then we’ll see if they can stop India from avoiding the follow-on. You’ve got the quick keeper scorer Rishabh Pant out there and so does Ravi Jadeja who can score 50s every now and then with his signature sword celebration and the Aussies wouldn’t want to let it slip away.

Tough one when it’s not rainy right now unlike last week at The Gabba in Brisbane that led to a draw but maybe bowl again in order to finish the match early and go all-in ahead of the series decider for the new year’s Test next week in Sydney.

A 19-year-old star was born in the making this morning at the MCG in Melbourne with a debut Test 50 – his name is Sam Konstas, who plays for the New South Wales state side, Sydney Thunder and St George’s Cricket Club in Hurstville.

Wow, wow, take a bow! Love the way he took out one of the best bowlers against Jasprit Bumrah (still a huge threat as India’s frontline fast bowler who picked up three wickets so far) with quickfire & explosive shots flying everywhere including runs on the board too that we always see in white-ball cricket. It’s a shame he couldn’t go at least a bit further through lunch when a simple block landed on his pad and Ravi Jadeja was right on the money unfortunately with that LBW and that was his spell for a sound 60 runs.

I’m sure his rapid rise will continue to soar as fingers crossed for Sam scoring his first Test 100 soon enough – he’s like the right-hand version of the recently retired Davey Warner to me! Although be very careful of who he bumps into next time, especially when playing against the world’s best as Sam should continue to be Sam – having been bumped into a fracas by Virat Kohli.

Other than that, it’s been a brilliant batting day while India made up some lost time towards the end of the first day today.

Thankfully, the Aussies finally won the toss after all this time also prior to the start of play this morning – as they are currently 311/6 going into Day 2 of 5 tomorrow AM.

We had a plethora of our Top 3-4 batters scoring good half-tons like other opening mainstay & Konstas’ new batting partner Usman Khawaja (57), Marnus Labuschagne (72) over at No.3, and don’t forget Steve Smith as well next up at 4 who backed up another great shift so far & is still out there on 68 alongside skipper Pat Cummins. 

Shoutout to wicket-keeper Alex Carey also following his quick score of 31 when we needed most with extra runs on the board before behind by Rishabh Pant. 

However, not so much from Travis Head unfortunately despite his concussion issues after being sent straight back upstairs (0 off 7 balls); so does Mitchell Marsh who was also sent straight back yet again for only peanuts (4 off 13). 

Maybe they could do a Nathan McSweeney (who was given the axe for Konstas) by giving Beau Webster a chance then? There’s nothing to lose if that’s what’s best for the Baggy Green where he can bowl both seam and spin & no doubt this could be their secret weapon when they usually played two spinners in the past but probably not in recent times.

What the Aussies need to do from there is score a bit more as they can with another Steve Smith masterclass 100, then bring the bowlers out to take the power games off India with the cult hero Scott Boland back in the XI by going one better in this five-test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.