New Delhi: India ended the 2024 season on a dismal note as a crushing defeat in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground ended one of their worst seasons in red-ball cricket. Rohit Sharma & Co suffered an 184-run loss in the fourth Test at MCG to hand Australia a 2-1 advantage in the 5-match series. With one match to go in the series, India would hope to start the new year with a positive result and aim to work on the issues that ailed them in 2024.
The MCG Test was the final match of the year for India, who endured some horrendous defeats in the 2024-25 season and in the process set some unwanted records.
Rohit Sharma joins Sachin Tendulkar in unwanted list of Indian captains
While Rohit enjoyed a stellar year in white-ball cricket, leading India to the historic T20 World Cup title earlier this year, the veteran batter has struggled to replicate his batting and leadership magic in red-ball cricket this season. India started the season with a dominant 2-0 whitewash against Bangladesh but suffered a humiliating 3-0 sweep against the Kiwis.
Team India’s only overseas win this season came in Perth in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener but it was under the captaincy of Jasprit Bumrah. Since returning from paternal leave to take charge of the Indian team, Rohit has overseen Test defeats in Adelaide and Melbourne to take the total loss count to 5.
The five defeats for India this season equals their record (from 1999-2000) for most losses in a season as Rohit joined Sachin Tendulkar as the only India captains with five Test defeats in a season.
India’s low-scoring woes
India were dismissed for less than 160 in six innings – the sixth being the second innings of the Melbourne Test where the visitors were bundled out for 155. This is the joint-most for them in a calendar year after 1952 and 1959.
Australia register decade-first feat
The ongoing series marks the first time in 10 years Australia have won more than one match in a Test series against India. Since 2014-2015, Australia have suffered four bilateral series losses against India 2-1.
Rohit Sharma’s horror run
Rohit Sharma’s batting average after 15 innings in eight Tests in the 2024-25 season stands at a lowly 10.93. This is the lowest for any batter with a minimum of 15 innings in the top seven in a red-ball international season.
Rohit, who has scored just 31 runs in 3 Tests in the ongoing series, has been dismissed in single digits on 10 occasions in 15 innings, which is also the most for a top-seven batter in a season. Virat Kohli, another Indian stalwart, is second on the dreaded list with nine single-digit scores in 2024-25.
The Boxing Day Test in Melbourne was the final match of the year for Team India, which endured one of its worst seasons in Test cricket and set some unwanted records. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
