New Delhi: The Border-Gavaskar Trophy is currently levelled at 1-1 after the third Test of the series ended in a draw at the Gabba in Brisbane. Team India won the opening Test by 295 runs in Perth but Australia made a stunning comeback and won the second pink-ball Test by 10 wickets at the Adelaide Oval.
The Men in Blue need to win the remaining two games of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC). South Africa is in first position on the WTC points table while Australia is in second position.
What happened when India and Australia last met at MCG?
Team India’s last Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) was during the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The hosts won the opening Test of the series at the Adelaide Oval by 8 wickets. But India made a brilliant comeback and won the second Test at MCG by 8 wickets.
Australia batted first and scored 195 runs in the first innings. Indian pace attack wreaked havoc in the Australian batting line-up as Bumrah picked up four wickets and Ashwin also took three wickets.
In response, Australian bowlers also troubled the Indian batters and the visitors were reeling at 173/5 but a 123-run partnership between Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja helped India to score 326 runs in the first innings. Captain Rahane scored 112 runs off 223 balls with the help of 12 boundaries while Jadeja also amassed 57 runs off 159 deliveries.
Australia’s struggle in batting continued in the second innings, with their top order crumbling under pressure while middle and lower order collapsed once again. Mohammed Siraj took three wickets while Ashwin, Jadeja and Bumrah also picked up two wickets each as the hosts bundled out for 200 runs.
The Men in Blue needed just 70 runs to win the second Test and level the four-match series but they got off to a poor start as Mitchell Starc removed Mayank Agarwal in the fifth over while Cummins dismissed Pujara in the very next over. But Rahane and Gill stitched a 51-run partnership for the third wicket and helped India win the second Test.
Team India will face Australia in the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on December 26. Take a look at what happened when both teams last met at MCG. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
