India under the leadership of Ajinkya Rahane defeated Australia in the Boxing Day Test by eight wickets.
On Day 4, Australia resumed on 133 for six, added 67 more runs before getting bowled out at the stroke of lunch in the lengthy first session. Mohammed Siraj picked two of the four wickets to fall on the day to take his innings tally to three for 37 while Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin picked one each. India needed 70 runs to win the second Test.
While chasing the small target, opener Mayank Agarwal returned to pavilion after scoring just 5 while Cheteshwar Pujara was out for 3. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane (27) and Shubhman Gill (35) helped India to win the match by eight wickets levelling the four match series 1-1.
In the first innings, India restricted Australia for 195 thanks to brilliance of Jasprit Bumrah bagging four wickets while Ashwin picked up three. Mohammed Siraj also got two while Jadeja managed to pick one wicket. Australia's five batsmen were out after scoring a single-digit number. Marnus Labuschagne (48) and Travis Head (38) helped India to reach 195.
India in the first innings cruise past 300 with the help of Ajinkya Rahane's brilliant knock. India were all out for 326 in first innings. Both skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja looked good on resumption. However, the run out of Rahane (112) led to a flurry of wickets. India lost the last five wickets for 32 runs. Jadeja though managed to complete his half-century (57). India had taken a first-innings lead of 131 thanks to a ton by skipper Ajinkya Rahane.
Australia in their second innings scored five runs more than they scored in their first one. Australia was all-out for 200 as Mohammed Siraj helped India bag three wickets while Bumrah, Ashwin and Jadeja picked two wickets each. Ajinkya Rahane and co chasing a target of 70 for victory in the second Test at MCG, got there with eight wickets in hand.
Mohammed Siraj became the first debutant for India in seven years to bag five wickets in a Test match. He finished the second Test match against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground with a haul of five wickets for 77 runs. The MCG has yet again proved to be the winning venue for India for second time in a row. India won the Melbourne Test during their 2018-19 tour as well.
(More to follow)