WTC Final: Australia defeat India to become the World Test Champions

Australia continued its grand tradition of lifting trophies in the WTC final, where they handed a huge loss to India at The Oval. They have been dominating this match since day one after Travis Head and Steve Smith hit a century each, and their bowlers made the most of it to pressurise Indian batsmen. While India made a strong attempt to stay in the game, they simply couldn’t go head-to-head with Australia’s fierce batting and bowling attack.  

On Day 5, India had to score a huge 280 runs on the final day with Shubhman Gill, Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara already dismissed. Gill’s dismissal invited huge criticism on the umpiring as visuals clearly showed that Cameron Green had dropped Gill’s catch. Nevertheless, the Aussie pacers ran through the Indian batting lineup on Day 5, but not before Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane made a stand against them. However, Boland and Starc penetrated through their defence just when they were getting set, as Kohli was dismissed just one short of a fifty and Rahane was gone for 46. All hopes were lost for Indian fans for a WTC final win after their dismissal, but the Aussies did not soften their brutal attack.   

Boland got Jadeja out on a duck before their spinner Nathan Lyon ran through India’s lower order. Australia lifted the trophy after a well-deserved win at this WTC Final, and Travis Head was rightfully handed the ‘Player of the Match’ award. 

Image source: AP