Categories: Cricket

Australia gamble pays off as India collapse late in all-time classic Boxing Day Test

  • Australia 474 & 234 beat India 369 & 155 by 184 runs
  • Hosts take seven final-session wickets for 2-1 lead at MCG

In the end, the dice landed the right way up for the shooter. Had India managed to bat for another hour, another 14 overs, Australia’s tactics would have been sliced up: too conservative in batting into the final day. But Australia’s gamble was about laying off risk on the other half of the equation, all but eliminating India’s chance of a win at the cost of reducing their own. In the end, this time, it worked, when Nathan Lyon snagged the 10th wicket just before half past five Melbourne time; Australia winning the fourth Test and leading 2-1 before the series ends in Sydney.

It was, in the end, a close-run thing, a reminder that you’re often only vindicated in the sporting business if you happen to guess right. Lyon’s 10th-wicket partnership with Scott Boland in the third innings ended up being 61, adding only six of those after resuming on the fifth morning, and costing Australia four overs to do it. That final extension may not have worked out, but the previous evening’s runs made a major psychological difference, taking India’s target from a high 200s score, one that would have felt possible, to 340, that didn’t.

Continue reading…

Source: Cricket - The Guardian

AddThis Website Tools
WBN

Share
Published by
WBN

Recent Posts

Screamboat‘s Director Breaks Down the Ins and Outs of Public Domain HorrorScreamboat‘s Director Breaks Down the Ins and Outs of Public Domain Horror

Screamboat‘s Director Breaks Down the Ins and Outs of Public Domain Horror

How does one legally turn the Mickey Mouse character Steamboat Willie into a horror killer?…

23 hours ago
This Experimental Pill Could Become the First-Ever Drug for Cocaine AddictionThis Experimental Pill Could Become the First-Ever Drug for Cocaine Addiction

This Experimental Pill Could Become the First-Ever Drug for Cocaine Addiction

In a small Phase II trial, people with cocaine use disorder who took mavoglurant used…

23 hours ago
Alert: MPU Needs to Do More Than Kill off a Lead to ImproveAlert: MPU Needs to Do More Than Kill off a Lead to Improve

Alert: MPU Needs to Do More Than Kill off a Lead to Improve

In all honesty, I watched the first half of the first season of Alert: Missing…

23 hours ago
Nintendo confirms some Switch 2 physical releases will just have a download key on the cardNintendo confirms some Switch 2 physical releases will just have a download key on the card

Nintendo confirms some Switch 2 physical releases will just have a download key on the card

Amid all the excitement of Switch 2's big news bonanza, Nintendo has quietly confirmed some…

23 hours ago
Apple restarts last developer beta cycle before WWDC with iOS 18.5, macOS 15.5Apple restarts last developer beta cycle before WWDC with iOS 18.5, macOS 15.5

Apple restarts last developer beta cycle before WWDC with iOS 18.5, macOS 15.5

Following the release of iOS 18.4, macOS 15.4, and other updates to the public, Apple…

24 hours ago
Severance‘s Showrunner Promises Fans Won’t Have to Wait Too Long for Season 3Severance‘s Showrunner Promises Fans Won’t Have to Wait Too Long for Season 3

Severance‘s Showrunner Promises Fans Won’t Have to Wait Too Long for Season 3

The smash hit Apple TV+ series wrapped up its second season in March.

24 hours ago