India’s hopes of qualifying for the final of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 took a serious hit following a 184-run defeat against Australia in the Boxing Day Test. Notably, Australia’s victory in the fourth Test of the five-match series was their first Boxing Day Test victory against India in 13 years.
Australia set a target of 340 for India to chase in 92 overs after scoring 234 runs in their second innings at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday, December 30. However, India, led by Rohit Sharma, fell short of the target and managed only 155 runs in 79.1 overs on the final day of the exciting match.
Pat Cummins wins player of the match award for all-round contribution
Earlier, the Pat Cummins-led team posted a total of 474 runs after winning the toss. Steven Smith (140) scored his second century of the ongoing series, while Sam Konstas (60), Usman Khawaja (57) and Marnus Labuschagne (72) shared half-centuries. For India, Jasprit Bumrah took four wickets for 99 runs.
India scored 369 with contributions from Nitish Kumar Reddy, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Washington Sundar. India were at 221/7 at one point but Nitish and Washington rescued the team. Nitish scored his first Test century against a quality attack. Cummins, Scott Boland and Nathan Lyon took three wickets each.
Australia struggled against the Indian bowlers in their second innings, as they collapsed to 99/6. However, the lower order batsmen made crucial runs. Labuschagne top-scored for Australia with 70 runs, while Cummins (41) and Lyon (41) contributed with the bat. Bumrah took five wickets and Australia were bowled out for 234.
Updated ICC World Test Championship points table (WTC table) after IND vs AUS 3rd Test revealed
India’s points percentage (PCT) in the World Test Championship table fell from 55.88% to 52.77% after their seventh defeat in this cycle. Meanwhile, Australia improved its PCT from 58.99% to 61.45% after claiming its 10th win of the cycle. Austra maintained second position in the WTC standings.
South Africa have already secured a place in next year’s Lord’s final by defeating Pakistan. Australia can eliminate India from contention for the World Test Championship final by winning or drawing the upcoming final Test in Sydney.
Here is the updated ICC World Test Championship points table:
| Pos. | Equipment | Juice | Cattle | Lost | Draw | dead | Needles | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 88 | 66.67 |
| 2 | Australia | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 118 | 61.46 |
| 3 | India | 18 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 114 | 52.78 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 81 | 48.21 |
| 5 | Sri Lanka | 11 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 45.45 |
| 6 | England | 22 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 22 | 114 | 43.18 |
| 7 | Bangladesh | 12 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 45 | 31.25 |
| 8 | Pakistan | 11 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 40 | 30.30 |
| 9 | West Indies | 11 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 24.24 |
The fifth Test between India and Australia will begin on Friday, January 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney. This will be India’s last match of the current WTC cycle, while Australia will play two Test matches in Sri Lanka next year.
Also read: Blow for Australia! ‘Mitchell Starc will not play the Sydney Test’
