Dominant Australia win World Test Championship beating India by 209 runs in final
Pat Cummins (C) lifts the ICC Test Championship Mace as he celebrates with teammates after victory in the ICC World Test Championship final match at The Oval, London, on Sunday. AFP
With the resounding victory giving them their ninth International Cricket Council (ICC) title, also their first-ever WTC crown, Australia have become the first team in men's international cricket to win all major trophies.
Their victory was set up on Day One of the five-day match by a 285-run partnership between 'Player of the Match' Travis Head (163) and Steve Smith (121) after Australia were sent in to bat first by India.
Despite a world-record target of 444, India started the fifth and last morning with hope at 164-3 and linchpin Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane in the middle. But Kohli was gone after half an hour and Rahane's demise started a collapse of the last five India wickets in the half-hour to scheduled lunch.
Scott Boland, playing instead of the injured Josh Hazlewood, started Australia celebrations with a two-wicket over including Kohli, and Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon also took two each for the first-time world Test champion.
India had beaten Australia 2-1 in their last four Test series, two at home and two away, to regain the world No.1 Test ranking last month from the Australians. But at the neutral Oval, it chased the game after winning the toss and failing to exploit ideal, first-morning bowling conditions.
India has gone 10 years without winning a men's global trophy, including the first world Test final in 2021 against New Zealand in Southampton.
Meanwhile, Australia has primed itself for the Ashes series starting next week in Birmingham by dominating India and bringing up to speed several players including captain Pat Cummins who hadn't played for several months.
Boland and allrounder Cameron Green, who took two stunning catches, starred in their first test in England, and centuries by Travis Head and Steve Smith were ominous for the Ashes.
Boland and spinner Nathan Lyon, who finished off the India second innings with 4-41, took five wickets each in the match and Cummins, despite his no balls, Starc and Green contributed mightily to bowling out India twice after they put up 469 and 270-8 declared.
Wicketkeeper Alex Carey was key with scores of 48 and 66 not out, and seven catches in the final. Carey took three catches alone on Sunday morning, when the final came to a head in the seventh over.
Kohli edged Boland to a great catch at second slip by Smith and was gone for 49. Boland got Ravindra Jadeja in the same over.
Silence fell over the overwhelmingly pro-India crowd at the Oval along with an air of inevitability.
Rahane, on 20 overnight, reached 46 when he edged Starc behind and India fell in a heap, the last five wickets going for 22 runs.
Associated Press
