Wow, that was just an insane way to end a Test – 75,000 fans at the MCG creating an electrifying atmosphere. It was like three AFL grand finals all in one and it’s gonna be a tough act to follow for next year’s Ashes.
It was an absolutely brilliant match and I was pumped to be there to witness it unfold.
I must admit I was a little bit nervous when Pat Cummins batted on at the end of day four and for a few more overs at the start of day five.
I would have been happy if he declared on day four or straight away on Monday to be able to maximise that second new ball..
In hindsight, the Indians weren’t even close to chasing that target of 340. But you look at their batting line-up and there’s some phenomenal batters there. The Aussies went on the pessimistic side, but it worked well.
At the start of the day I was doing a radio stint and of the four result options, I went with Australia to win but when India were only three down at tea, the draw looked the overwhelming favourite.
But it all happened pretty quickly afterwards. And it started with a massive error of judgment once again from Rishabh Pant off a half-tracker from Travis Head.
The Aussies were just trying to just get through some overs quickly to get to the second new ball. Pant could have done anything with the delivery as it sat up but for whatever reason, he tried to hit a six, even though they weren’t going for the run-chase.
Mitchell Marsh takes a good catch in the outfield and it was all downhill from there.
That’s where the Australians really pounced. They smelled blood and they hunted as a pack. No one taking more than three wickets but they all did their job.
The Yashasvi Jaiswal dismissal was crucial but even though there was controversy about the catch I think it was clear that he hit it.
Yashasvi Jaiswal speaks with the umpire after being dismissed. (Photo by Daniel Pockett – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
Cummins was really confident that it had flicked the glove or come off the face of the bat and Alex Carey knew there had been a deviation.
That was a great catch because it was a slower ball bouncer. We started the Test with a bit of T20 from Sam Konstas and we ended with the ball with a bit of T20.
Just off the video, you’d say there’s a deflection and it’s out. And then Snicko comes up and there’s nothing on it. But there was a clear deflection.
The right decision was made but it then poses the question that there’s been a few decisions in this series where Hotspot, which is not 100 per cent right but generally is if the ball hits the bat, could have been handy but it’s not being used.
My understanding is Cricket Australia and the ICC want the broadcaster to pay for that. But that’s an interesting argument, isn’t it? Broadcasters are there to generally provide the entertainment and to put it out there, but I’d be hoping that there should be a fund from the ICC in the big Test matches to pay for Hotspot.
We’ve got a World Test Championship on the line and it shouldn’t be up to the broadcasters to pay for something that’s an integral part of the decision-making process.
But that decision didn’t decide the Test. It came down to the little moments like Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland’s last-wicket partnership putting another 61 on the target.
If Boland had been knocked over straight away, India could have had a decent batting opportunity late on day four and then a full day to chase down a target below 300.
Cummins was a deserved player of the match – he scored 90 important runs and knocked over the top order in both innings and I thought he was pretty proactive with the field placements and bowling changes.
Rohit Sharma looks dejected after being dismissed by Pat Cummins. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Boland just owns the MCG so six wickets for the match is just regulation for him and it was courageous from Mitchell Starc to bowl even though he looks like he’s got a bit of a side strain.
It can’t have been a really bad one or he wouldn’t have been able to bowl at all. For us fast bowlers that have done that injury, it becomes really hot and it’s like a knife going into your ribs.
It gets better the warmer you are. But it’s tougher when you’re coming back, once it cools down there. The way he bowled in the second innings, you’d think there is a chance for Sydney in the fifth Test on Friday.
If he’s out, I’d bring Jhye Richardson in but there’s doubts over his ability to handle a five-day match after all the injuries that he’s had.
So that could open the door for Beau Webster to play as an all-rounder who can bowl seamers and spin – Mitchell Marsh couldn’t complain if he got dropped after the series he’s had but the fact that they won this Test may get him one last chance.
The pressure’s now on India to win the last match of the series to keep the trophy.
I don’t think any of the players who were involved will forget the atmosphere of this Test at the MCG – doing the pre-match broadcast, there were lots of Indian fans there, but not just expats living in Australia but people who had flown in from back home in India or Canada and America.
And then I’ve never seen an opening 90 minutes to a Test like Konstas taking on Bumrah, ramping, charging and racking up 34 runs on his first spell virtually by himself.
Bumrah would have been in contention for player of the match for his nine wickets because every spell, he seemed to get a wicket and get India back in the Test match.
But Konstas just befuddled him. And in between the ramps, he showed some brutal cover driving.
It looks like he can play the short ball really well and in the second innings, Bumrah got him with the ball that we’re hearing he’s most susceptible to in first-class cricket – the inswinger.
But he will learn from that and it looks like he’s got some substance to his game, not just a flashy style.
Konstas just seemed to be having the greatest Christmas present of all time and was loving geeing up the crowd, getting in the face of the Indian batters as well as that astonishing 60 in the first innings.
Umpire Michael Gough speaks with Virat Kohli of India and Sam Konstas of Australia during day one of the Men’s Fourth Test Match in the series between Australia and India at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 26, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
He looks like he’s got a really good technique. You know, he reminds me a lot of Dean Jones.
He’s got a bit of personality like Deano but also in his technique and his batting ability. No doubt if Dean Jones was born in this era, he would be ramping.
Konstas is similar to him with his running between the wickets and shotmaking and even in the second innings, there was an LBW shout and he started marking centre.
That was a classic Dean Jones thing to do. No, I’m not out. I’m marking centre to be right there and Sam did it.
So, I was like, oh, my God, there’s a lot of him that’s Dean Jones.
His fireworks helped Usman Khawaja to get going as well with his half-century in the first innings and Steve Smith’s hundred was a better one than the Brisbane ton. It was more fluent, quicker and while he was not quite the Steve Smith of old, he was very close.
Australia got two pretty handy knocks for Marnus Labuschagne as well so they have answered a few of the questions they had leading into this Test.
There’s just one more match to go in this series and I can’t wait – if it’s anything like the first four, it should be a cracker to start the new year.
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