AUS VS IND FINAL

Right then, yet another cycle of the World Test Championship comes to an end and India have suffered heartache yet again as Australia have gone on to claim the title. In doing so, Australia also become the first nation in the history of cricket to win all ICC titles and pick up a record ninth ICC title. India will now fly back home as they have a bit of a breather before they get back to international cricket. For Australia though, up next is the Ashes series which begins on the 16th of June at 3.30 pm IST (10 am GMT) but our coverage will begin well in advance. Till then, take care and goodbye!

Pat Cummins, the skipper of Australia says that it was not a bad toss to lose as they made the most of it. Adds that they had a good partnership between Travis Head and Steven Smith after a nervy morning. On Travis Head, he says that he has been playing really well and it started from the Ashes. Mentions that he likes to take the attack to the bowlers and they were on top on Day 1 thanks to the two guys. Admits that they allowed them to come back into the game on Day 3. Claims that Scott Boland is his favorite player who did his role perfectly and when it mattered the most, he got them a key breakthrough. Reckons that they all came into this game with slightly different preparations and they want to savor this win before the long summer. Ends by saying that Test cricket is their favorite format as it challenges you more than any other form of cricket and when you win, you get the most satisfaction. Adds the turnout for this game shows how entertaining it has been.

Rohit Sharma, the captain of India says that it was a tough one and they did win the toss and bowled well in the first up. Adds that they didn't bowl well after that and the Australian batters, especially Travis Head and Steven Smith played well. Adds that they tried their best but it wasn't enough. Mentions that in a five-day game, you need to have a game plan and unfortunately it didn't come off but credit must be given to the opposition. On Ajinkya Rahane, he says that he batted really well and they bowled well in the second innings but let themselves down with the bat. Adds that the World Test Championship Final comes once in two years and the boys worked really hard to get here and they will keep working hard to go one step ahead. Says that the fans have been brilliant and goes on to thank them on behalf of the whole team.

Travis Head is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH in the World Test Championship for scoring 163 runs in 174 deliveries in the first inning and setting up this win for Australia. He says that it is a great feeling to come here and win. Adds that they have worked very hard for the last two years and it paid off. Tells that he wanted to be proactive and was tested throughout the innings and it was nice to bat with Steven Smith. Mentions that he has had the confidence and it is just about going out there and expressing it. Ends by saying that he has learned to adapt and is happy that it worked out in this big game.

Time for the presentations...

Steven Smith says that it is a great achievement for this group and the way they have played this week has been outstanding. Goes on to add that they played really well on the first day and says that the way Travis Head played was a big thing. On Virat Kohli's catch, he says that Scott Boland bowled really well and he found the edge so luckily the catch stuck in his hand. Ends by saying that getting Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja out in the same over was decisive.

Scott Boland says that it was good fun. Adds that it is nice to come here and put in a good performance. Tells that his plans were to hit the same areas and there was a bit of extra bounce which they tried to exploit. Mentions that it felt pretty good to get Virat Kohli out and to get two in the over was nice. Tells that he is playing domestic cricket for 12 years for Victoria and all his hard work is finally paying off. Ends by saying he is looking forward to the Ashes.

Mitchell Starc says that they were patient enough and the wickets came. On Steven Smith, he says that he pulled off a stunner and the catching was very good. Mentions that the way Ajinkya Rahane played, it was important for them to pick his wicket quickly. Adds that this group has been fantastic in the last few years and the players and staff will enjoy this together. Adds that they played India in a Test series not too long ago and to play against a quality side at a neutral venue is amazing.

Time for some interviews....

Australia did stumble in their second inning but contributions from Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and Mitchell Starc along with a half-century by Alex Carey saw them set India a target of 444 runs as they dominated the morning session of Day 4. They declared at 270 for the loss of 8 wickets with Ravindra Jadeja claiming three wickets while Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami chipped in with two each. As the runs were being accumulated you could see the shoulders drop but when they came out to bat they looked really positive. Shubman Gill was dismissed by a controversial catch but Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara looked comfortable out in the middle. Starting from the skipper and Pujara, India were poor with their shot selections as they gifted their wickets in the last session of Day 4. Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli began building a steady partnership giving India hope as they needed 280 runs to win on Day 5. But alas, they did not last more than a session!

India did not respond well in their first outing as they lost both the openers on a score of 30 after getting off to a brisk start. Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli were also dismissed after getting off to start and it was a stubborn stand by Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja that helped them steady the ship. Jadeja was dismissed two runs short of his half-century and it was Shardul Thakur who combined with Rahane for the seventh wicket and gave India a bit of hope. They added 108 runs together with Rahane scoring 89 runs in 129 balls and Shardul Thakur got a well-deserved 50. They were bowled out for 296 runs and conceded a lead of 173 runs which proved to be way too much in the context of the game. It was a combined bowling effort by the lads from Down Under with Pat Cummins taking three wickets and the other three fast bowlers chipping in with 2 each. Nathan Lyon also had one in the four overs he bowled and despite India's fightback in the first session of Day 3, it was Austalia who were in control.

India did win the toss and Rohit Sharma cited the conditions as the reason for bowling first but the cloud cover only lasted for one hour after which the sky has been completely blue with a sun beaming through the five days. Australia feasted on the conditions as they accumulated runs freely on Day 1 and they put on 327 runs for the loss of 3 wickets. They were 76 for 3 at one stage but a 285-run partnership between Steven Smith and Travis Head took the game away from the Indians with Head reaching his century in just 106 deliveries. Steven Smith was five runs short of his century when Day 2 began and it took him two deliveries to reach his landmark but India managed to pull things back a bit as they claimed four wickets in the morning session. Travis Head scored 163 runs in 174 balls and Steven Smith playing the anchor role made 121 in 268 deliveries. Alex Carey scored a quickfire 48 to help the Aussies put on a total of 469 runs in the first inning with Mohammed Siraj the pick of the bowlers for India claiming four wickets. Shardul Thakur and Mohammad Shami had two scalps under their belt with Ravindra Jadeja chipping in with one.

SESSION SUMMARY - 70 runs, 23.3 overs, 7 wickets. A lot of responsibility was on the shoulders of Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane to take this game deep after their counter-attacking display in the last session of Day 4. They started off well too but the 47th over from Scott Boland absolutely changed the course of the game. He set up Kohli perfectly and made him chase a ball well outside the off stump and Steven Smith took a screamer at slips. Then two balls later he removed Ravindra Jadeja for a duck and almost got rid of KS Bharat the following delivery. Ajinkya Rahane looked solid though and continued to build up a stand along with Bharat. However, he too lost his wicket playing a very poor shot and as soon as Rahane went back, India collapsed like nine pins. For Australia, it was Scott Boland who started things off with that brilliant over, and then Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon ran through the lower middle order in no time with the spinner ending with four wickets.

AUSTRALIA WIN THE WORLD TEST CHAMPIONSHIP BY 209 RUNS! They become the first team in the world to win all ICC competitions having already won the ODI and T20I World Cups and the Champions Trophy. What an outstanding team they are as they came into the final game having been at the summit of the rankings and thoroughly deserve this glory! India will be really disappointed with their performance in this game as they were on the backfoot right from the start and did not offer any fight against the mighty Australians.

OUT! TAKEN! Australia writes their name in history books! Nathan Lyon gets the last wicket and this will be a moment that the Aussies will cherish for a long time. This is flighted, full and around middle, Mohammed Siraj looks to reverse-sweep it away but is a bit early and gets a top edge towards backward point where Scott Boland takes an absolute dolly.

Floated, full and on off, Mohammed Siraj blocks it to the off side.

We have reached Lunchtime but since there is only one wicket left for the Aussies to take we will have half an hour of play extended.

Tossed up, full and on middle, Mohammed Siraj defends it on the front foot.