India’s Border-Gavaskar winning head coach Ravi Shastri reckoned that the turning point of India vs Australia’s fourth Test match was Rishabh Pant’s wicket in the second inning at Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne. Shasti believes that the Rohit Sharma-led side knew they would not be able to win the game as they lost three wickets before lunch but Pant joined Jaiswal when India were 33/3 and he managed to put an 88-run stand for the next wicket before getting dismissed by Travis Head.
Shastri said that the hosts are looking for a breakthrough and after Pant’s wicket, Pat Cummins-led side capitalised on that.
“I think the turning point was the wicket of Rishabh Pant. They knew they couldn’t win the game by lunchtime once they lost three wickets. The only chance you have of winning is if there’s a platform set, exactly what Rohit said in the press conference. And then, when Rishabh Pant got out after tea, that lifted the Australians. That was the opening they were looking for, and they made sure to capitalize on it” said Shastri on Star Sports.
Coming back to the fourth Test match, Australia defeated India by 184 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the five-Test match series. India’s top order batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma again flopped, Yashasvi Jaiswal was the best India batter scoring 84 in the second innings before a controversial dismissal.
After taking a 2-1 lead in the fourth Test match, Australia inches closer to their qualification for the World Test Championship (WTC) final scheduled to take place in England next year. Australia will now play the fifth Test match against India scheduled to take place from January 3 to 7 at the Sydney Test match in Sydney. South Africa have already qualified for the WTC final.