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When Pat Cummins-Led Australia Thrashed India To Win World Test Championship

Pat Cummins led Australia to their first WTC Title [X]Pat Cummins led Australia to their first WTC Title [X]

On June 11, 2023, Australia engraved their name in the history books, becoming the first-ever team to win ICC titles for all three formats. Under Pat Cummins' leadership, they sealed the ICC World Test Championship mace with a massive 209-run win over the powerhouse, India, in a much-anticipated final. 

India won the toss at Kennington Oval and invited Australia to bat first on a fresh pitch. They got the Aussies reduced to 3 down for just 76 runs before the explosive Travis Head inspired a remarkable counter-attack alongside ex-skipper Steve Smith.


The Travis Head and Steve Smith 285-run spectacle

After finding themselves in a rather complex situation of 3 down early on in the innings, Head starred with a ballistic knock as he ran over the Indian bowling with a century in just 106 deliveries. On the other end, Smith batted like his usual self, reaching his ton in 229 balls.

With their contrasting batting styles, the duo added 285 off 408 balls before the southpaw, at 163(174), gloved a short ball from Siraj towards the keeper. 

Smith fell to Shardul Thakur as he got an inside edge to hit the stumps at 121 (268). They ended the first innings with a healthy score of 469.

Head slammed a scintillating ton [X]Head slammed a scintillating ton [X]

On the other hand, India kept losing wickets at crucial junctures of the first innings until Ajinkya Rahane added 71 and 109 runs with Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur, respectively. However, they couldn't step up as a unit, conceding a massive first-innings lead of 173 runs.

Captain Pat Cummins steered the Aussie bowling with a clinical 3/83, dismissing Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane, who scored a gritty 89.

Australia yet again batted well to add another 270 on the board and asked India to chase down a record-breaking 443. Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc added crucial 93 runs for the 7th wicket, scoring 66 and 41 runs, respectively.

Like the first innings, India got a disastrous start and found themselves at 93/3 before the veteran duo of Virat Kohli and Rahane showed some resistance and stitched an 86-run stand. 

Thus, they entered the final day with a glimmer of hope, as they needed 279 more runs to win with seven wickets in hand.

All hell broke lose for India on day 5 with a fantastic spell from Scott Boland, who broke the Indian resistance. He led the Aussie pace attack on Day 5, bowling out the Indians within 70 runs as Australia clinched the title by a colossal margin.