What happened on Day 5 of WTC 2023 final in IND vs AUS Test?

Australia completed a thumping 209-run win over India on Day 5 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval on Sunday. With the impressive win, Australia became the second team to be crowned world Test champions and also the first side to win all ICC trophies.

Chasing 444, India began the day needing 280 runs with seven wickets in hand. They had a glimmer of hope with Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane at the crease. However, Scott Boland dismissed Kohli (49) and Ravindra Jadeja (0) in the same over to give a massive jolt to India’s hopes.

Kohli chased a full and wide delivery and was brilliantly caught by Steve Smith at second slip. Jadeja then was undone by another excellent delivery that seamed away slightly and could only nick the ball to the keeper.

India slipped to defeat pretty quickly after the double blow and ended up getting bowled out for 234 in 63.3 overs. Rahane looked good again but fell for 46. He attempted a loose drive against Mitchell Starc but only managed to edge the ball to the keeper. Shardul Thakur fell without scoring, trapped lbw by Nathan Lyon from around the wicket.

Umesh Yadav (1) was dismissed by a bouncer from Starc while Srikar Bharat, who hung around for his 23, skied a tossed-up delivery and gave a return catch to Lyon. The winning moment for Australia came when Mohammed Siraj (1) reverse-swept Lyon straight to backward point.

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“Playing two finals is honestly a good achievement” - Indian captain Rohit Sharma

Despite the abject surrender by the batters on Day 5, Indian captain Rohit Sharma stated that the team needs to be given credit for four years of hard work and reaching two WTC finals.

At the post-match presentation after India’s defeat, Rohit commented:

"We've worked hard for all those four years. Playing two finals is honestly a good achievement for us. But we'd like to go a mile ahead as well. You can't take the credit away from what we've done in those last two years to come here. Great effort from the entire unit. Unfortunate that we couldn't go on and win the final but we'll keep our heads high and fight."

On the crowd support, he added:

“It's been brilliant. They've gotten behind us all the time. I'd like to thank each one of them. They were cheering for every run and every wicket.”

On a personal note, Rohit failed to make an impact in yet another crucial ICC encounter, registering scores of 15 and 43.