It hurts, but we have to applaud Australia for being disciplined all the way to win the 2021-23 ICC World Test Championship, with a 209-run victory over India.

Requiring 280 runs to pull off what would have been a stunning chase, India were banking on Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane to kick on. But with the intervention of Scott Boland to dismiss Kohli, the game started diverting back into AUS’ favour. 23.3 overs later, the Indian resistance was shut down and Australia won their maiden WTC title.

Here is a consolidated summary of how the ‘Ultimate Test’ ensued.

Day 5: As it happened

A golden Boland start for Australia

Bowling the opening over of the final day, Scott Boland put early pressure on Kohli and Rahane with some disciplined deliveries. The end result? 0,0,0,0,0,0 in the 41st over.

His patience for a wicket would be rewarded in the 47th over, as he dismissed Kohli (49) and Ravindra Jadeja (0), drawing outside-edges off both. And wait, he almost came close to a third but KS Bharat’s shot was just above the reach of a leaping David Warner.

Double delight for Starc and Lyon

Perhaps India’s last ray of hope, Ajinkya Rahane (46) fell short of consecutive fifties in WTC 2021-23 Final. Good length delivery that was aimed at the stump which Rahane thought to drive up, but it catches the outside edge for an easy catch by Alex Carey.

The Starc-Carey combination worked once again as Umesh Yadav’s bat got a touch off a 137kph bouncer, but instead of a boundary behind, it went to the wicketkeeper.

Lyon, meanwhile, pocketed the wickets of Shardul Thakur (0) and Bharat (23). While Thakur’s dismissal was a peach plum wicket - LBW - Lyon got Bharat to gift the ball into his hands in a caught-and-bowled wicket.

Wait… A third for Lyon and the WTC in the bag

The end came in the form of a Mohammed Siraj reverse sweep, a shot that went straight to Scott Boland. GAME OVER!

Final score: Australia - 469 (Travis Head 163, Steve Smith 121; Mohammed Siraj 4/108, Shardul Thakur 2/83) and 270/8 (Alex Carey 66*, Marnus Labuschagne 41, Mitchell Starc 41; Ravindra Jadeja 3/58, Mohammed Shami 2/39) BEAT India - 296 (Ajinkya Rahane 89, Shardul Thakur 51; Pat Cummins 3/83, Cameron Green 2/44) and 234 (Virat Kohli 49, Ajinkya Rahane 46, Rohit Sharma 43; Nathan Lyon 4/41, Scott Boland 3/46) by 209 runs

Day 4: As it happened

Umesh Yadav lifts the shutters

In just the third over of Day 4, Umesh Yadav opened the floodgates of the comeback with the dismissal of Marnus Labuschagne. A perfect length ball that takes a nick off the bat through to Cheteshwar Pujara at first slip.

Patience pays off for India and Jadeja

Cameron Green took Australia’s lead to 340 with his 25, but his time would be cut short by Ravindra Jadeja. Having fended off three attempts successfully, Green saw his fourth time putting on a defensive stance go against his favour as Jadeja’s delivery hit his glove, and rolled straight into the stumps.

Carey-ing AUS’ lead past 400

Alex Carey, batting at number seven, made the Indian bowlers sweat as he smacked a vital half-century (66 not out) under pressure to ensure Australia maintained their ascendancy in the fixture. His 93-run partnership with Mitchell Starc (41) was the much-needed injection for the Aussies to catapult into an eventual 433-run lead. Carey’s 10-run stand with Cummins would see the team declare their innings at 270-8 and give India a world-record 444 runs to chase and win the WTC 2021-23 championship.

Green stunner halts India’s ambitious start

Not once, but twice! Cam Green has given a strong audition for ‘best catches in Test cricket’. Almost identical to his dismissal of Ajinkya Rahane in the first innings, Cam shows his athleticism to catch Shubman Gill (18) off Boland’s delivery. The exact position of dismissals - gully - and the same intent. India receives the first blow to their run chase as they head into Tea at 41/1.

Double trouble for India in seven deliveries

Just as he was setting the momentum for India, our Hitman saw his innings brought to a conclusion by Nathan Lyon. A mistimed sweep shot attempt that Lyon spotted and trapped him at his middle stump. A referral couldn’t save Ro-Hit, as he got dismissed LBW.

Shortly after, Cheteshwar Pujara would depart. Taking on Pat Cummins’ bouncer delivery, Pujara goes for an uppercut. But it just took a bite off the bat straight into the keeper’s hands. From 92 for 1, the score went to 92/2 and then 93 for 3. Yikes!

King Kohli steps in, with Rahane his lieutenant

Coming in the 20th over, Virat Kohli hit the accelerator pedal to get India from 92/2 to 164/3 in the next 20 overs. A man known for wielding the infernal sword in run chases, Kohli smashed seven boundaries in his ongoing knock of 44 in 60 balls to pile up the pressure on the likes of Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and Nathan Lyon.

Ajinkya Rahane, a resilient figure in the team and battling an early injury, was patient with the bat. His 20 off 59 balls kept the scoreboard active and running as India were slowly and steadily approaching the 170-180 run-mark in the third sessions of Day 4.

STUMPS, Day 4 Score: Australia - 469 (Travis Head 163, Steve Smith 121; Mohammed Siraj 4/108, Shardul Thakur 2/83) and 270/8 (Alex Carey 66*, Marnus Labuschagne 41, Mitchell Starc 41; Ravindra Jadeja 3/58, Mohammed Shami 2/39) VS India - 296 (Ajinkya Rahane 89, Shardul Thakur 51; Pat Cummins 3/83, Cameron Green 2/44) and 164/3 (Virat Kohli 44*, Rohit Sharma 43, Ajinkya Rahane 20*; Nathan Lyon 1/32, Scott Boland 1/38)

Day 3: As it happened

Bolland, Cummins’ relentless attack on Indian batters

Scott Boland and AUS skipper Pat Cummins began Day 3 with high-paced deliveries that constantly put Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat and eventually Shardul Thakur on the edge of their defensive formations.

Boland, for one, made an early breakthrough as he steamrolled past Bharat (5) with just the second ball bowled in the first session. Cummins, on the other hand, tested the patience of Lord Shardul with multiple short deliveries that ended up taking hits on the elbow of the Indian batter.

Rahane’s 89 engineers India’s fightback

Ajinkya Rahane, perhaps the only ray of hope to accelerate our innings, hopped, skipped and jumped his way to notch his 26th Test half-century at the end of the 46th over. A timely injection of confidence this! Some overs later, the Mumbaikar would achieve a personal milestone - 5000 runs in Test cricket.

512 days outside the Test team, Rahane showed he is the best crisis man for India in the middle order and could ably soak and convert the pressure into carrying the team on his back.

…. “Don’t forget me!” says Shardul

Coming at number eight, Shardul has offered quite the support as India reached 200 in 48.1 overs and 250 in 58.2 overs. His 36 aided the team in registering 109 runs in the first session, despite losing a wicket early on in the day. Positive intent!

At 67.6, ‘Lord’ Shardul would reach his fourth career Test fifty and departed having ensured India would not follow-on. His knock meant he is only the third visiting batter with most consecutive 50-plus Test scores at The Oval - after Sir Don Bradman (1930-34) and Allan Border (1985-89).

Siraj and Umesh present The Before & After Tea Show

New ball and Mohammed Siraj: Inseparable! A perfect length delivery that gets a thick edge off Warner’s bat to ‘keeper Bharat. Quite a start to the second innings. Australia would go into the Tea break at 23/1, with Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja at the crease. In his second over after the Tea break, Umesh Yadav did a Siraj. His delivery took a feather touch off Khawaja’s bat outside off into the hands of Bharat.

Aussies survive Jadeja storm to close in on 300-run lead

After Warner and Khawaja’s dismissal, Steve Smith (34) and Travis Head (18) made cameo appearances alongside Labuschagne to pivot Australia past the 100-run mark in the second innings. At stumps, the Aussies maintain a 296-run lead.

Ravindra Jadeja, who claimed the wickets of the centurions from the first innings, kept things tight for the opposition as he rallied his way to become the most successful left-arm Test spinner for India with 267 wickets. He went past Bishan Singh Bedi (266) to earn this achievement.

Right then, we are still some distance behind in this Test. But that’s what they call it a Test. It tests every bit of us as fans too. We have two days to go, and we need to ensure we don’t lose hope. Our boys have done some stellar things in the past, and tomorrow’s first session could just be another!

STUMPS, Day 3 Score: Australia - 469 (Travis Head 163, Steve Smith 121; Mohammed Siraj 4/108, Shardul Thakur 2/83) and 123/4 (Marnus Labuschagne 41*, Steve Smith 34; Ravindra Jadeja 2/25, Umesh Yadav 1/21) VS India - 296 (Ajinkya Rahane 89, Shardul Thakur 51; Pat Cummins 3/83, Cameron Green 2/44)

Day 2: As it happened

India wrest back some control

Seven overs into Day 2’s play, India got rid of Travis Head (163) with Mohammed Siraj as the executioner. A short-ball delivery clipped past the glove and went straight to KS Bharat. After the 285-run fourth wicket stand between Travis Head and Smith ended, there was a landslide of wickets with Cameron Green (6), Steven Smith (121) and Mitchell Starc (5) departing before lunch. Comeback mode: Initiated.

Smith scoops a taste of history

Smith, in particular, went down in the record books for his determined 121. Firstly, his century was his ninth against India, the most by an Australian. It was also his seventh Test ton on English soil, the joint-second most for a visiting batter along with Steve Waugh and behind only Don Bradman (11) and lastly, he is now the third-highest Test centurion (31) for the Aussies only behind Ricky Ponting (41) and Waugh (32).

Personally, he notched his third triple-figure score in four appearances at The Oval and took his tally to 512 runs in six matches. He now is within touching distance of Sir Don Bradman’s record of most Test runs by a visiting batter at The Oval - 553 runs.

Siraj shuts down Australia’s first innings at 469

After dismissing Travis Head (163), Siraj got his rhythm back and would be the most effective bowler with four wickets (4/108). His dismissal of Nathan Lyon (9) marked his 50th wicket in Test cricket.

What do we have here then? Australia plot 469 on the board. Although losing seven wickets for 108 runs, they managed to withstand the sideways movement and uncertain bounce from the deliveries by the Indian bowlers. Time for India to strike back! LETS GO!

Ouch! Early wounds for India’s batting order

Before and after tea, India lost two wickets apiece as they were reduced to 71/4 by 18.2 overs. In a captain-gets-captain scenario, Pat Cummins pitched a full delivery that angled inwards and struck in front of middle on Rohit Sharma’s pads. An early blow whose wound sunk a bit more as upcoming star Shubman Gill and seasoned cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara let their defences open to see the deliveries castle their stumps. Yikes!

‘Sir’ Jadeja and Rahane to the rescue!

When in doubt, dial Ravindra Jadeja. The all-rounder, coming in at number six, injected a timely boost to our batting with his 51-ball 48 as India leapt from 71/4 to 142/5. Supporting him was Ajinkya Rahane, unbeaten on 29 as he pivoted the team to 151/5 at stumps on Day 2.

Well, having said that, it all comes down to Ajinkya Rahane pulling out some tricks from his bag to resuscitate the Indian batting and reduce the 318-run deficit. A bright day of cricket action awaits on a decisive Day 3, with a positive dash early on shifting the momentum in our favour. Fingers crossed!

STUMPS, Day 2 Brief Scores: Australia: 469 (121.3 overs) - Travis Head 163, Steve Smith 121; Mohammed Siraj 4/108, Shardul Thakur 2/83 VS India: 151/5 (38 overs) - Ravindra Jadeja 48, Ajinkya Rahane 29*; Nathan Lyon 1/4, Cameron Green 1/22

Day 1: As it happened

Siraj strikes early to send Khawaja back for a duck

It looked like a good toss to win and bowl first on a pitch that had a fair covering of grass. India started well with Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj taking the new ball. The Australian openers, David Warner and Usman Khawaja, had scored just two runs in the first three overs before Siraj struck in the fourth with an absolute peach of a delivery. A wobble-seam delivery bowled with the perfect line and length was enough for Khawaja to edge it as KS Bharat took a simple catch. Things were looking good!

The just-before and just-after Lunch phase. The only time India seemed in control

Just before the teams broke for Lunch, Shardul Thakur took the classy-looking Warner’s wicket with a short ball that the Australian tried to pull away for a shot. It brushed the bottom of his gloves, with Bharat taking a spectacular catch at full stretch.

Post Lunch, it was Shami who got us our third of the day with a remarkable seam delivery. Marcus Labuschagne was in good touch on 26 runs, but he failed to read Shami’s delivery as it beat his inside edge and uprooted the off-stump. Australia were reeling at 76/3 at the end of it. Things were looking better!

The Head show puts the Aussies a-head

Head entered the pitch at number 5 and immediately set the tone for what was to follow. He started off with some quick-hitting as the bowlers tried to trick him with full deliveries, but he was not to be deterred. He swiftly went on to score a half-century in just 60 balls and added another 50 in just another 46 balls.

This century makes him the first centurion in a WTC Final, and it came on the back of some solid hitting and precise shot placement from the 29-year-old. Things seemed to be slipping away.

Just pure Aussie dominance

Smith can very easily prove to be a thorn in the side of any opponent and today he did the same with the Indian bowlers. Playing second fiddle to Head, he went on to frustrate the bowlers. He ended the day with 95 runs but utilised 227 deliveries (almost 38 overs) alone.

By the 73rd over, the duo went on to complete a 200-run partnership stand that will surely become the base of Australia’s WTC charge as the game progresses. It’s now on the Indian management to think of a strategy overnight and for the bowlers to implement the same on the field if they want to shift the momentum towards them tomorrow.

Oh India really need one, and need one quickly. They have a newish ball, and will desperately hope for some early morning assistance to break through and claw back. Things are looking dicey!

STUMPS, Day 1 Brief Score: Australia: 327/3 (85 overs) - Travis Head 146*, Steve Smith 95*; Mohammed Siraj 1/67, Mohammed Shami 1/77