[Watch] Ajinkya Rahane departs to end India’s hopes on Day 5 of WTC final
India’s hopes of winning a maiden ICC trophy since 2013 all but ended when Ajinkya Rahane nicked a harmless Mitchell Starc delivery to Alex Carey behind the stumps to solidify Australia’s grip on the World Test Championship (WTC) Final at the Oval on Sunday.
Entering Day 5 with high hopes of a miraculous victory, India lost Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja in the space of three deliveries of a Scott Boland over within the first hour of play. The twin dismissals left India reeling at 179-5, with another 265 needed for victory.
However, Rahane remained unfazed and added 33 runs with KS Bharat, before fetching for one outside off and losing his wicket.
Starc, who had been expensive in both innings till then, pitched one fuller than good length, and a well-set Rahane could not resist going after the drive that resulted in him giving a simple catch to Carey.
Here is a video of the dismissal:
Ajinkya Rahane was India's top scorer in the first innings, with an impressive 89 off 129 deliveries to help his side achieve a semblance of respectability with 296 in reply to Australia's 469.
Coming in with the team in trouble at 50-3 in their first innings, the 35-year-old displayed great character and technique to become the first Indian batter to record a half-century in a WTC final.
Rahane was dropped from the Indian Test squad after his poor performance on the tour of South Africa in 2022. However, he was recalled for the WTC final thanks to his impressive showing in the recent Ranji season, scoring 634 runs at an impressive average of 57.6.
Rahane also was instrumental in CSK's IPL title run this season, scoring 326 runs in 14 matches at an average of 32.60 and a phenomenal strike rate of 172.49.
Team India collapse on Day 5 to hand Australia the WTC title
Team India suffered a crushing defeat in the 2023 WTC final, losing by 209 runs against Australia on Day 5 at the Oval.
Entering the final day at 164-3 with a further 280 runs required, India lost all seven wickets inside the first session to lose their second successive WTC final.
Australia, who finished atop the points table in the 2021-23 WTC cycle, started the final in dominating fashion, posting a mammoth 469 in their first innings.
They secured a substantial first-innings lead of 173, after which they declared their second innings in the middle of Day 4 at 270-8 to set India a mountain to climb with a target of 444.
With the victory, Australia became the first team to win all four ICC tournaments - 50 Over World Cup, T20 World Cup, Champions Trophy, and the World Test Championship.
It was also Australia's ninth ICC title in their illustrous history, four clear of joint-second India and West Indies.
Travis Head was adjudged the Player of the Match for his magnificent 163 in the first innings, coming in at 76-3 to help set up Australia's dominant first innings score.
Meanwhile, India will have to wait till the 50-over World Cup at home in October to redeem themselves and break their 10-year ICC tournament jinx.