After taking three wickets in final 30 minutes on Day 2 of Boxing Day Test, Australia put themselves into a commanding position at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday. While Steve Smith carried on from where he left off on Day 1 and shepherded the lower order to perfection. The 112-run stand between Smith and Cummins propelled Australia over the 400-run mark.
India reached 164 for five at stumps on day two, trailing Australia by 310 runs in the fourth Test here on Friday.
Jaiswal was run out following a mix up with Kohli, who was caught behind in the following over.
Australia were all out after lunch with Steve Smith scoring his 34th Test hundred.
Resuming at their overnight score of 311 for six, the hosts added 163 runs on the day to post a commanding total.
For India, Jasprit Bumrah (4/99) and Ravindra Jadeja (3/78) shared seven wickets between them while Akash Deep (2/94) had two scalps.
Earlier, Rohit Sharma's struggles in Australia persisted as India stumbled to 51 for 2 at tea on the second day of the fourth Test. Australia, powered by Steve Smith's 34th Test century, set an imposing first-innings total of 474 runs.
Rohit (3) fell early, mistiming a pull shot off Pat Cummins, which was comfortably caught by Scott Boland at mid-on. KL Rahul (24), batting at No. 3, showed promise but was undone by a stunning delivery from Cummins just before tea. The ball swung away late after pitching, clipping Rahul's off-bail, and further tilting the match in Australia’s favour.
Steve Smith's sublime 140 was the cornerstone of Australia's innings. Resuming the day at 311 for 6, Smith added crucial partnerships of 112 runs with Cummins (49) and 44 runs with Mitchell Starc (15). Despite Jasprit Bumrah’s spirited effort (4/99 in 28.4 overs), India struggled to contain the Australian batters as Mohammed Siraj (0/122 in 23 overs) faltered with inconsistent lines and lengths.
Smith, overnight on 68, reached his century with a crisp drive through cover. His celebrations were restrained, marked by a nod of acknowledgment to his teammates. His innings showcased versatility—patient defence on day one followed by aggressive intent on day two. He pulled and hooked with authority, smashing two sixes, including a towering one off Siraj.
India’s bowlers failed to exploit the helpful conditions, with the semi-new Kookaburra proving ineffective. Cummins capitalised on the lack of discipline, adding 49 crucial runs with seven boundaries. Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja (2/72) and Washington Sundar (1/49) failed to provide breakthroughs, making India’s decision to play two spinners questionable.
The Australian crowd remained vocal, heckling Siraj and Virat Kohli, as India’s bowlers struggled to counter Australia’s dominance on a testing day.
India vs Australia 4th Test full scorecard | India 1st Inning at stumps on Day 2 |
| 164-5 (46 ov) CRR:3.57 |
| Batter | | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | runout (A Carey / P Cummins) | 82 | 118 | 11 | 1 | 69.49 | |
| Rohit Sharma (C) | c SM Boland b P Cummins | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 60 | |
| KL Rahul | b P Cummins | 24 | 42 | 3 | 0 | 57.14 | |
| Virat Kohli | c A Carey b SM Boland | 36 | 86 | 4 | 0 | 41.86 | |
| Akash Deep | c NM Lyon b SM Boland | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Rishabh Pant (WK) | Not out | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 85.71 | |
| Ravindra Jadeja | Not out | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 57.14 | |
| Extras | 9 (b 0, Ib 2, w 5, nb 2, p 0) | |
| Total | 164 (5 wkts, 46 Ov) | |
| Yet to Bat | Nitish Kumar Reddy,Washington Sundar,Jasprit Bumrah,Mohammed Siraj | |
| Fall of Wickets |
| 8-1(Rohit Sharma 1.6),51-2(KL Rahul 14.6),153-3(Yashasvi Jaiswal 40.6),154-4(Virat Kohli 42.1),159-5(Akash Deep 44.3) |
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | NB | WD | ECO |
| Mitchell Starc | 13 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3.69 |
| Pat Cummins | 13 | 2 | 57 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4.38 |
| Scott Boland | 12 | 3 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Nathan Lyon | 5 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.6 |
| Mitchell Marsh | 3 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Australia 1st Inning scorecard |
| 474-10 (122.4 ov) CRR:3.86 |
| Batter | Dismissals | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
| Sam Konstas | lbw b R Jadeja | 60 | 65 | 6 | 2 | 92.31 |
| Usman Khawaja | c KL Rahul b J Bumrah | 57 | 121 | 6 | 0 | 47.11 |
| Marnus Labuschagne | c V Kohli b W Sundar | 72 | 145 | 7 | 0 | 49.66 |
| Steven Smith | b A Deep | 140 | 197 | 13 | 3 | 71.07 |
| Travis Head | b J Bumrah | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mitchell Marsh | c R Pant b J Bumrah | 4 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 30.77 |
| Alex Carey (WK) | c R Pant b A Deep | 31 | 41 | 0 | 1 | 75.61 |
| Pat Cummins (C) | c N K Reddy b R Jadeja | 49 | 63 | 7 | 0 | 77.78 |
| Mitchell Starc | b R Jadeja | 15 | 36 | 0 | 1 | 41.67 |
| Nathan Lyon | lbw b J Bumrah | 13 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 72.22 |
| Scott Boland | Not out | 6 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 16.67 |
| Extras | 27 (b 0, Ib 11, w 10, nb 6, p 0) |
| Total | 474 (10 wkts, 122.4 Ov) |
| Bowler | O | M | R | W | NB | ECO |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 28.4 | 9 | 99 | 4 | 3 | 3.45 |
| Mohammed Siraj | 23 | 3 | 122 | 0 | 0 | 5.3 |
| Akash Deep | 26 | 8 | 94 | 2 | 2 | 3.62 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 23 | 4 | 78 | 3 | 0 | 3.39 |
| Nitish Kumar Reddy | 7 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Washington Sundar | 15 | 2 | 49 | 1 | 1 | 3.27 |
 "IND vs AUS Highlights 4th Test: Kohli-Jaiswal mix-up triggers batting collapse; 164-5 at Stumps")
