Lyon-Boland Partnership Helps Australia Lead By 333 Runs At Melbourne

December 29, 2024: The Australian tailenders, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland, and skipper Pat Cummins continued to frustrate India sustaining the pace attack, and took the total lead to 33 runs at the end of Day Four of the 4th Border-Gavaskar Test in Melbourne.

Australia ended the day’s play at 228/9 after being reduced to 91/6 at one point in time. Lyon and Boland have already registered a strong 55-run partnership. They will look to extend their partnership for as long as possible to give Australia the edge on this seemingly flat wicket.

The comeback from the Aussies has made sure that all three results remain possible on the final day of the game tomorrow. India will look to get the last wicket early and then take the call of whether to chase the target or go for a draw.

Jasprit Bumrah had a chance to secure another fifer by taking the last Australian wicket, but a no-ball nullified the opportunity. Earlier, Mohammed Siraj also missed a ‘caught and bowled’ opportunity, which have resulted in Australia being all out.

Following the no-ball, Nathan Lyon flicked Bumrah for a double, completing their fifty-run partnership with Scott Boland. In the final two overs of the day, the Australian pair added 21 runs to the total.

Australia were 135/6 at tea. Marnus Labuschagne was the first to be dismissed after tea for a well-made 70, with Mohammed Siraj taking his wicket. Mitchell Starc was soon run out for 5, leaving Australia at 156/8. Australian skipper Pat Cummins contributed an important 41 runs before being dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja.

Nathan Lyon, who remains unbeaten on 41, has hit five boundaries and will aim to extend the lead further with Scott Boland, who is on 10*.

The Aussies resumed the second session from 53/2. In the first few overs of the second session on Day 4, the Aussies capitalized a few runs on the board. However, that didn’t break the Indian pacers’ confidence, who were determined to put up a show in the game.

In the 33rd over, Mohammed Siraj got his second wicket after he removed Steve Smith from the crease for 13 runs.
Travis Head replaced Smith on the crease, but he couldn’t get time to settle as the mighty Bumrah removed Travis for one run in the 34th over. With Head’s wicket, Bumrah achieved the milestone of becoming the first Indian to pick the fastest 200 Test wickets.

The top India pacer was on fire in the second session. Bumrah got rid of Mitchell Marsh for a four-ball duck in the same over. The 34th over turned out to be a game-changer as it helped India dominate over the Aussie batter. Alex Carey replaced Marsh but struggled to cement a partnership with Labuschagne. Bumrah got his 4-fer as he removed Carey in the 36th over for two runs. After losing six wickets in their second inning, skipper Pat Cummins and Labuschagne took things on their hand and cemented a crucial partnership of 44 runs.

In the 43rd over, Labuschagne slammed his half-century. He held Australia’s inning together in the second session.
The visitors need to keep a check on their fielding as they cannot lose runs in the third session on Day 4. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s performance on the field will also raise a few questions as the youngster dropped three catches in the second session itself.

In the second session, Australia scored 82 runs and India picked up four wickets from the 24 overs of play. The visitors will be aiming to bundle out the Aussies as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Cummins and Labuschange will be eyeing to build up a partnership.