Australia beat India in World Test Championship final

LONDON: Scott Boland sparked a dramatic collapse as a dominant Australia hammered India by 209 runs to win the World Test Championship final at The Oval on Sunday.

India, set a record 444 to win, resumed on 164-3.

But they slumped to 234 all out before lunch on the fifth day, losing their last five wickets for a mere 22 runs. Boland did the initial damage with two wickets in Sunday’s seventh over, including the prize scalp of Virat Kohli, on his way to figures of 3-46 in 16 overs.

Off-spinner Nathan Lyon (4-41) then polished off the tail.

Victory meant Australia had now captured the one major men’s cricket title that had previously eluded them.

Boland might not have been in the side but for an injury to Josh Hazlewood.

The 34-year-old seamer now looks to have assured himself of a place in Australia’s XI for the first Ashes Test against England at Edgbaston starting on Friday.

“It felt pretty good to get Kohli out,” said Boland, who has now taken 33 wickets in eight Tests at the remarkably low average of 14.57.

“I have been playing state cricket for Victoria for 12 years,” he added. “I have done some hard work and it is nice to play international cricket and get some wickets.”

Defeat left India, beaten by New Zealand in the inaugural 2021 WTC final in Southampton, still searching for their first piece of global silverware in a decade.

Had India reached a target of 444, it would have surpassed the West Indies’ 418-7 against Australia at St. John’s in 2003 as the highest winning fourth-innings chase in Test history.

India were also attempting to top the corresponding Oval record of 263 posted by England in a one-wicket win over Australia way back in 1902.

Yet even though the odds were heavily against their