OTD: India’s biggest Test win in Australia in 2024

On this day a year ago, India clinched a historic win at the Optus Stadium in Perth, defeating Australia by 295 runs, their biggest Test victory by runs on Australian soil. The win was headlined by Jasprit Bumrah’s performance and captaincy, which gave India a 1-0 lead in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. While the visitors eventually went on to lose the five-match series 3-1, this Perth Test shattered numerous records.

India entered the 2024–25 Australian tour off a historic 0-3 home defeat to New Zealand and without several first-choice players, including regular captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. Notably, they had not played a single tour game and carried an inexperienced XI into Perth. Coach Gautam Gambhir’s selections of leaving out Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were questioned heavily. Meanwhile, Australia was returning to red-ball cricket after a long gap and were expected to dominate at home. 

India’s first innings started on a poor note and they were bundled out for just 150, courtesy of Josh Hazlewood’s figures of 4/29. With top-order failures from Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, and Virat Kohli, it was Rishabh Pant (37) and debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy (41) who pushed the total to a decent figure.

In Australia’s first innings with the bat, Bumrah produced a brilliant spell at the end of the day that ripped through Australia. He finished with 5/30 and was supported by Mohammed Siraj’s 2/20 and Harshit Rana’s 3/48, as Australia were bundled out for 104, with their top five collectively contributing just 33 runs. 

The second innings witnessed Jaiswal smashing 161, KL Rahul adding 77, and Kohli finishing on an unbeaten 100 as India declared at 487/6, setting Australia a target of 534. The home team’s second innings began poorly at 12/3 on Day 3. 

Though Travis Head (89) and Mitchell Marsh (47) stabilised the innings, India’s bowlers bounced back on Day 4. Siraj and Sundar chipped in with crucial wickets, and Bumrah’s 3/42 ensured there was no way back for the hosts. Australia were dismissed for 238, handing India a famous 295-run victory.

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