A fired-up Australia wasted little time in crushing Indian hopes of staging a final-day miracle as they romped to a 209-run victory in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval on Sunday.
Needing to score 280 runs on the final day to overhaul the mammoth 444 victory target set by Australia, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane were cheered all the way to the pitch as they came out to resume India`s second innings on 164-3.
However, the boisterous fans were left muted and dejected as Scott Boland and his fellow bowlers ripped through the Indian batting order to dismiss the world`s top-ranked team for 234 and wrap up victory before the lunch break.
The Indians lost their last seven wickets for the addition of just 70 runs on the final day of the contest.
