India Bowl Aussies Out Courtesy Kuldeep’s Fifer, Enforce Follow-On

Kuldeep Yadav took five wickets and India took a big stride towards winning the fourth Test against Australia

Kuldeep Yadav took five wickets and India took a big stride towards winning its first Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 40 years.

(Photo: AP)

• India end Day 4 of the fourth and final Test against Australia at 6/0 (follow-on), trailing India by 316 runs.
  
• India are leading 2-1 in the four-match series, having won at Adelaide and Melbourne.
  
• India have never won a Test series in Australia, and last won a Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1978.
  

Australia were 6 without loss in its second innings when play had to be abandoned on Day 4 of the fourth and final Test against India. This was after they were required to follow-on by India, who are chasing their first Test victory at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 40 years.

After rain had delayed play for four hours on Sunday, 6 January, Kuldeep Yadav led India's attack by taking his second five-wicket haul in Tests to bowl Australia out for 300, trailing India by 322 runs after the first innings.

With a first series win in Australia all but confirmed, India captain Virat Kohli then enforced the follow-on, the first time Australia had been required to follow-on at home.

This is the first time in 30 years that Australia have been asked to follow-on at home. The last time was against England in January 1988, also at the SCG.

Marcus Harris was unbeaten on two and Usman Khawaja was four as an early Tea was taken due to bad light, following which play never resumed.

India Bowl Australia Out for 300

After the rain delay it took India just six balls to strike with Mohammed Shami (2-58) bowling Pat Cummins for 25 with a ball that kept low.

Peter Handscomb added nine runs to his overnight score before he was bowled for 37 to become Jasprit's Bumrah's first wicket of the match and reduce Australia to 257-8.

Kuldeep (5-99) then trapped Nathan Lyon for no score, becoming the sixth Indian to take a five-wicket haul at the SCG. He is also only third Indian spinner to take fifer at the Sydney Ground after Shivlal Yadav (5-99, 1985-6) and Anil Kumble (8-142, 2003-04).

Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood shared an entertaining 42-run partnership for the last wicket to take Australia past 300 for just the second time this series, before Kuldeep got his fifth by having Hazlewood (21) out lbw in the 105th over.

Starc finished on 29 not out.

India denied Australia any real possibility of a victory here by batting for nearly two full days with Cheteshwar Pujara (193) and Rishabh Pant (159 not out) scoring hundreds.

India leads the four-Test series 2-1 after wins in the first test at Adelaide by 31 runs and last week's Boxing Day Test in Melbourne to retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy. Australia won the second Test in Perth by 146 runs.

(With inputs from AP)