 "Australia scripted a successful comeback to clinch the Test series against India. Despite India's forgettable series, Jasprit Bumrah still had something to be proud about. Image: Reuter / AP")
Team India failed to qualify for the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final after they lost to Australia by six wickets in the fifth and final Test in Sydney on Sunday. The win helped Australia regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a decade and also reach the WTC final for a second consecutive time.
The Pat Cummins-led side will face South Africa in the WTC final at Lord’s in June. India had emerged victorious on their last two tours of Australia (2018-19 and 2020-21), but a third consecutive Test series triumph Down Under wasn’t meant to be.
IND vs AUS | Let’s be real, India actually exceeded expectations against Australia
One of the major reasons for India’s defeat is the team’s seniors like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma underperforming with the bat, and another reason is that of their over-reliance on Jasprit Bumrah when it comes to bowling. India came into the Sydney Test trailing Australia 1-2 following a 184-run loss in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. The visitors needed to beat Australia in Sydney and level the series 2-2 to have any hopes of qualifying for the WTC final.
Australia enjoyed a memorable home Test series against India this time around, and that’s what the numbers define. We take a look at some important statistics and records:
Stats roundup from IND vs AUS Sydney Test
—The last time Australia bounced back to win a series after going 0-1 down was in 1997. Australia were 0-1 down against England in the Ashes series in England, but the visitors scripted a comeback to win the six-match Test series 3-2.
—Australia now hold series titles against every opponent (Excluding Afghanistan and Ireland). This is the third time they have done so, and is the sixth time when a team has held series titles against each of the other teams.
—Only 1141 balls were bowled at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) during the fifth Australia-India Test. This is the shortest Test in Sydney since 1896. Two other Tests, both featuring Australia and England, at the SCG, have ended in lesser duration in terms of number of deliveries (1129 balls in 1887/88 and 911 balls in 1894/95).
Impact Shorts
More Shorts—This series marked the third time since 2000 that India were bowled out for less than 200 in each innings of a Test in two Test matches during a series. India were dismissed for 180 and 175 during the Adelaide Test, and 185 and 157 in Sydney. India were all out for less than 200 in both innings against England in 2014-15 (152 and 161 in Manchester, and 148 and 94 at the Oval). The other instance was against New Zealand in 2002-03 (161 and 121 in Wellington, and 99 and 154 in Hamilton).
—Australia last defeated India in a Test series during the 2014-15 home season. Four series have been played ever since, and each of those series have ended in India winning by 2-1 margins.
—India have now lost three Tests in a series in the 2024-25 season on two occasions (0-3 loss vs New Zealand the other). The last time such an incident happened was when they lost 1-3 against England in a home series in 1976-77 and 2-3 against Australia Down Under in 1977-78.
—Jasprit Bumrah finished the Test series against Australia with 32 wickets. His tally of 32 wickets is the joint highest wicket-taker among Indian seamers in a Test series. The legendary Kapil Dev had also taken 32 wickets during a Test series against Pakistan in 1979/80 at home.
—Bumrah is also the joint highest wicket-taker during an India-Australia Test series, with Harbhajan Singh having taken 32 wickets during a home Test series in 2001.
Other important statistics from IND vs AUS Test series (2024-25)
Top run-getter: Travis Head (448 runs from five matches)
Top wicket-taker: Jasprit Bumrah (32 wickets from five matches)
Highest individual score: Yashasvi Jaiswal (161 in first Test, Perth)
Most fifties in this series: Marnus Labuschagne (Three fifties)
Most centuries in this series: Travis Head and Steve Smith (Two centuries each)
Best bowling figures in an innings: Scott Boland (6/45 in fifth Test, Sydney)
Most five-wicket hauls in this series: Jasprit Bumrah (Three five-fers)
Player of the Series: Jasprit Bumrah (32 wickets from five matches)