Pat Cummins was the star of the show for Australia as they beat India by 184 runs in a thrilling end to the fourth Test match at the MCG.

Having been set a total of 340 to win after Jasprit Bumrah had bowled out Nathan Lyon (41) in the second over of the day, following the latter's excellent stand on day four.

Yet India showed little signs of wanting to push on for victory as they aimed to clinch a draw that would have left the series tied at 1-1 heading into the final Test in Sydney.

The tactic might well have worked. Cummins sent Rohit Sharma (nine) and KL Rahul (0) packing in a double-wicket maiden over before Virat Kohli was dismissed by Mitchell Starc (1-25) on five, but India then went through the entire second session of the day without losing a wicket.

Yashasvi Jaiswal (84 from 208 deliveries) and Rishabh Pant (30 from 104 balls) frustrated Australia's bowlers, giving India plenty of hope heading into the final session.

Travis Head (1-14) claimed the vital wicket of Pant, though, and that sparked an almighty India collapse.

Ravindra Jadeja fell to Scott Boland, before Lyon chipped in with his first wicket of the innings to dismiss Nitish Kumar Reddy. 

Cummins finally ended Jaiswal's brilliant knock after a contentious review, and Boland skittled off Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah to finish with 3-39, paving the way for spinner Lyon to seal victory when he pinned Mohammed Siraj lbw, handing Australia a 2-1 lead heading into the final match.

Outstanding with the bat and the ball.

Pat Cummins claims the Mullagh Medal #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/RYnrjAQJPA

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 30, 2024

India will retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a win in Sydney, though this latest defeat means their hopes of reaching the ICC World Test Championship final are out of their hands.

Data Debrief: Captain fantastic

Cummins finished with figures of 3-28 in the second innings, capping off a sensational individual performance in a Test that was played in front of a record crowd in Melbourne.

Across the match, he scored 90 runs and took six wickets. It is the second time he has scored 80+ runs and registered at least six wickets in a Test at the MCG, becoming only the second Australian to do so more than once at the venue, after Jack Gregory.

Lyon's 41, meanwhile, made him the highest-scoring player to have come in at number 10 in an MCG Test for Australia since Stuart MacGill hit 43 against England in December 1998.