IND vs AUS: India Need to Pull Off Record Chase at MCG to Win Boxing Day Test Against Australia

IND vs AUS: Team India will need to chase down a record fourth innings score at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne on the fifth and final day to win the Boxing Day Test against Australia.

Having reduced the hosts to 91 for 6, India had the target within sight on the penultimate day of the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but the home side's lower-order once again frustrated the visitors.

The Australian tailenders, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland, and skipper Pat Cummins helped the hosts out of trouble in the see saw contest as the trio piled on the lead going into stumps on day four. Cummins added 41 off 90, batting at number eight, while Lyon and Boland remained unbeaten with a fifty plus stand.

At 173 for 9, Rohit Sharma's side may have felt the Australian fight was about to end, but Lyon (41* off 54 balls) and Boland (10* off 65 balls) played over 100 balls and shared 55-run stand to take Australia's lead to 333 runs ahead of stumps on day four.

The comeback from the Aussies has made sure that all three results remain possible on the final day of the game on Monday (December 30), when India will look to get the last wicket early and then take the call of whether to chase the target or go for a draw.

The Lyon-Boland stand leaves India needing more than the previous highest successful chase of 332 to pull off a win at the MCG, and in the process also keep their BGT retention hopes as well as a spot in next year's World Test Championship final at Lord's alive. Here is a look at the biggest chases at MCG:

Highest Successful Chase at MCG in Tests

332 by England vs Australia in 1928
297 by England vs Australia in 1985
295 by South Africa vs Australia in 1953
286 by Australia vs England in 1929
282 by England vs Australia in 1908

Rohit and co will fancy themselves to chase the target down on the final day of the Melbourne Test with their lower-middle order batters Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy all showing good signs of form. Team India will only need the top order to get a good portion of runs.

India had chased down 329 at the Gabba when they toured Down Under last time in the 2020-21 season, when Rishabh Pant played the match-winning knock to breach the fortress of the Australian cricket team. Here is a look at highest successful chases by India Down Under: