Sydney [Australia], January 5: Australian captain Pat Cummins said he was excited to defend the ICC World Test Championship title against South Africa at Lord’s after his team defeated India in the fifth Test.

After defeating India in the fifth and final Border-Gavaskar Test to guarantee their spot in the Final at Lord’s in June, Australia will get the opportunity to defend their World Test Championship title.

At the press conference after the game, Cummins said, “We talk about the World Test Championship a lot, it is a trophy we are really proud to hold so we want to go back and defend it.”

“I think it is a great tournament in that you have got to play well consistently and across all different conditions against different teams.”

“It is great to be there again and I cannot wait to get over there,” he said.

India chose to bat first in the SCG Test after winning the toss. As the top order threw away their wickets, particularly Virat Kohli (17), who continued to struggle with outside off-stump deliveries, India got off to another dismal start.

But India reached 185/10 in 72.2 overs thanks to the efforts of captain Jasprit Bumrah (22 in 17 balls, with three fours and a six), Rishabh Pant (40 in 98 balls, with three fours and a six), and Ravindra Jadeja (26 in 95 balls, with three fours).

The Australians’ best bowler, Boland (4/31) was once again a source of frustration for Indian hitters. Pat Cummins received 2/37 and Mitchell Starc grabbed 3/49.

Australia lost wickets often in their first innings, even after Jasprit Bumrah (2/33) left the field because of a serious injury scare. India continued to dominate the Australians under the interim captain Virat, dismissing them for only 181 runs and gaining a four-run lead. Steve Smith (33 in 57 balls, with four boundaries and a six) had some attacking intent, while debutant Beau Webster (57 in 105 balls, with five fours) produced a strong batting performance.

The two best bowlers for India were Mohammed Siraj (3/51) and Prasidh Krishna (3/42).

Yashasvi Jaiswal (22 in 35 balls, four boundaries) and KL Rahul (13) put up a 45-run partnership to give India a four-run lead and a promising start. However, Boland (6/45) once again caused problems for the Indian batsmen. With 61 runs in 33 balls (six fours and four sixes), Pant did mount a counterattack, but India was bowled out for 157 runs, giving the Australians a 162-run victory. During the last innings, Bumrah was unable to bowl.

Australia struggled for a while during the chase of 162 runs at 58/3, but despite a fight from Prasidh Krishna (3/65), the team won by six wickets thanks to the knocks of Usman Khawaja (41 in 45 balls, with four boundaries), Travis Head (34* in 38 balls, with four boundaries), and Webster (39* in 34 balls, with six fours).

Bumrah won “Player of the Series” with 32 wickets, while Boland won “Player of the Match” with his ten-wicket haul.