India suffered a heavy 10-wicket defeat in the pink-ball Test at Adelaide, marking Rohit Sharma's fourth straight loss as Test captain. After resuming at 128/5 on Day 3, India added only 47 runs, collapsing to 175 all out in 36.5 overs. Nitish Kumar Reddy was the only bright spot, scoring 42 runs in a disappointing team performance.
Pat Cummins was the standout bowler for Australia, taking five wickets and enabling the hosts to level the five-match series at 1-1. Chasing a modest target, openers Nathan McSweeney (10*) and Usman Khawaja (9*) wrapped up the win in just 3.2 overs, bouncing back impressively after their previous 295-run loss in Perth.
Rohit Sharma now joins a list of Indian captains with four consecutive Test losses, a record shared with Datta Gaekwad (1959), MS Dhoni (2011, 2014), and Virat Kohli (2020-21). The record for the longest losing streak remains with MAK Pataudi, who lost six matches in 1967-68, followed by Sachin Tendulkar’s five in 1999.
The Adelaide Test is also noted for being one of the shortest completed Tests in Australia, lasting just 1,031 balls, ranking fourth on the list of shortest Tests ever. Travis Head excelled with a stunning 140 runs, hitting 17 fours and 4 sixes at a strike rate of 99.29. Cummins claimed 5/57 in 14 overs, playing a crucial role in dismantling the Indian batting order.
Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are currently experiencing their lowest batting averages in 2024, with Kohli managing 373 runs at an average of 26.64 in 16 innings, while Rohit has 597 runs at 27.13 in 23 innings.
Most Consecutive Defeats for Indian Captains:
6: MAK Pataudi (1967-68)
5: Sachin Tendulkar (1999-00)
4: Datta Gaekwad (1959)
4: MS Dhoni (2011)
4: MS Dhoni (2014)
4: Virat Kohli (2020-21)
4: Rohit Sharma (2024)