Melbourne: The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) witnessed a historic milestone during the fourth Border-Gavaskar Trophy, setting a new attendance record for a Test match in Australia. GeoSuper I mentioned.
Over five days, 373,691 fans packed into the iconic stadium, surpassing the previous record of 350,534, which had stood since 1937 when Australia faced England under the legendary Sir Donald Bradman.
The final day of the blockbuster Test against India attracted an extraordinary crowd, with 51,371 fans entering the gates by the first session and more expected later in the afternoon.
This figure surpassed the 43,867 fans who attended the fourth day, a rare event that surprised the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC), the organization that runs the MCG.
The distribution of attendance over the five days included daily figures of 87,242, 85,147, 83,073, 43,867, and 74,362.
The MCC reduced crowd sizes for the fifth day, resulting in logistical challenges, including significant traffic congestion due to limited gate access.
Yarra Park, normally reserved for private events, has been opened to public parking to accommodate the influx.
This historic turnout comes after India’s impressive draw at the MCG during the 2022 T20 World Cup, where 90,293 fans witnessed the thrilling match against Pakistan and 82,507 fans attended the match against Zimbabwe.
In the final hour of play at the MCG, Australia pulled off a dramatic win in the Test match, taking a 2-1 lead in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Australia secured victory by taking seven wickets in the final session, thwarting India’s efforts to save the match.
Australia scored a total of 474 runs in the first innings, led by Steve Smith’s 140 and Marnus Labuschagne’s 72, with Jasprit Bumrah taking 4-99. In the second innings, Australia scored 234, with Labuschagne contributing 70, while Bumrah once again excelled with figures of 5-57.
In reply, India managed 369 in their first innings, aided by centuries from Reddy (114) and Jaiswal’s 82, as Scott Boland claimed 3-57. In the final innings, India were bowled out for 155 runs despite Jaiswal’s gallant 84, with Pat Cummins and Boland sharing the spoils with scores of 3-28 and 3-39 respectively.
Australia won the match by 184 points.