This Week in Cricket #170: Aus go 2-1 up in the BGT & SA qualify for the WTC final

In this episode of the show, Baldy, Stu and Raj react to Australia's win in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, as well as South Africa's win against Pakistan that makes them the first team to qualify for the World Test Championship final. We start with some initial reaction to the Day 5 action in Melbourne as Australia secured victory against India. Was the decision to bowl Travis Head after tea a masterstroke? Did India get their tactics wrong? And what's going on with Rohit Sharma? Next there's praise for the young stars who shone brightly - Sam Konstas, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Yashasvi Jaiswal - as well as the old heads like Pat Cummins, Steve Smith & Marnus Labuschagne who provided the backbone for Australia's win. We also discuss Jasprit Bumrah's brilliance, whether he's getting enough support from the other bowlers, what India need to do to turn this around, and whether the Aussies need to consider changing a winning side for the Sydney test. We finish up with a discussion about South Africa's win against Pakistan, which books them a spot in the World Test Championship final. Is it great for the game? Does their path to the final justify their inclusion? Are they massively under-rated? And how do we process the fact that they played a second-string side against NZ and still qualified with a test in hand?! If you enjoy our content, please vote for us as the Best Cricket Podcast in the Sports Podcast Awards. We’re delighted to be shortlisted and really appreciate your support: https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/best-cricket-podcast/ We'll be back in your feed again next week to discuss the conclusion of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the Black Caps v Sri Lanka series and more. Until then please take the time to give us a like, follow, share or subscribe on all our channels (@toporderpod on Twitter & Facebook, and @thetoporderpodcast on Instagram & YouTube) and a (5-Star!) review at your favourite podcast provider, or tell a friend to download. It really helps others find the show and is the best thing you can do to support us. You can also find all our written content, including our Hall of Fame series, at our website. You can also dip back into our guest episodes - including conversations with Mike Hesson, Shane Bond and Mike Hussey, current players such as Matt Henry, Sophie Devine and Ish Sodhi, coaches Gary Stead, Jeetan Patel and Luke Wright, as well as Barry Richards, Frankie Mackay, Bharat Sundaresan and many more fascinating people from all across the cricketing world. And if you'd like to reach out to us with feedback, questions or guest suggestions, get in touch at thetoporderpodcast@gmail.com. Thanks for listening. 0:00 Introduction 1:20 Australia v India Day 5 instant reaction - Travis Head turns the game 6:30 India's tactics 10:20 Rohit Sharma's frustration 15:35 Young stars shine - Sam Konstas 24:20 Is Mitchell Marsh under pressure? 27:15 Nitish Kumar Reddy's breakout hundred 31:30 Yashasvi Jaiswal continues to impress 36:45 Australia's experienced players stand up 45:00 Jasprit Bumrah's brilliance 50:15 How can India turn things around in Sydney? 57:00 South Africa make the World Test Championship Final Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices