Australia surged into a June showdown against South Africa at Lord's with a six-wicket victory in the fifth Test against India in Sydney on Sunday.

The series was a real treat for cricket loving fans all over the world as there was no shortage of twist and turns in the five-match series.

"I'm immensely proud, I absolutely love playing with these guys and it's been a lot of fun along the way as well."

India set a target of 162, but despite losing three wickets in pursuit, Australia managed to reach 162/4, with Travis Head unbeaten on 34 and Beau Webster not out on 39.

“It's one thing to have a plan, but then to be able to execute that, the way that we have to Virat, (to) put him under immense pressure," said Australia men’s coach Andrew McDonald.

The acclaimed 37-year-old opener Rohit has had a poor series and the writing was on the wall when he failed to show up for India's pre-match press conference.

Walking out at 17/2, Kohli edged a delivery from Scott Boland towards Steve Smith at second slip, with Smith reaching low to his right. With the red Kookaburra wedged between his thumb and index finger, Smith went on to scoop the ball in the direction of Marnus Labuschagne - who caught the ball - before Kohli stood his ground.

Kohli had a huge left-off on his first ball and finally departed for 17, following KL Rahul (4), Yashasvi Jaiswal (10) and Shubman Gill (20) who were out before lunch.

Regular skipper and opener Rohit was "rested" for Sydney Test, India said, after failing to get past 10 runs in any of his five innings during the series, which Australia lead 2-1.

His comments follow the blockbuster fourth Test between India and Australia that drew a record 373,691 spectators to the Melbourne Cricket Ground over five enthralling days.

Opener Rohit has just one fifty and 10 single-digit scores in his last 15 Test innings, and even a move down the order failed to pay dividends for the 37-year-old.

A draw in Sydney would be enough for Australia to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy contested between the nations, which India, winners of the last four series, have long held.

Rohit also highlighted the need for team-mate Rishabh Pant to bat more sensibly after throwing his wicket away twice in the defeat, which leaves the tourists trailing 2-1 in the series.

Cummins was named player of the match for his all-round deeds, including taking three key wickets on the final day as the tourists were skittled for 155.

Australia captain Pat Cummins and fellow pacer Scott Boland finished with three wickets apiece, with spinner Nathan Lyon chipping in two on a dramatic final day which was tinged with controversy over the use of the Decision Review System (DRS).

Early on day five of the fourth Test, a bumper crowd of 51,371 had swelled the total number of spectators since the start of the match on Boxing Day to 350,700, with still more expected through the gates.

As Konstas trudged off, some Indian fans booed and others chanted "Kohli! Kohli!", a reference to the clash of shoulders with Virat Kohli on day one which cost the former Indian skipper part of his match fee.

In overcast conditions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Reddy posted a maiden Test half-century and was 85 not out before light rain caused tea to be called 15 minutes early.

It was Smith's 11th Test century against India - the most by any player - and his innings of 140 has put Australia in a strong position after two days of the ICC World Test Championship contest.

The five-match series is locked at 1-1 after India won by 295 runs in Perth before being crushed by 10 wickets in Adelaide. The rain-affected third Test in Brisbane was drawn.