Australia bowled out for 181 in reply to India’s first innings total of 185 (Beau Webster 57, Bumrah 2-33, Mohd Siraj 3-51, Prasidh Krishna 3/42, Nitish Reddy 2-32)
After a blazing start, India slumped again to 78-4 in their second outing in 16 overs
India’s regular Test captain Rohit Sharma affirms ‘he is not going anywhere’, just opted out of Sydney Test in the interests of the team for remaining woefully out of form despite best efforts
Bumrah has injury concerns; bowled just one over after lunch before leaving field; has had a scan at a hospital; no official update on injury yet
Under pressure following a frustrating failure with the bat, and as captain of the side, Rohit Sharma finally chose to rest himself for the all-important 5th and final Test of the 2024-25 series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), allowing Shubman Gill to return to the side and KL Rahul to climb back into the opening slot.
But that did not change the script for India – the forgettable top order failures continued into the must-win Test for India, to retain the BGT, in the face of relentless and hostile Aussie pace attack led by Scott Boland (with amazing figures of 20-08-31-4), leaving Rishab Pant (40), Ravindra Jadeja (26), Washington Sundar (14) and Jasprit Bumrah (22) to put some respectability to the innings total.
With the team bundled out for a paltry 185 runs, less than half-an-hour before close, the visitors could take heart in that man Bumrah, leading the side for the second match during the series in the absence of Rohit, bowling with equal hostility and prising out the wicket of Usman Khwaja off the last ball of the day (Aus 9-1 in 3 overs).
SCG witnessed a record spectator attendance of 47,988 at the SCG on Friday for the biggest day-1 crowd since 1975-76.
Had allrounder Ravindra Jadeja been dismissed from either of the chances he offered, when in single figures, Australia’s day one dominance would have even more pronounced.
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India’s 185 represented the lowest first-innings score by a touring team at the SCG since they were rolled for 150 in the first Test of the current millennium, a match they went on to lose by an innings and 141 runs as Australia piled on 5-552 in reply.
Boland misses hattrick
The sharp seam movement and uneven bounce offered by the SCG wicket was exploited to the hilt by Boland with his immaculate line and length, narrowly missing a hattrick on the way, coming within a whisker of finding the edge of Washington Sundar’s bat with his unsuccessful hattrick ball.
If a somewhat resurgent Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna, who replaced an injured Akash Deep, in tandem with the awesome Bumrah, can exploit the wicket and come hard at the Aussies, India’s humble total could prove sizable.
Nasty body blows because of uneven bounce
The hostility in the wicket caused a few nasty blows to the batsmen on both sides and medical teams had to rush in to provide first aid. Rishab Pant took the most body blows.
Washington Sundar took one right in the ‘box’, and Bumrah in the lower stomach. In return, Usman Khwaja got hit on his upper glove by a nasty rising back-of-alength delivery from Bumrah, before eventually capitulating to the Indian pacer for the sixth time in the series.
After Bumrah won the toss and elected to bat first, KL Rahul, who opened the innings with Yashavi Jaiswal, was the first to depart on 4 (innings total 11) in the fifth over of the match, flicking an easy half volley from Mitchell Starc off the pads straight into the hands of Sam Konstas at square leg.
Jaiswal (10) departed six runs later, edging the fourth ball of Boland’s first over, which pitched on a good length and seamed away, to debutant allrounder Beau Webster in the third slip. Webster replaced an out-of-form Mitchell Marsh.
Kohli’s escape first ball
Virat Kohli was lucky to survive first ball off Boland, for the umpteenth time fishing outside the off stump and offering a sharp low chance to Steve Smith in the third slip. Smith appeared to scoop the ball after taking it single-handedly on the fingers of his right hand at almost turf level for Marnus Labuschagne to complete the ‘catch’ at gully.
The on-field umpire made a referral to the third umpire, who, after repeatedly looking at closeups, ruled in favour of the batsman maintaining that the ball momentarily touched the grass between leaving Smith’s fingers and scooping up to Labuschagne.
Later, interviewed by Fox Cricket at lunch time, Smith was unequivocal in his belief his right hand was wholly beneath the edge from Kohli when he flicked it skywards for Marnus Labuschagne to complete the ‘catch’ at gully.
“Hundred per cent, no denying it whatsoever,” Smith said when asked if it was a legitimate catch.
“But umpire’s made the decision, we’ll move on.”
Washington Sundar unlucky to be given out
Later in the game Washington Sundar during a similar referral was adjudged caught down the leg side from a disputable brush of the glove. It was based on evidence decidedly less conclusive than that which saved Kohli. Clearly bewildered by the decision, Sundar defiantly stood his ground well after the third umpire’s verdict was broadcast, but eventually trudged out of the ground.
Meanwhile, after Kohli survived the first ball scare, during his third wicket partnership with Shubman Gill, both batsmen struggled to find any kind of fluency. Gill also employed some glaringly unsubtle methods to stall proceedings in Lyon’s last over before lunch to ensure Australia could not sneak in another before the break, sparking a sharp exchange with slip fielder Steve Smith.
The by-play seemed to snap Gill’s concentration and, from what proved the final ball before the adjournment, he charged down the pitch at Lyon for a block and edged a simple catch from the shoulder of the blade into the hands of a delighted Smith for a 64-ball 20.
Kohli’s occupation ended at 17 half an hour after lunch in the most predictable fashion. For the seventh time in as many completed knocks in this series, he was caught behind the wicket fending outside the off stump.
The recurring glitch in Kohli’s once formidable game is underscored by the fact it’s now 22 times since the start of 2021 he’s been dismissed by a rival seamer in that fashion.
And his struggle today was evident from the fact that it was his longest Test innings (in terms of balls faced) during which he did not manage a boundary, with the 69 he endured easily eclipsing the previous benchmark of 48 against England in Chennai also in 2021.
Rishab Pant once again showed resilience
Rishab Pant showed remarkable patience, enduring blow after blow on his body. His only flash of intent came the ball after Jadeja was dropped at gully, when he charged debutant Beau Webster and deposited him beyond the sightscreen.
Uncharacteristically, Pant today copped more blows than he landed, including a thunderous hit on his left bicep from Starc that instantly caused a huge bruise, and a stinging crack high on his right shoulder near the base of his helmet that caused the Australia quick to show immediate concern.
Eventually, after also receiving treatment for a resounding thud in the groin off Cummins and another painful whack to the inside thigh, Pant chose to fight back and toe-ended an attempted pull shot of Boland to Cummins at mid-on. His 40 came off 98 balls (3x4s, 1×6).
Collapse triggered
Just as happened on that eventful last session at the MCG, his dismissal triggered a batting collapse with fourth-Test century maker Nitish Kumar Reddy guiding a regulation catch to Smith from the first ball he faced. On his hattrick ball, Boland missed the edge of left-handed Sundar’s extended bat by a whisker outside the off stump.
When Starc pinned Jadeja (26 off 98 balls, 2x4s) in front of middle stump, India had surrendered 3 wickets for 14 runs in the space of seven overs after Pant’s wicket.
The collapse became 4 for 28 when Washington Sundar departed from the controversial decision.
Bumrah’s cameo
Towards the end, Bumrah played a cameo (22 off 19 balls, 3x4s, 1×6), hitting two consecutive fours straight down bowler Beau Webster’s throat, and a towering six off Pat Commins in the next over, only to sky the very next ball, ending India’s innings.
The Aussie innings began with a bang, with dashing young opener Sam Konstas charging Bumrah first ball and smacked it to the mid-wicket fence. That was the opener’s only big hit in three overs that were bowled before close as the wily Bumrah, with his variations, was able to curtail his stroke-making.
Usman Khwaja, however, continued to be intimidated by the Indian pacer, so much so that after being hit on the glove by a nasty delivery, the opener employed Shubman Gill like tactics by taking his sweet time to settle down to ensure that Bumrah’s second over was the last over of the day.
Hot exchange
With only two balls of his over left to bowl, Bumrah, apparently annoyed with Khwaja for not heeding his urge to settled down quickly, even took a few challenging steps towards the batter from his runup.
Following this Konstas, at the non-striker end, also engaged Bumrah in a hot verbal exchange, which the on-field umpire was able to end with his quick intervention.
Khwaja managed to survive the fifth ball, but Bumrah had the last laugh on the last ball of the day, when Khawaja’s edge was snapped up by KL Rahul at second slip, much to the jubilation of the entire team which rushed to congratulate their captain for the match, while Bumrah ran a long stare at Konstas, who had by then started to walk away apparently unwilling to precipitate matters.
