Indian captain Jasprit Bumrah was forced off with an injury on the second day of the fifth Test, but Australia failed to capitalize on the result.
India took advantage of captain Jasprit Bumrah’s absence to dismiss Australia for 181 to reach 141 for six for a total lead of 145 on a remarkable second day of the finely balanced fifth Test.
On a day of high drama at the sun-drenched Sydney Cricket Ground, Bumrah took the first wicket to set India on the road but left with the team doctor shortly after lunch for a medical scan on his back after suffering cramps.
Prasidh Krishna (3-42), Mohammed Siraj (3-51) and Nitish Kumar Reddy stepped into the considerable bowling void left by their captain to defeat Australia and fire India to a slim four-run first innings lead at Tea.
However, there was still plenty of spice in the wicket, with paceman Scott Boland taking 4-42 in the final session to add to his a four-door draw on Fridayas Australia cut off the top of India’s bat and buried deep in the middle order.
Rishabh Pant threw off the shackles and hit some incredible shots in a stunning 28-ball half-century to stem the rot, but he too departed for 61 in the final hour, Australian captain Pat Cummins claiming his 14th wicket of the day.
There was still time for Boland to look for his fourth victim in the form of Nitish Kumar Reddy, leaving Ravindra Jadeja, who was eight not out, and Washington Sundar, unbeaten on six, at the end of the game.
“The more runs would be great for us,” Krishna said when asked how much of a lead India’s bowlers could defend, potentially without Bumrah.
“Actually we don’t know how the wicket behaves. It goes up, it goes down. If you can be aggressive, there is risk, but you will get the reward in the runs.”
Australian coach Andrew McDonald thought the “generational” bowling talent in both teams was the reason for the number of wickets falling and said his plans for day three were clear.
“First and foremost, we have to get four wickets, to try and keep that total as low as possible,” he told reporters.
“We still have a long way to go… so we’ll see what happens.”
The crowd of 47,257 basking in the Sydney sunshine certainly got their money’s worth as the momentum swung back and forth, as it had throughout the series, which saw Australia lead 2-1.
Debut all-rounder Beau Webster, whose 57 was Australia’s highest score, was cheered for his half-century and again when he removed Shubman Gill for 13 later in the day to claim his first Test wicket.
Virat Kohli, who captained India after Bumrah’s departure, was booed all the way through for what is likely to be his final innings in Australia, and was cheered back to the boundary rope after being caught at slip by Boland for a timid six.
Boland is fast becoming a cult hero in Australia and arguably the loudest roar came when he bowled a peach of a delivery to eliminate opener Yashasvi Jaiswal to end a promising innings on 22.
The Indian fans also had plenty to cheer about, starting with Bumrah’s dismissal of Marnus Labuschagne in the morning session to take his tally in the series to 32 wickets at an average of 13.06.
Krishna also sent Indian flags flying when he caught Steve Smith at fault for 33 to break a fifth-wicket partnership of 57 with Webster to leave the former Australian captain five short of 10,000 Test runs.
India, who dropped captain Rohit Sharma for the game, must win in Sydney to level the series and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
A win for Australia will seal not only the series, but a place in the World Test Championship final at Lord’s in London, United Kingdom, against South Africa in June.
