Handicapped after the loss of their pace spearhead and stand-in captain, Jasprit Bumrah, the rest of the Indian bowling rose to the occasion to snatch a four-run first-innings lead before Rishabh Pant’s blazing second innings counter-punch kept the visitors’ hopes alive in the fifth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy despite Scott Boland’s impressive four-wicket haul restoring parity at the end of the 15-wicket Day 2 of the Sydney Test.
With series honours and a potential World Test Championship Final spot on the line, both teams enjoyed phases of the day on top, and despite India’s top order once again crumbling once again in the face of disciplined bowling on a tricky SCG surface where the ball deviated alarmingly, Pant decided to take the attack back to the opposition, and returned to his original avatar to fire 61 off 33 balls.
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At stumps, India reached 141 for 6, for an overall lead of 145, with Ravindra Jadeja (who was dropped by Steve Smith at slip off Beau Webster in the day’s penultimate over) and Washington Sundar unbeaten on eight and six respectively.
Pant’s blazing knock laced with four sixes and six boundaries, helped India gain back the momentum that the bowling attack achieved after bowling Australia out for 181 in response to India’s first innings total of 185.
Considering the fact that there have been only three successful fourth-innings run chases of 150-plus at the SCG in the past 25 years, India’s overall lead of 145 with four wickets in hand, on this treacherous surface, could be worth at least twice its face value.
The only solace that the Aussies could seek in the fourth innings could be the potential absence of Bumrah, whose fitness remains under a cloud after he left the field shortly after lunch today and was taken to hospital for scans. It was later confirmed that the 31-year-old suffered a back spasm, but his capacity to bowl if needed remains unknown.
Having said that, given the batting frailties in Australian batting that the rest of the Indian bowling attack exposed on Saturday in the absence of Bumrah, the match is poised for a tantalising battle as it approaches the third day of the contest.
Bumrah left the field shortly before lunch on day two and came back to bowl an over after the break. The irrepressible right-arm quick, who began the day with the wicket of Marnus Labuschange, however, made his way back to the dressing room, and then headed to a nearby hospital with the team’s medical staff for scans.
Bumrah received great support from his fellow quick Mohammed Siraj, who complimented the world’s No.1 Test bowler, ending Sam Konstas’ stay on 23, and Travis Head (4) soon after, who edged to KL Rahul at second slip. Steve Smith’s rebuild with debutant Beau Webster took Australia to 96 for 4, before the former also found Rahul on 33, handing Prasidh Krishna his first wicket of the contest.
Smith, who was dismissed five shy of a significant milestone of 10,000 Test runs, will look to become the 15th player to reach the five-figure mark in the second innings of the match.
Prasidh continued to show his worth in the second session, by claiming debutant Webster (57) and Alex Carey (21) to put India ahead. Siraj (3/51) claimed the final wicket of Boland (9) to hand India the slim advantage.
With the SCG pitch becoming increasingly difficult for the batters against quality pace, India adopted a T20 mode in their second essay, with opener Yashasvi Jaiswal setting the tone by thrashing Mitchell Starc for four boundaries in the left-armer’s first over. India motored their way to 42 off just 45 balls before the introduction of Boland brought a much-needed breakthrough with KL Rahul’s stumps scattered, a fate also suffered by Jaiswal in Boland’s next over.
The right-arm seamer then got rid of Virat Kohli (who was leading the Indian team in Bumrah’s absence) for the fifth time in the series, in the same fashion that the former India skipper has been dismissed (edged outside the line of off-stump) on all seven occasions this summer.
In what could potentially be his career’s final tour Down Under, Kohli’s second-innings century in India’s convincing 295-run win in the tour opener at Perth was the only high point for the former world number one, as he managed just 90 runs in his other eight visits to the crease with his weakness outside off stump ruthlessly exploited by the Aussies.
Kohli’s departure brought in Pant, whose pyrotechnics with the bat caught the Aussies off-guard as he clubbed the first ball he faced from Boland beyond long-on for six and maintained the tempo until he was caught behind for 61 just 32 deliveries later.
Pant, who consumed 29 deliveries for his fifty, forced the Aussies into bowling T20 lines and lengths. By the time, Cummins managed to end his carnage, India were already 128 runs ahead, before Boland removed Nitish Kumar Reddy to cap off his second four-wicket haul of the match.
Brief Scores: India 141 for 6 (Pant 61, Boland 4-42) and 185 lead Australia 181 (Webster 57, Smith 33, Prasidh 3-42, Siraj 3-51) by 145 runs.
