After an 11-wicket first day, 15 wickets fell on the second as the game moved at a rapid pace. Fast bowlers from both sides made merry as run-scoring was tough in the fifth and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
The momentum swayed from one side to the other as Australia conceded a four-run lead in the first innings. However, India couldn’t really make full use of it as they have already lost six wickets for 141 in their second dig. But the pitch is still playing a lot of tricks and hence, the game seems to be in the balance.
The day started with Jasprit Bumrah removing Marnus Labuschagne in the fourth over of the day. Mohammed Siraj found the right channel and bowled in excellent areas. Thus, he was rewarded with the wickets of Sam Konstas and Travis Head. He had both these attacking batters caught at second slip in the same over and broke open the game for India.
Australia were reduced to 39/4 and were under pressure. Steve Smith survived a runout chance early in his knock and he was also beaten on a couple of occasions. But post that, he looked in great touch and helped Australia resurrect the innings along with debutant Beau Webster.
The duo scored runs at a decent rate and put the pressure back on India. They were helped with some inconsistent bowling from Prasidh Krishna and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Smith and Webster added 57 runs for the 5th wicket and were moving along nicely.
It was Krishna who broke the threatening stand as he bounced back strongly after a lacklustre first spell. He induced the edge from Smith who was caught at second slip. The Australia No. 4 was out for 33 and India got an opening.
However, Alex Carey walked in and stitched a good partnership with Webster. The pair put on 41 runs for the 6th wicket. Both batters got boundaries at regular intervals.
Bumrah bowled just one over post-lunch as he walked off the field. He was taken for scans as he left the ground midway through the second session. Virat Kohli took over as the stand-in captain.
It seemed like the chips were down for India but Siraj and Krishna stepped up beautifully in their spearhead’s absence. Krishna broke the sixth-wicket stand and knocked over Carey with a beauty as he found the gap between the bat and pad of the left-handed wicket-keeper.
Webster helped himself to a maiden Test fifty and was taking Australia closer to India’s score of 185. Nitish Kumar Reddy came in and got rid of Pat Cummins who edged to first slip. The Andhra all-rounder continued to impress as he induced the edge from Mitchell Starc in the following over to leave Australia 164/8.
Webster didn’t last long after that as he nicked off to gully to give Krishna his third of the innings. The last wicket pair of Scott Boland and Nathan Lyon once again added 15 runs before Siraj came back to knock over Boland and wrap up the innings. The Hyderabad-born pacer finished with three scalps as well.
India come out all guns blazing with the bat
Having taken a meagre four-run lead, India came out with an attacking intent. Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed Mitchell Starc for four boundaries in the very first over of the innings. The left-handed Indian opener cut beautifully through backward point three times in a row before going through the covers for the fourth boundary of the over.
KL Rahul didn’t hold back either. When it was there, he went after it as well. He struck a couple of crisp boundaries and the opening stand raced away to 42 in just 44 balls. That’s when Boland turned the tide of the Test match.
He first knocked over Rahul with a nip-backer before castling Jaiswal with a beauty (one that seamed away and hit the top of off). Despite losing their openers, India continued their positive approach and looked for runs.
However, that didn’t really work. Kohli was out fishing outside off-stump for the 8th time in a row in this Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He was out for 6 as he was livid with himself and a poor series for him came to an end. It was once again Boland who got the big wicket, dismissing Kohli for the 5th time in Test cricket.
Shubman Gill had a rush of blood and tried a big hoick but only managed a faint inside-edge to the keeper. That gave Webster his maiden Test wicket. At 78/4, India were in a spot of bother.
Rishabh Pant walked out and blazed away. He played a breathtaking knock where he put the Aussies under immense pressure. He stepped down the track and hit over the top. He moved to the off-side and flicked over square leg. The left-handed wicket-keeper was unfazed and smashed a stunning half-century which came in a mere 29 balls, the second-fastest for India in Test cricket.
He smashed six fours and four sixes in his 33-ball 61 before he edged one to the keeper. Skipper Cummins was the one who got Australia a much-needed breakthrough. India’s score was 124 when Pant was dismissed. Nitish Reddy couldn’t make an impact as he chipped one straight to mid-off and that gave Boland his fourth wicket of the innings.
Ravindra Jadeja fought hard and held one end up. He was dropped on 6 by Smith at second slip. Washington Sundar joined him in the middle. The left-handed duo added 12 runs before the close of play.
India are leading by 145 with four wickets in hand. It is Boland who has almost single-handedly kept Australia in the game. Meanwhile, the same can be said about Pant who has pushed India to a competitive score.
The pitch is still playing tricks and there is enough help for the pacers. There is some uneven bounce along with seam movement. Hence, batting will continue to be difficult and a target of 200 could be a challenging one for Australia.
However, all eyes will be on the fitness of Bumrah. If he is fit, India will have a massive chance. If not, Australia will fancy their chances.
BRIEF SCORES: India 185 (Rishabh Pant 40, Ravindra Jadeja 26, Jasprit Bumrah 22, Scott Boland 4/31, Mitchell Starc 3/49) & 141/6 (Rishabh Pant 61, Yashasvi Jaiswal 22, Scott Boland 4/42, Pat Cummins 1/31) lead Australia 181 (Beau Webster 57, Steven Smith 33, Prasidh Krishna 3/42, Mohammed Siraj 3/51, Jasprit Bumrah 2/33) by 145 runs.
