Watch cricket video highlights of India tour of Australia 2024/25. 5th Test between Australia and India. Venue of the match will be Sydney.
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Rohit Sharma clarified at the second day’s lunch break that he had not sat out the Sydney Test and that he was not yet retired from Test cricket. Jasprit Bumrah, who had replaced Rohit as captain, departed the SCG for scans shortly after the break. Around that time, Australia had lost half of their team, leaving the game and the series in a precarious position. The Sydney Test became a second-innings battle as India grabbed a four-run lead in the first innings despite Bumrah’s unavailability.
Rishabh Pant’s incredible 29-ball half-century put India ahead even further. After his own 28-ball century against Sri Lanka in 2022, it was the second-fastest fifty an Indian has ever reached in Test cricket. Pant stunned a crowd of 47,257 in Sydney by countering India’s top order after Scott Boland had expertly divided it apart. India led by 145 at stumps, but the game remained close due to the late dismissals of Pant and Nitish Kumar Reddy. But if Bumrah isn’t fit to bowl in this Test, the second-innings shootout may be slanted in Australia’s favor.
On the second day, however, India’s supporting bowlers performed excellently, with Reddy and Prasidh Krishna splitting five wickets between them. The combined statistics of 8 for 132, the most in any innings on this tour, were achieved by India’s non-Bumrah seamers. Reddy took two wickets in two balls, and Prasidh made his Test return by dismissing debutant Beau Webster, who led Australia in scoring with 57 off 105 balls, Steven Smith, and Alex Carey.
In keeping with his stellar start, Webster became the first Australian to reach a half-century in his Test debut since Adam Voges in 2015. The day had begun with Bumrah staring at non-striker Sam Konstas and snagging Marnus Labuschagne for two. During a tour of Australia, Bumrah overtook Bishen Singh Bedi’s record for the most wickets taken by an Indian bowler. When he came up to Bumrah, the 19-year-old retaliated forcefully with the bat, slapping him for four.
Konstas then unleashed another daring reverse-ramp, forcing Bumrah to post a fielder at deep third after Bumrah had strengthened the slip cordon by pulling deep third in. However, Mohammed Siraj used an outswinger to have Konstas edging to gully for 23 off 57 balls in the following over. Travis Head was caught at second slip for four after three balls. The source of Siraj’s threat was swing, where Australia’s quicks and Bumrah struck the deck. In order to maximize that swing, he continued to experiment with a longer length.
Before Smith was dismissed by Prasidh at the stroke of lunch, he and Webster steadied Australia with a 57-run stand for the fifth wicket. Smith was poised to hit 10,000 Test runs, but Prasidh changed his stock length to an even longer one just before the break, dismissing him five runs short of the milestone. Then, in the afternoon, he used a comparable length to barge through Alex Carey’s defenses. With the dismissals of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, Reddy further stunned Australia.
Australia was bowled out for 181 after losing their final four wickets for a just 19 runs. Yashasvi Jaiswal then smashed Starc for four fours in the first over, kicking up India’s second innings in spectacular fashion. At the other end, KL Rahul too shown some attacking intent until Boland (who else?) stepped in and stopped India’s explosive start. In his next over, he knocked Jaiswal over with a beauty that slanted in towards the middle from outside the wicket and seamed away late to beat the outside edge and smash the top of off stump.
In his second over, he had Rahul hack an inducker onto his stumps. In typical manner, Boland then dismissed Virat Kohli for six. In nine trips to the crease in this Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Kohli was out edging behind to the keeper or the slip cordon for the eighth time. He hit himself in the knee and screamed at himself because he was so furious. When Webster got Shubman Gill behind off the inside edge, he claimed his first Test wicket.
The real Pant came out on the second day after spending over 150 minutes on the first day as someone else with the bat, scoring 40 off 98 balls. Boland had just snared Kohli, and he charged to his first delivery, whacked him viciously over mid-on for six. Then, off his third ball, he attempted a reverse-ramp, and even though he was unsuccessful, he didn’t suppress his impulses during this innings. After that, Pant set Webster up for three straight fours, including his signature falling sweep-pull.
After hitting a helicoptered six off Starc to reach fifty, he celebrated with a six the following ball. Australia was compelled to bowl T20 lines and lengths as a result of Pant’s attack. Pant pursued the ball after Cummins fell short and wide of off and hid it from his swinging arc, thus giving the keeper an advantage. Boland ended a 15-wicket day in Sydney with Reddy holing out for 4.
