India crumble again, finish 141/6 at stumps, take 145-run lead
India reached 141 for six at stumps after dismissing Australia for 181 on the second day of the final Test on Saturday. Ravindra Jadeja (8) and Washington Sundar (6) were at the crease, India leading by 145 runs.
Rishabh Pant slammed a 29-ball half-century to drive his team to a 145-run lead with four wickets left after an intense day two. At the close in Sydney, the visitors were 141-6 with Ravindra Jadeja on eight and Washington Sundar six unbeaten.
India reached 141 for six at stumps after dismissing Australia for 181 on the second day of the final Test on Saturday. Ravindra Jadeja (8) and Washington Sundar (6) were at the crease, India leading by 145 runs. Rishabh Pant made a statement and slammed a 29-ball half-century, but Pat Cummins put an end to his carnage. The hosts looked clueless about how to stop Pant at one stage as he was smashing everyone around the park, but the Aussie skipper took the onus on himself and got the job done for his team.
Meanwhile, India got a sigh of relief as skipper Jasprit Bumrah returned to the ground after he went out with the physio regarding some scans during Australia's innings. The premier pacer looked good and was seen taking the stairs and running towards the dressing room comfortably. India has come out firing, but Scott Boland has replied in kind, taking three early wickets to keep them in check. He dismissed KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal first and then sent back Virat Kohli, with the acting Indian captain fishing outside off stump one last time on this tour. Meanwhile, Beau Webster joined the party and got the better of Shubman Gill. Earlier, the visitors were handed a blow in the form of captain Jasprit Bumrah leaving the SCG for scans but they roared back into the match in response to the development. Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj took three wickets each as Australia were all out for 181 and India took a lead of four runs.
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India's biggest fear may have come true as captain Jasprit Bumrah was spotted leaving the Sydney Cricket Ground in his training kit but they responded by shredding Australia's lower order to pieces and positioning themselves for a lead. Nitish Kumar Reddy dismissed Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc off consecutive deliveries while Beau Webster fell to Prasidh Krishna after that with a score of 57 off 105 balls. Australia were trailing by 19 runs when they were reduced to their last wicket.
Bumrah was earlier spotted leaving the SCG with a few support staff members for scans. The Indian captain bowled just one over in the second session before having a long chat with Virat Kohli and then walking off the field. Kohli seems to have taken over captaincy duties in his stead.
Krishna seemed to be struggling to keep up the pressure built by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in the first session but he ended up striking with the huge wicket of Steve Smith just before Lunch. He then followed it up by dismissing Alex Carey and ending his brisk 41-run stand with Beau Webster early in the second session. The wicket came with India captain Jasprit Bumrah being off the ground for more than half an hour after bowling the second over of the session. An injury to Bumrah is arguably the one thing India dread the most, with the pacer being the visitors' only consistent performer throughout the series and consolidating himself as arguably the best bowler in the world.
Australia were 101/5 at Lunch, trailing India by 84 runs. Bumrah and Siraj earlier made the most of the vicious bounce on offer on Day 2 of the fifth Test at the SCG. The Indian fielders drowned Marnus Labuschagne and Sam Konstas with sledges in the first three overs of the day, so much so that the umpire had to intervene and have a word with Kohli in Bumrah's first over of the day itself. Bumrah eventually dismissed Labuschagne in just his second over of the day after which Siraj sent back Konstas and dangerman Travis Head in the same over.
Australia started the day on a a score of 9/1. A quick-moving first day at the Sydney Cricket Ground saw 11 wickets fall, as a mixture of excellent bowling, extremely bowler-friendly conditions, and plenty of barbs fired back and forth between the two teams leaves a tantalizing contest heading into the rest of the Test match for fans. The significance of the match is immense: if Australia don't win in Sydney, they will continue to suffer from a drought of a decade-plus without getting their hands on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. If India fail to win, they miss out on the World Test Championship finals after having been runaway favourites heading into the second half of the year.
