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SYDNEY :India brushed off the absence of captain Jasprit Bumrah to dismiss Australia for 181 and reach 141 for six for an overall lead of 145 on an extraordinary second day of the finely-balanced fifth test on Saturday.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar took a dig at Australia and said the green top Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) surface hasn't been a topic of debate among the former Indian players but had it been a spin-friendly pitch in India, the visitors would have gone mad about it. "Oh, very much. Justin Langer, who's played in Australia, has said he's never seen so much grass on a pitch. But what you would have noticed is that no former Indian player has complained or whined about it. If a pitch in India is bereft of grass and looks like it's going to turn, so many former players from different parts of the world criticize our pitches. But former Indian players rarely complain because we understand the importance of adapting to overseas conditions," Gavaskar said on Star Sports when asked about the grass on the pitch.
Sam Konstas is slowly turning out to be one character that antagonises India the most. The youngster has shown potential both with the bat and at mind games. Be it Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli or Jasprit Bumrah, Konstas has riled up all of them. And he himself has faced the music too. On the second day of the fifth Test in Sydney, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah joined hands in sledging Konstas. In a video posted by official broadcasters on X, Kohli can be heard telling Bumrah: "Yes Bumrah, there is your man now. Bowl him close towards his body, he might go for attacking shots. There is a chance to get him out. We have one over, take this chance."
Questions around Virat Kohli's Test career are bound to intensify, with the poster boy of Indian cricket continuing on an embarrassing path with the bat. For the 6th time since the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under, Virat was dismissed while chasing an outside-off delivery. Kohli faced a whopping 68 balls with patience, scoring 17 runs before engaging with another 6th stump delivery, and ended up landing an easy catch into the hands of Australian debutant Beau Webster in slips.
Debutant all-rounder Beau Webster feels facing ace India pacer Jasprit Bumrah will be an enormous challenge on the SCG pitch which is helping seamers, and the Australian did not place his finger on an ideal first innings score. India were all out for 185 and then Australia lost Usman Khawaja off the last ball of the day to Bumrah to end at 9 for one. “Think there's definitely a method to go about batting on this wicket. But Jasprit is a world class bowler and no doubt he's going to challenge our whole batting group. He's phenomenal with his lengths and lines, it is going to be tough on a wicket that will offer a fair bit for him,” Webster said in the post day one press conference.
SYDNEY : Scott Boland has played 13 tests always as a replacement for one of the triumvirate of bowlers who have locked up the Australian pace attack for the best part of a decade but he rarely fails to deliver for his country.
It was a show of pure grit and resilience from Indian cricket team wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant on Day 1 of the fifth Test match against Australia in Sydney on Friday. Pant remained strong in face of fiery pace bowling from Australia and although wickets continued to tumble on the other end, he scored a significant 40 off 98 deliveries. During his innings, he was left bruised on the arm by a stinging delivery from Mitchell Starc while a bouncer from the same bowler hit him on the helmet. He was forced to receive treatment from the physio on multiple occasions but it did not dampen his spirits.
India wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant said he batted with restraint on the opening day of the fifth Test against Australia because character of the SCG pitch did not allow him to be in his customary aggressive self. Pant, who copped severe criticism from all corners for his callous approach to batting during the previous Test at Melbourne, made a 98-ball 40 in India's 185 all out here on Friday. "In this innings, I wasn't in frame of mind where I felt I could take charge of the game looking at nature of the wicket," Pant said in the post-day press meet.