5th Test: Bumrah Dismisses Khawaja as Australia Gains Advantage

Sydney, Jan 3 (NationPress) Usman Khawaja struggled through a challenging 15 minutes and was sent back to the pavilion by Jasprit Bumrah just before stumps on the opening day of the fifth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.

It was a gripping day of Test cricket, where seamer Scott Boland excelled with figures of 4-31, helping Australia dismiss India for a mere 185 runs. Alongside him, Mitchell Starc contributed 3-49, while captain Pat Cummins added two wickets, showcasing a precise and lethal performance from Australia's pace attack.

The decision by India to bat first on a challenging and grassy pitch proved detrimental, as they recorded a first-innings total below 200 for the fifth time in this series. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant demonstrated commendable restraint, emerging as the top scorer with 40 runs, despite enduring several physical blows.

Once bowled out, India had three overs to bowl at Australia, concluding the first day with the hosts at 9/1, trailing by 176 runs. Youngster Sam Konstas started Australia's innings energetically, striking the first ball from Jasprit Bumrah for four towards the mid-wicket boundary.

However, on the last ball of the day, Bumrah made a significant impact, catching the edge of Khawaja's bat, resulting in a catch at second slip, dismissing him for just two runs. Interestingly, a fired-up Bumrah celebrated with a send-off directed at Konstas, with Indian fielders joining in the camaraderie, bringing some cheer after a challenging day.

Earlier, on a cloudy morning, India opted to leave out their captain Rohit Sharma, with Bumrah stepping in as the leader. Starc and Cummins generated considerable bounce on the green SCG pitch, which exhibited signs of being somewhat slower. KL Rahul started with good judgment against deliveries outside off-stump but fell for four runs after misplaying a half-volley from Starc.

Boland struck with his fourth delivery in India’s eighth over, seizing an outside edge off Jaiswal, who was caught by debutant Beau Webster at third slip, dismissing the opener for 10 off 26 balls.

Boland nearly secured a second wicket in quick succession when he found Virat Kohli's outside edge; however, Steve Smith managed to scoop the ball to Marnus Labuschagne at gully after a close call, as TV umpire Joel Wilson ruled Kohli not out.

Following this, Kohli, adopting a solid defensive stance, appeared stable while Shubman Gill began strongly, hitting boundaries off both Cummins and Starc. Just when it seemed India might navigate the first session without a loss, Gill miscalculated against Nathan Lyon in the final over before lunch, nicking the ball to slip for 20 runs off 64 balls.

The post-lunch session began poorly for India, as Boland sharply seamed one away from Kohli, who edged it to Webster in the slips for 17 runs off 69 balls.

Starc increased his pace, leaving Pant with a bruise on his bicep and hitting him on the helmet, prompting the left-handed batter to be cautious. Starc's speed proved too overwhelming for Jadeja, who struggled against his bouncers.

After guiding a ball from Starc to backward point for four runs, Pant confidently danced down the pitch to hit Webster over the sightscreen for six, despite taking another blow. Jadeja managed to score his first boundary by driving Lyon past the non-striker for four, only to be dropped by the off-spinner shortly after.

Pant found the gap between backward point and cover point to conclude a slow scoring session for India. After the tea break, Pant attempted a pull shot off Boland, but top-edged it straight to mid-on, departing for 40 runs. Following his dismissal, Nitish Kumar Reddy edged a wide delivery from Boland to slip.

Jadeja attempted to stabilize the innings with two more boundaries before being trapped LBW by Starc for 22 runs. Washington Sundar managed three boundaries in his brief 14 off 30 balls before succumbing to a bouncer from Cummins, with the snickometer detecting a slight spike as the ball grazed his glove.

Although Bumrah contributed with a quick 22 runs off 17 balls, which was the highest score by an Indian captain in this series, Australia concluded India's innings as Starc dismissed Prasidh Krishna with a catch to a deep fielder, while Cummins sent the Indian captain back in a similar fashion, rounding off another disappointing batting display by the visitors on a dramatic day of Test cricket.

Brief Scores: India 185/10 in 72.2 overs (Rishabh Pant 40, Ravindra Jadeja 26; Scott Boland 4-31, Mitchell Starc 3-49) trail Australia 9/1 in three overs (Sam Konstas 7 not out; Jasprit Bumrah 1-7) by 176 runs