New Delhi: Indian batters endured a tough outing on an uncharacteristic spicy pitch at the Sydney Cricket Ground as a relentless Australian pace attack led by Scott Boland battered the visitors on Day 1 of the fifth and the final Test. The green top at SCG was a never-before-seen sight for even those who have spent their whole careers playing at the iconic ground. So it was natural to be surprised at stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah’s decision to bat first in overcast conditions.
Such was the notoriousness of the track, that let alone in the morning session, the ball even moved miles and bounced viciously in the last session even after getting 60 overs old. Several Indian batters wore blows on their bodies with Rishabh Pant ending up as the most unfortunate of the visitors’ batting lineup after being hit on the bicep, groin and helmet. Pant, who was slammed for careless batting in the Melbourne Test, absorbed the pressure and fought hard for his 40, which in the end, was the reason why India reached 185 at Stumps on Day 1.
Ravindra Jadeja was the next-best scorer with 26 and like Shubman Gill (20) and Virat Kohli (17) got off to a start but failed to convert into a big one. Meanwhile, for Australia, Scott Boland was the pick of the bowlers with 4 wickets while Mitchell Starc picked up three scalps.
Bumrah entertained the crowd with some lusty blows at the fag end of the innings and scored 22 and later produced fireworks with the ball to dismiss Usman Khawaja for the sixth time in the series as Australia finished Day 1 on 9 for 1, trailing India by 176 runs.
Rohit Sharma ‘opts out’ to make way for Gill but the youngster disappoints
Much of the talk ahead of the start of the match centred around India captain Rohit Sharma, who ‘opted out’ of the match to make way for a much more deserved candidate Gill. The young batter showed promise and composure but failed to capitalise on another good start after a poor mistake on the last ball before Lunch.
Gill looked good for a big score after weathering the storm against the new ball but a lapse in concentration cost India a golden chance to seize the initiative and undo the repair job by Kohli and Gill after the loss of two openers early on.
After being instigated by one of the close-in fielders, Gill lost his focus and decided to step down against Nathan Lyon on the last ball before Lunch and edged one straight to Steve Smith at first slip.
It was a huge blow for the visitors, who negated a tough phase but Gill’s wicket swung the momentum in Australia’s favour.
Virat Kohli falls poking outside off, again
Familiar frailties came back to haunt Virat Kohli again as the Indian batter was dismissed poking outside off for a seventh time in the ongoing series. Kohli showed great composure during his 69-ball 17-run knock but was undone by a relentless Scott Boland who persisted with the fifth stump line and finally induced an edge off Kohli.
Kohli has scored only 79 runs in his last six innings since the Perth Test century and looked set for a big score on Friday after surviving a close call on the first ball and weathering the early storm against the new ball but Boland had other ideas. The 35-year-old pacer dismissed Kohli for the fourth time in the sixth innings exposing his Achilles heel yet again.
Bumrah has the last laugh
Bumrah played an entertaining 22-run cameo with the bat to add some crucial runs to India’s total but real fireworks flew when he had the ball in the hand. Sam Konstas picked up from where he left off in Melbourne, advancing Bumrah and hitting the first ball of the innings for four and in the process triggered Round 2 of his battle with the Indian speedster.
Bowling the last over of the day, Bumrah and Konstats clashed when the Indian pacer was about to bowl to Khwaja but the world number one bowler had the last laugh.
He dismissed Khawaja on the last ball of the day and turned to celebrate in the face of the 19-year-old opener as his Indian teammates hounded Konstas, who walked off quietly with all the fielders celebrating in his ears.
Australia vs India BGT: A riveting day of cricket witnessed the fall of 11 wickets with a total of 194 runs scored at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Here are all the big talking points from Day 1 of the fifth Test. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
