Captain Jasprit Bumrah has given India a glimmer of hope of retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy following the dramatic dismissal of Australian opener Usman Khawaja on the final delivery of day one at the SCG.
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The hosts were in complete control of the New Year’s Test after bowling out India for 185 in 72.2 overs, with Australia’s openers tasked with surviving three overs during a tricky passage of play before stumps.
However, umpires were forced to intervene when Bumrah became embroiled in a tense war of words with Australian opener Sam Konstas at the non-striker’s end during the last over of the day.
In a late twist, Khawaja edged the final delivery of the day towards KL Rahul at second slip, at which point Bumrah immediately spun around and glared at Konstas as his teammates celebrated the late breakthrough.
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Australia is 1-9 at stumps on day one, with Konstas unbeaten on 7, still trailing by 176 runs.
Earlier on Friday, Scott Boland claimed four wickets, including his 50th Test scalp, to rip through India’s middle order before fellow quick Mitchell Starc (3-49 from 18 overs) helped clean up the tail. The Victorian seamer finished with 4-31 from 20 overs, his best bowling figures since his unforgettable Test debut at the MCG in 2021.
None of India’s players reached fifty, while boundaries proved difficult to come by as the tourists ticked along at around two runs per over throughout the day.
The opening day was marred by a couple of contentious decisions from third umpire Joel Wilson, with Snicko technology once again in the spotlight, while the Australians dropped chances against all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on 3 and 5.
Having taken over the captaincy from axed skipper Rohit Sharma, Bumrah walked out donning the navy jacket on Friday morning, opting to bat first after winning the toss.
Indian opener KL Rahul survived five overs on the soft wicket before flicking a half-volley on leg stump from the wounded quick Mitchell Starc towards square leg, where Konstas accepted a regulation chance.
Introduced to the attack in the eighth over, Boland only needed four deliveries to unearth a breakthrough, with opener Yashasvi Jaiswal nicking towards the slips cordon where Australian debutant Beau Webster snaffled his maiden Test catch.
Controversy erupted the following delivery when Indian superstar Kohli edged to a lunging Steve Smith at second slip, who parried the Kookaburra with an outstretched hand towards teammate Marnus Labuschagne at gully. However, third umpire Joel Wilson contentiously turned down the dismissal following a lengthy review, deeming that Smith received assistance from the surface before flicking up the ball. The Australian vice-captain shook his head in disbelief after his acrobatic effort went unrewarded.
Kohli and the recalled Shubman Gill added 40 for the third wicket before the Indian No. 3 suffered a brain fade on what proved the final delivery before lunch, needlessly charging at spinner Nathan Lyon and edging to slip for 20.
Early in the afternoon session, Kohli lazily pressed at a length delivery from Boland and edged through to Webster for 17, booed by the Sydney crowd as he exited the field. The Victorian was denied another wicket in his following over when Smith dropped a dolly at second slip, gifting Jadeja an early life.
Indian wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant absorbed two painful blows while facing Starc from the Paddington End – one left a bruise on his left arm while the other crashed into his helmet, forcing a concussion test.
Not long after, Lyon spilled a one-handed chance at backward point to hand Jadeja another reprieve and deny Webster his maiden Test wicket, with Pant rubbing salt into the wounds by slapping the following delivery down the ground for a 99m six. In comical scenes, venue staff needed a ladder to retrieve the ball from the top of the sight screen.
Pant required further medical attention after copping a Cummins bumper to the shoulder, but survived through to the tea break in a 48-run partnership with Jadeja for the fifth wicket.
Momentum swung firmly back in Australia’s favour early in the evening session when Boland struck in consecutive deliveries – Pant top-edged a pull shot towards mid-on for 40 before Smith swallowed a catch at second slip to remove Melbourne centurion Nitish Reddy Kumar for a golden duck. The hat-trick delivery narrowly evaded Washington Sundar’s outside edge, with Boland receiving a standing ovation from the Member’s Stand when he returned to fine leg.
Jadeja’s laborious knock ended when Starc trapped him plumb on the pads for 26 – the left-hander wasted a review before sheepishly trudging off the ground when ball-tracking showed the Kookaburra would have hit halfway up middle stump.
Wilson was once again the centre of attention when Australia reviewed a caught-behind chance against all-rounder Washington Sundar, who was sent packing for 14 after a small spike appeared on Snicko as the Kookaburra passed his glove.
Prasidh Krishna departed after a wild slog before Cummins (2-37 from 15.2 overs) wrapped up the innings, with Bumrah blasting 22 (17) in a late counterpunch.
With the Sydney crowd praying for a trademark ramp, teenager Konstas instead charged at Bumrah and clipped the first delivery of Australia’s innings through mid-wicket for a boundary. Later in the same over, Bumrah struck Khawaja on the glove, allowing the Australian to soak up precious time with medical staff running onto the ground.
However, Konstas’ late antics fired up Bumrah and gave India something to celebrate following an otherwise one-sided day.
Earlier, Australian great Mark Waugh presented Webster with his baggy green as the Tasmanian all-rounder became the nation’s 469th men’s Test cricketer.
The fifth Test between India and Australia will resume on Saturday at 10.30am AEDT.
TEAMS
Australian XI
1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Sam Konstas, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Travis Head, 6 Beau Webster, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Pat Cummins (c), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Scott Boland, 11 Nathan Lyon
Indian XI
1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Shubman Gill, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Rishabh Pant, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Jasprit Bumrah, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Prasidh Krishna
SYDNEY WEATHER FORECAST (per Bureau of Meteorology)
Day one: 26 and cloudy, 20 per cent chance of rain in the morning
Day two: 29 and sunny, five per cent chance of rain
Day three: 34 and sunny, five per cent chance of rain
Day four: 35 and mostly sunny, 20 per cent chance of rain
Day five: 25 and showers, 80 per cent chance of up to 15mm of rain
