The fifth and final Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is being played at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). The second day’s play was in the name of the Indian bowlers, who performed brilliantly and bowled out Australia for 181 runs in the first innings. With this, India took a lead of 4 runs over Australia in the first innings.
India’s brilliant bowling led to a historic moment at the SCG, where after a long time both the teams’ first innings were reduced to less than 200 runs.
Historic moment at SCG after 70 years
Such a scene was seen in Sydney after 70 years.
- Earlier this incident had happened during the Australia vs England match in 1979/80.
- At that time England had scored 123 runs in the first innings, while Australia had scored 145 runs.
- However, Australia won that match by 6 wickets.
Now, the Indian team will aim to put pressure on Australia by making a big score in the second innings.
Australia’s innings: havoc of Indian bowlers
On Saturday, Australia started their innings with a score of 9/1.
- By the lunch break, Australia’s score was 101/5.
- Indian bowlers continued their brilliant performance even after lunch and restricted Australia’s innings to just 181 runs.
Performance of Indian bowlers:
- Jasprit Bumrah: 2 wickets for 33 runs.
- Mohammad Siraj: 3 wickets for 51 runs.
- Prasidh Krishna: 3 wickets for 42 runs.
- Nitish Kumar Reddy: 2 wickets for 32 runs.
Australia’s top scorers:
- Beau Webster (57 runs)
- Steve Smith (33 runs)
- Sam Constas (23 runs)
Australia’s 5 batsmen could not even reach double figures.
Jasprit Bumrah injured, Virat Kohli took over the captaincy
After the lunch break, India suffered a big blow when acting captain Jasprit Bumrah got injured and left the field.
- He was taken to the hospital for a scan as a precautionary measure.
- Bumrah took 2 wickets for 33 runs with his sharp bowling.
- In his absence, Virat Kohli took charge of the team.
Second day’s play: India’s dominance
- First session: Indian bowlers gave initial shocks to Australia.
- Bumrah and Siraj took early wickets.
- Second session: Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Reddy wrapped up Australia’s innings.
- Australia’s debutant Beau Webster played with patience and scored 57 runs, but could not get a big score for the team.
Australia’s lead in the series and India’s strategy
Australia is currently leading 2-1 in the series.
- India not only has to level the series by winning the Sydney Test, but also have to keep alive its hopes of reaching the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final.
