India vs Australia 5th Test Day 3 Highlights: You have to respect your body, you can't fight your body, says Bumrah; India lose BGT 1-3, out of WTC Final running
  • News
  • Sports News
  • Cricket News
  • India vs Australia 5th Test Day 3 Highlights: You have to respect your body, you can't fight your body, says Bumrah; India lose BGT 1-3, out of WTC Final running
THE TIMES OF INDIA | Jan 05, 2025, 10:58:36 IST
Comments
Share

India vs Australia 5th Test Day 3 Highlights: You have to respect your body, you can't fight your body, says Bumrah; India lose BGT 1-3, out of WTC Final running

India vs Australia 5th Test Day 3: Australia clinched a knife-edge fifth Test against India in Sydney by six wickets to seal a riveting series 3-1 Sunday and book their place in the World Test Championship final.

India were dismissed 45 minutes into the morning session of day three for 157, adding just 16 to their overnight 141-6 with the irrepressible Scott Boland ending with 6-45 and 10 wickets for the match.

Set 162 to win, the hosts reached the target before tea against an attack missing injured strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah to regain the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the first time since 2014-15.

Australia lost three wickets before lunch to leave the Test finely-poised, including Steve Smith who agonisingly fell just one short of becoming only the 15th player and fourth Australian to reach 10,000 Test runs.

But Usman Khawaja hit a composed 41 before Travis Head (34 not out) and debutant Beau Webster (39 not out) steered them home.

Victory was enough to ensure they will defend their World Test Championship title in the June final at Lord's against South Africa.

It culminated a thrilling tour full of twists and turns that saw record crowds and some spectacular individual performances.

The five-Test series witnessed the emergence of exciting young talent in the form of Australian opener Sam Konstas and Indian all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.

At the same time, ageing veterans, notably Rohit Sharma, showed that the clock is ticking on their careers.

India won the first match in Perth convincingly before Australia bounced back in the day-night affair at Adelaide.

The rain-hit Brisbane clash ended in a draw before the hosts took all the momentum into Sydney with a pulsating day-five win in Melbourne.

Indian pace spearhead and skipper Bumrah, who has been dealing with a back issue, batted briefly when his team resumed after bowling just one over and leaving the field on Saturday.

But in a huge setback the 31-year-old did not appear again, leaving Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna to lead the bowling attack, with Virat Kohli in charge.

It appeared to be a difficult run chase on a deteriorating surface offering plenty for the bowlers, but Konstas and Khawaja had other ideas.

They raced to 35 off the first three overs, with teenager Konstas hitting out.

It proved his downfall, unnecessarily lashing at a good length ball from Prasidh only to sky it to Washington Sundar at mid-off, out for 22.

Prasidh then knocked over Marnus Labuschagne for six, caught by Yashasvi Jaiswal at slip, with the same pair removing Smith on four, fending off a rising ball.

Veteran Khawaja, who had a poor series, produced some cracking boundaries on his way to 41, but he mistimed a pull shot off Siraj with wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant collecting the edge.

It gave India a glimmer of hope before Head and Webster took the game away.

India resumed after a counter-attacking 61 from Pant helped build their second-innings lead.

Ravindra Jadeja began on eight and Sundar on six after they dismissed Australia for 181 in reply to their first-innings 185.

Jadeja crunched an early boundary off Pat Cummins, but he was out two balls later, getting a faint nick to wicketkeeper Alex Carey, adding just five to his overnight score.

The Australian skipper struck again to bowl Sundar for 12.

That brought Bumrah to the crease and he could only watch as Siraj edged Boland to Khawaja at slip to give the big Australian his fifth wicket.

Boland, whose line and length were impeccable all series, then bowled Bumrah to end the innings.
03:24 (IST) Jan 05
India vs Australia Live Score: The Bumrah question
India vs Australia Live Score: But what remains to be seen is how much Bumrah will be able to contribute in this game and that would dictate a lot of things
03:24 (IST) Jan 05
IND vs AUS Live Score: As many runs as possible
IND vs AUS Live Score: If the deck continues to play like this, India will have the advantage, but they would want to add a few runs early on Day 3
03:23 (IST) Jan 05
India vs Australia Live Score: Pant on the rampage
India vs Australia Live Score: From 42 for 1 to 78 for 4, India had lost their footing with Boland breathing fire and looking unplayable before Pant took charge and scored a brisk 61 off 33 balls and India ended the day with a lead of 145
03:23 (IST) Jan 05
IND vs AUS Live Score: Bumrah's fitness concerns
IND vs AUS Live Score: India were sweating as Bumrah's fitness was a concern with him having gone for a scan after lunch, but Indian openers started off freely before Boland came in and struck thrice
03:22 (IST) Jan 05
India vs Australia Live Score: India's slender lead of 4 runs
India vs Australia Live Score: Indian bowlers despite Bumrah bowling only 10 overs put up a spirited show as Krishna and Reddy who initially struggled with their lines and lengths pulled up their socks and helped India skittle out the hosts for 181 and India managed a slender lead of 4 runs
03:22 (IST) Jan 05
IND vs AUS Live Score: Final day of the tour?
IND vs AUS Live Score: 11 wickets fell on Day 1, 15 fell on Day 2 and Day 3 might well be the final day of the tour and the fifth Test has never had a dull moment as the bowlers were in the thick of the action all the time
Australia regained the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the first time since in 10 years by winning the fifth and final Test by six wickets against an Indian team deprived of their captain and star bowler at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.

The hosts chased down the 162-run target just after lunch on the third day after it had earlier wrapped up India's second innings in quick time for 157.

Australia won the series 3-1 after victories in Adelaide and Melbourne, to go with a nervy, yet successful, run-chase in the final innings in Sydney. India won the first Test at Perth and the 3rd Test at Brisbane was a draw.

Sunday's victory also means the hosts booked their spot in a second straight World Test Championship final where it will play the already-qualified South Africa at Lord's in June.

In a devastating setback for India's hopes of bowling out Australia to level the series and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for a record-extending fifth consecutive time, star bowler and captain Jasprit Bumrah did not bowl during Australia's second innings.

Bumrah's injury occurred on Saturday and had only been described as “ back spasms” by the India team after the star seamer had returned from medical scans at a nearby clinic. Bumrah had back surgery to repair a stress fracture in April 2023.

The 31-year-old, who has taken 32 wickets in the series — the highest ever by an Indian bowler in a single series in Australia — to almost single handedly keep India in the contest did not warm up with the other India bowlers prior to play Sunday and looked uncomfortable when he did come out to bat as the tourists tail was quickly swept up by the hosts.

Even without its talisman, India's attack still sent jitters through Australia's batting as it had the hosts at 71-3 at lunch and then removed Usman Khawaja (41) to seed more doubt.

But Travis Head (34 not out) — a frequent thorn in India's side in recent years — and debutant Beau Webster (39 not out) guided Australia home for a landmark series win under captain Pat Cummins.