India’s cautious batting strategy proved ineffective as they were dismissed for 185 after choosing to bat first on a green pitch in Sydney. Scott Boland emerged as the standout bowler for Australia, achieving figures of 4-31, thanks to his consistent lines and lengths complemented by the seam movement available on the surface.
India experienced a brief highlight when Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Usman Khawaja, marking the sixth time he had done so in the series, with Khawaja edging the ball behind after a verbal exchange with non-striker Sam Konstas. This dramatic wicket provided India with a moment of satisfaction on an otherwise challenging day with the bat.
Indian team's top order fails yet again
From the outset, India faced significant challenges, particularly when Bumrah represented the team at the toss in place of Rohit Sharma. The pacer, who had captained India in Perth, explained that Rohit had chosen to rest for this match, thereby placing his batters under considerable scrutiny. KL Rahul, returning to the opening position in Rohit’s absence, began cautiously alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, adhering to the conditions that required a tight defensive approach, particularly in the corridor outside off stump.
Rahul’s dismissal came unexpectedly as he flicked a leg-stump half-volley from Mitchell Starc directly into the hands of the square leg fielder, placing India at a disadvantage. Jaiswal attempted to counter Scott Boland’s consistent lines and lengths by advancing towards the bowler, but ultimately edged the ball into the grasp of debutant Beau Webster in the slip cordon.
Boland nearly replicated this success when Virat Kohli, facing his first delivery, edged it to the right of Steve Smith, who managed to get his fingers underneath the ball and deflected it to Webster. However, replays suggested that the ball may have made contact with the ground during Smith’s acrobatic attempt. The third umpire, Joel Wilson, ultimately ruled in favor of Kohli.
Benefiting from this stroke of luck, the struggling senior batter resumed his innings with the discipline he had demonstrated in the first innings at Melbourne. Pat Cummins employed his four primary pace bowlers in brief spells, each presenting challenging questions and offering minimal scoring opportunities for both Kohli and Shubman Gill, who returned to his position at No. 3.
Rishabh Pant - The highest scorer of the inning
Gill experienced a few narrow escapes, with an inside edge narrowly missing the stumps and another outside edge soaring over the slip cordon. However, similar to Kohli, he focused on reducing unforced errors during the substantial 40-run partnership that spanned 106 balls. Unfortunately, just before the Lunch break, he advanced down the pitch to Nathan Lyon and edged the ball to slip, further complicating India’s position.
Kohli’s stay at the crease was also brief, as he edged a delivery outside off and was caught in the slip cordon, marking his seventh dismissal of the series. The consistent Boland nearly dismissed Ravindra Jadeja early on as well, had it not been for a dropped catch by Smith.
Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant, displaying an unusually conventional approach, endured several blows to his body but refrained from attempting anything extravagant during his determined innings. With the Australian fast bowlers providing no easy runs, Pant had to create his own boundary opportunities, notably when he advanced down the pitch and struck Webster for a six.
A strike off a short delivery from Lyon just before Tea provided him with another boundary in an otherwise challenging innings, which concluded in the final session when he misplayed a pull shot off Boland to midwicket. As he walked off, chastising himself, he was soon joined by Nitish Reddy, who was dismissed on his first ball, caught in the slip cordon. Ravindra Jadeja, who had battled to score 26 runs off 95 balls, then played across to Starc and was adjudged out leg before wicket.
Washington Sundar managed to hit a couple of much-needed boundaries before the third umpire ruled that he had gloved his attempted pull shot, following Australia’s review, leaving the lower order to continue the struggle. Bumrah swung his bat to reach a score of 22 before becoming the last wicket to fall. This match continued India’s disappointing trend of low scores in the first innings of Test matches, as they were bowled out in under 80 overs for the seventh time in the last eight Tests.
SCORECARD: India 185 (Rishabh Pant 40, Shubman Gill 20; Scott Boland 4-31) lead Australia 9/1 (Jasprit Bumrah 1-7) by 176 runs
