India vs Australia 5th Test Day 1 LIVE Score: Rishabh Pant’s fight was ended early in the third session by Scott Boland and then the pacer shocked India by dismissing Nitish Kumar Reddy on the next ball. India ran at less than two runs an over in the midway point of the second session as Pant and Ravindra Jadeja kept the pace up against the Australian fast bowling attack.
They’d taken just nine for the fifth wicket off 60 balls. Jadeja moved to the middle after Virat Kohli got run out for a record 12th time outside stump. i india got run outs from KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal in first session after shubman Gill and kohli looked like i might take india into Lunch.
Gill, though, appears to have lost track of himself in his own game and has been bowled by Nathan Lyon off the final ball of the day after fighting for 64 balls and scoring 20 runs.
India vs Australia 5th Test Day 1 Highlights: Rishabh Pant received multiple hit throughout the second day and survived till Tea, but not too long. Pant was on 40 off 98 balls when he got out to Scott Boland. That put a stop to a partnership of 48 between him and Jadeja from 151 balls. Then Boland rattled India, returning Nitish Kumar Reddy for a golden duck.
India were 107/4 in 50 overs at the close of the second session with Pant and Jadeja on 35 each off 111 balls. Pant had been pounded in the bicep and on the head in the same over by Mitchell Starc and had a crock delivered on his crotch late in the session by Pat Cummins.
Virat Kohli previously broke it for 69 and worked balls outside off during Day 1 of the fifth Test at SCG. But he got duped into taking a poke late in the second by Scott Boland and rolled it to third slip. This move has worked in perfect harmony against him so far in this series.
Kohli and Shubman Gill looked like they could stay put for the first session but the former got knocked off the last ball before Lunch. Gill looked in the midst of his own gamesmanship when he burst down the middle to Nathan Lyon off the final ball of the session and put it to slips. He’d run down the pitch and spent some time just before the ball went in.
Yesterday, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal did not stick around long at the top of the order when the former got snubbed by Mitchell Starc for a rather soft catch in the fifth over of the day. Jaiswal was squared and sent back by Scott Boland in short order in the pacer’s opening over of the game and the next ball, the same ball, nearly dismissed Virat Kohli. Shubman Gill who had been dropped for the fourth Test is back in the team, he has stepped out into the middle after Rahul was sacked and he has to battle it out with Kohli.
Rohit Sharma is missing this Test and Jasprit Bumrah is in command of India again. He had won the toss and decided to bat first in Sydney Cricket Ground ahead of the fifth Test match against Australia. The first Test of the fifth and final Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which begins Friday in Sydney, came before a major drama in the Indian camp, as reports are rife that the injured Rohit Sharma will be dropped after a run of poor form. With the Indian side in a mess on and off the pitch, the only question now will be how head coach Gautam Gambhir handles things after he left open the possibility of Rohit making it into the playing XI during Thursday’s pre-match press conference.
Rohit, who has scored just 31 runs from five innings in this series (averaging 6.2), has been given plenty of flak. His bad form is due to poor captaincy decisions where India are down 1-2. “We will make a decision on the playing XI once we have looked at the pitch,” Gambhir had said after Rohit was announced in the Sydney Test XI. Rohit he does not appear at SCG will be the first Indian captain to be rested in bad form.
According to rumours Rohit has not got any run in which India may consider Shubman Gill back in the side instead of Indian captain at No. 3. The performance woes of the team don’t end with Rohit, though. The other shady matter has been Rishabh Pant’s choice of shots, which is reportedly in the face of stern rebuke from Gambhir.
Pant’s low-grade performance on the show, coupled with his lack of ability to pull it out at key times, has made him the object of Gambhir’s ire. Gambhir had an “honest talk” with the players after India’s devastating defeat in Melbourne, according to reports.
With all this merriment, one thing is for sure: the Indian team is changing hands. Under head coach Gambhir, everything is focused on performance now, no senior guys are guaranteed a place anymore. His no-nonsense nature had certainly raised some red flags in the huddle with such prominent players as Rohit Sharma; had also earlier this week stated that another senior player of the team was available to take over as ‘interim captain’ after the side had been showing some poor form.
While some have been resilient and classy such as Bumrah, some like Pant, and indeed Virat Kohli have never made a dent in time of need. This situation is made more tense by rumors of factionalism in the group and the strains could impact players’ morale and performances before this all-important game.
Now that the WTC final is in the bag, the pressure has only risen on India. If India lose this last Test against Australia, they will not only be out of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, they will also not be in any sort of position to reach the WTC final at Lord’s. India now need to win and also pray Sri Lanka wins both of their Tests against Australia to still have a shot at a top-two position in the WTC table. With Australia still top of the series, it is up to India.
India is on the outside, but Australia is much better now — with Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne all back on top. The Australians will also debut all-rounder Beau Webster after the lacklustre batsman Mitchell Marsh.
Meanwhile, Mitchell Starc will also return from his back injury to fuel the firepower in Australia’s bowling unit. Sydney pitch will be favoured by seamers and Australia’s fast bowling attack is going to go for it every chance.
But, if the Australian team can take the game to Australia, India can cheer on Jasprit Bumrah, their paceman, in brilliant form. The sub-20-averaged wicket taker has been India’s sex leader with 30 in the series and may be the key player in India’s hopes of a series win.
Bumrah can even captain the side if Rohit Sharma gets dropped, and with his captaincy in Perth, where India have only one win in the series to date, may give India the upper hand.
And now at the last Test, India are at a limbo. The team transition, under the mentorship of head coach Gautam Gambhir, is a uncertain one.
Rohit Sharma’s exit and the additional demands on other senior players in the team has made for some drama in the dressing room. India has everything to lose in Sydney and how they handle it will decide their Test cricket destiny for months to come.
Here are some thoughts on Day 1 of India vs Australia fifth Test:
– Scott Boland rattled India early in third session as he broken Rishabh Pant’s backstop and bowled out Nitish Kumar Reddy next ball.
– India were 107/4 in 50 overs at Tea.
– Pant-Jadeja stand cost 35 off 111 balls at the close of a second session.
– Pant and Jadeja played some epic grind after Kohli was out and India’s run rate below two an over at the end of 40th over.
– Virat Kohli fell getting another punch out off in the second session.
– India 57/3 in 25 overs on Day Lunch.
– Shubman Gill caught 20 from 64 balls on the penultimate delivery of the first session.
– KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal both went out in the 10th over.
– KL Rahul is back in top order and paired Yashasvi Jaiswal for Indian first innings.
– Jasprit Bumrah to captain India once again Rohit Sharma is not present.
– India declared first and batted first.
– Shubman Gill takes over at No.3 and Prasidh Krishna takes over in place of Akash Deep injured.