Celebrating Jasprit Bumrah’s Sixth Dismissal of Usman Khawaja: A Highlight in India’s Challenging Day
CricketPanditIndia’s cautious batting strategy did not yield results as they were bowled out for 185 after choosing to bat on a green pitch in Sydney. Scott Boland was the standout bowler for Australia, achieving figures of 4-31 with his consistent lines and lengths, enhanced by the seam movement available on the surface.
India had a brief moment of celebration when Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Usman Khawaja (for the sixth time in the series) with a catch behind the stumps after a verbal exchange with non-striker Sam Konstas. This dramatic wicket provided India with some joy on an otherwise challenging day with the bat.
From the outset, India faced tough questions when Bumrah stepped up for the toss instead of Rohit Sharma. The pacer, who had captained India in Perth, explained that Rohit had “chosen to rest” for this match and put his batters under pressure. KL Rahul, returning to the top order in Rohit’s absence, started cautiously alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, as the conditions required, remaining solid in defense and in the corridor outside off stump initially.
However, against the run of play, Rahul played a leg-stump half-volley from Mitchell Starc straight into the hands of square leg, putting India on the back foot. Jaiswal attempted to counter Scott Boland’s unyielding lines and lengths by advancing towards the bowler but ended up edging one to debutant Beau Webster in the slip cordon.
Bumrah swung his bat to reach a score of 22 before he was the last player out. This marked another disappointing first innings for India in Tests, as they were bowled out in under 80 overs for the seventh time in their last eight matches.
Brief Scores: India 185 (Rishabh Pant 40, Shubman Gill 20; Scott Boland 4-31) lead Australia 9/1 (Jasprit Bumrah 1-7) by 176 runs.
Boland nearly had another wicket when Virat Kohli nicked the first ball he faced to the right of Steve Smith, who managed to get his fingers underneath it and pushed it to Webster. However, replays suggested that the ball may have touched the ground during Smith’s acrobatic effort. Third umpire Joel Wilson ultimately ruled in favor of Kohli.With a stroke of luck, the struggling senior batter pressed on, maintaining much of the discipline he had displayed in the first innings at Melbourne.
Pat Cummins utilized his four main pace bowlers in short spells, each one posing challenging questions and offering little in terms of scoring opportunities for both Kohli and Shubman Gill, who returned to his No. 3 position. Gill had a few close calls, with an inside edge narrowly missing the stumps and another outside edge flying over the slips. However, like Kohli, he was focused on minimizing unforced errors during their 40-run partnership off 106 balls. Just before Lunch, he danced down to Nathan Lyon and edged to slip, pushing India further back.
Kohli’s stay at the crease was also brief, as he poked at a delivery outside off and was caught in the slips for the seventh time in the series. The consistent Boland could have dismissed Ravindra Jadeja early too, had Smith not dropped a catch.
At the other end, a surprisingly conventional Rishabh Pant took several blows to the body but refrained from attempting anything too extravagant in a determined innings. With the Australian bowlers not offering any easy runs, Pant had to create his own boundary opportunities, dancing down the pitch to hit Webster for a six.
A hit off a short ball from Lyon just before Tea provided him with another boundary in an otherwise tough innings, which came to an end in the final session when he misplayed a pull shot off Boland to midwicket. As he walked off, berating himself, he was soon joined by Nitish Reddy, who was caught in the slips on his first ball. Ravindra Jadeja, who had battled his way to a 95-ball 26, then played across to Starc and was plumb in front. Washington Sundar managed to hit a couple of much-needed boundaries before the third umpire ruled that he had gloved his attempted pull on Australia’s review, leaving the lower order to continue the fight.
