Sydney Showdown: India’s Resilience and Australia’s Challenge in a Nail-Biting Test Match
CricketPanditIndia is at 141 for 6 (Pant 61, Boland 4-42) and leads Australia, who scored 181 (Webster 57, Smith 33, Prasidh 3-42, Siraj 3-51), by 145 runs. During the lunch break on the second day, Rohit Sharma addressed the situation, clarifying that he had missed the Sydney Test and was not retiring from Test cricket just yet. Shortly after the break, Jasprit Bumrah, who had taken over as captain from Rohit, left the SCG for scans. At that point, Australia had lost half their team, with the match—and the series—hanging in the balance. Despite Bumrah’s absence, India managed to secure a four-run lead in the first innings, setting the stage for a thrilling second-innings showdown.
Rishabh Pant propelled India further ahead with an astonishing 29-ball half-century, marking the second-fastest fifty by an Indian in Test cricket, just behind his own record of 28 balls against Sri Lanka in 2022. After Scott Boland dismantled India’s top order with precision, Pant responded brilliantly, energizing a crowd of 47,257 in Sydney. The late dismissals of Pant and Nitish Kumar Reddy kept the match finely poised, with India holding a 145-run lead at the end of the day.
However, the second-innings contest could tilt in favor of Australia if Bumrah is unable to bowl again in this Test. India’s supporting bowlers rose to the occasion on the second day, with Prasidh Krishna and Reddy combining for five wickets. The non-Bumrah seamers for India recorded impressive figures of 8 for 132, their best performance in any innings during this tour.
Reddy took two wickets in consecutive balls, while Prasidh made a notable return to Test cricket by dismissing Steven Smith, Alex Carey, and debutant Beau Webster, who was Australia’s top scorer with 57 runs off 105 balls. Webster continued to impress on his debut, becoming the first Australian since Adam Voges in 2015 to score a half-century in his first Test match.
The day began with Bumrah claiming the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne for just 2 runs, giving a fierce look to non-striker Sam Konstas. Bumrah also surpassed Bishen Singh Bedi’s record for the most wickets taken by an Indian bowler in australia The 19-year-old made a strong impression with the bat, charging at Bumrah and sending the ball down the ground for four runs.
After Bumrah adjusted his field by bringing in a deep third, Konstas executed a daring reverse-ramp, prompting Bumrah to place a fielder at deep third. However, in the next over, Mohammed Siraj had Konstas edging to gully for 23 off 57 balls with an outswinger. Just three balls later, he had Travis Head caught at second slip for 4. While Bumrah and the Australian quicks focused on hitting the deck, Siraj’s threat came from his swing, as he consistently aimed for a fuller length to maximize that movement.
Smith and Webster steadied the innings for Australia with a 57-run partnership for the fifth wicket before Smith fell to Prasidh just before lunch. He seemed on track to reach 10,000 Test runs, but moments before the break, Prasidh adjusted his length to a fuller one, dismissing Smith five runs short of the milestone. In the afternoon session, he broke through Alex Carey’s defenses with a similar delivery. Reddy further rocked Australia by taking the wickets of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc. Australia lost their last four wickets for just 19 runs, ending up bowled out for 181.
Yashasvi Jaiswal then kicked off India’s second innings in spectacular fashion, hitting Starc for four fours in the first over. KL Rahul also displayed some aggressive intent at the other end until Boland (who else?) stepped in to halt India’s rapid start.
Rishabh Pant’s outrageous shots were on display as well. Boland struck in his second over, having Rahul chop an inducker onto his stumps, and in his next over, he bowled Jaiswal with a stunning delivery that angled in from around the wicket and seamed away late, hitting the top of off stump.
Boland then dismissed Virat Kohli in a familiar manner, for just 6 runs. This marked the eighth time Kohli had been out edging behind to the keeper or slip cordon in nine innings during this Border-Gavaskar Trophy.He was so furious that he yelled at himself and punched his leg.
Webster claimed his first Test wicket when he had Shubman Gill caught behind off the inside edge. After spending nearly 150 minutes batting as someone else on the first day, scoring 40 off 98 balls, the real Pant emerged on the second day. He charged at his first ball from Boland, who had just dismissed Kohli, and smashed it over mid-on for six. He then attempted a reverse ramp on his third ball; although he missed, he didn’t hold back on his natural instincts during this innings.
Pant then targeted Webster, hitting three consecutive fours, including a signature falling sweep-pull. He reached his fifty with a helicoptered six off Starc and celebrated the milestone with another six on the next ball. Pant’s aggressive play forced Australia to bowl with T20-style lines and lengths.
When Cummins bowled short and wide of off stump, trying to keep the ball away from Pant’s swinging arc, he chased it and ended up edging it to the keeper. Boland then had Reddy caught out for 4, capping off a remarkable 15-wicket day in Sydney.
