Sydney: Australia reached nine for one at stumps after bowling out India for 185 on the opening day of the fifth and final Test against Australia here on Friday.
India, who recovered from 57 for 3 to 107 for 4 at tea, lost the remaining six wickets for 78 runs in the final session.
Rishabh Pant (40 off 98) top-scored for India while Scott Boland (4/31) was the pick of the Australia bowlers.
“There is no selfishness in our team.” This was Jasprit Bumrah’s assertion at the toss when he revealed that Rohit Sharma had opted to rest in the team’s interest for the fifth Test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.
However, what followed after Bumrah chose to bat first suggested that the team’s issues went beyond Sharma’s poor form or Rishabh Pant’s ultra-aggressive batting, which had drawn criticism after the defeat at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
It was the culmination of several factors — a lack of form at the top of the order and poor shot selection during key moments of the game
The tensions that had led to some hard talk in the dressing room after the MCG loss were evident once again in Sydney.
While KL Rahul and Shubman Gill effectively threw their wickets away, Virat Kohli’s recurring vulnerability outside the off-stump was exploited yet again.
Rishabh Pant’s approach to the game in Sydney also revealed that the dressing-room discussions had affected his mindset. He restrained his natural instinct to bat aggressively, which not only curtailed his individual scoring but also hampered India’s overall tally as they managed only 185 runs in 72.2 overs during their first innings, that too because of Bumrah using the long handle. Bumrah scored 22 runs off 17 deliveries.
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