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- India vs Australia 5th Test Day 3 Highlights: You have to respect your body, you can't fight your body, says Bumrah; India lose BGT 1-3, out of WTC Final running
India vs Australia 5th Test Day 3 Highlights: You have to respect your body, you can't fight your body, says Bumrah; India lose BGT 1-3, out of WTC Final running
India were dismissed 45 minutes into the morning session of day three for 157, adding just 16 to their overnight 141-6 with the irrepressible Scott Boland ending with 6-45 and 10 wickets for the match.
Set 162 to win, the hosts reached the target before tea against an attack missing injured strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah to regain the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the first time since 2014-15.
Australia lost three wickets before lunch to leave the Test finely-poised, including Steve Smith who agonisingly fell just one short of becoming only the 15th player and fourth Australian to reach 10,000 Test runs.
But Usman Khawaja hit a composed 41 before Travis Head (34 not out) and debutant Beau Webster (39 not out) steered them home.
Victory was enough to ensure they will defend their World Test Championship title in the June final at Lord's against South Africa.
It culminated a thrilling tour full of twists and turns that saw record crowds and some spectacular individual performances.
The five-Test series witnessed the emergence of exciting young talent in the form of Australian opener Sam Konstas and Indian all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.
At the same time, ageing veterans, notably Rohit Sharma, showed that the clock is ticking on their careers.
India won the first match in Perth convincingly before Australia bounced back in the day-night affair at Adelaide.
The rain-hit Brisbane clash ended in a draw before the hosts took all the momentum into Sydney with a pulsating day-five win in Melbourne.
Indian pace spearhead and skipper Bumrah, who has been dealing with a back issue, batted briefly when his team resumed after bowling just one over and leaving the field on Saturday.
But in a huge setback the 31-year-old did not appear again, leaving Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna to lead the bowling attack, with Virat Kohli in charge.
It appeared to be a difficult run chase on a deteriorating surface offering plenty for the bowlers, but Konstas and Khawaja had other ideas.
They raced to 35 off the first three overs, with teenager Konstas hitting out.
It proved his downfall, unnecessarily lashing at a good length ball from Prasidh only to sky it to Washington Sundar at mid-off, out for 22.
Prasidh then knocked over Marnus Labuschagne for six, caught by Yashasvi Jaiswal at slip, with the same pair removing Smith on four, fending off a rising ball.
Veteran Khawaja, who had a poor series, produced some cracking boundaries on his way to 41, but he mistimed a pull shot off Siraj with wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant collecting the edge.
It gave India a glimmer of hope before Head and Webster took the game away.
India resumed after a counter-attacking 61 from Pant helped build their second-innings lead.
Ravindra Jadeja began on eight and Sundar on six after they dismissed Australia for 181 in reply to their first-innings 185.
Jadeja crunched an early boundary off Pat Cummins, but he was out two balls later, getting a faint nick to wicketkeeper Alex Carey, adding just five to his overnight score.
The Australian skipper struck again to bowl Sundar for 12.
That brought Bumrah to the crease and he could only watch as Siraj edged Boland to Khawaja at slip to give the big Australian his fifth wicket.
Boland, whose line and length were impeccable all series, then bowled Bumrah to end the innings.
I was just getting Bumrah'd. It's a shame he was (injured) but thank god for us. Today would've been an absolute nightmare facing him on that wicket. As soon as we didn't see him out there we thought 'alright, we've got a chance here'. He's the toughest bowler I've ever faced.
Usman Khawaja
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, two struggling players, still have the desire to succeed and will choose their Test futures with the team's best interests in mind, according to India head coach Gautam Gambhir.
Gambhir made his remarks on the two seniors following India's 1-3 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series defeat.
13:40They (Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli) are tough people with hunger, they'll decide what is best for Indian cricket. To keep dressing room happy, I have to be honest and fair to everyone. I would want everyone to play domestic cricket. Rohit Sharma showed accountability at top (on his call to step aside from fifth Test).
Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir
Unreal. Few of us didn't have this Trophy. Lived up to all the hype. Just been clear with our plans. We tried to be proactive, Ultimately worked, out. Immensely proud. We weren't at our best at Perth. We had a lot of fun playing alongside each other. I love playing with these guys. Such a special group. Feel privileged to be part of such a team. Really proud of what we have achieved. Always nice to have a squad. Three debutants in this series fitted in well. They contributed in different times. Pretty happy with how I played. I had a fresh up coming into this series. These are the big series you prepare for. Some keen moments when our main stays really stood up. You need to do that to beat a side like India. Our guys put up their hands up. Would go down one of my most favourite Test series. Thanks to Rohit and Jasprit. The fans made the series. Every venue was incredible. MCG was off its head. Three sell outs in three days here at Sydney. Shows why Test cricket is so special and why we love playing it so much. Seen everyone turning out in pink and celebrating an amazing cause is a great way to kick start the year.
Australia captain Pat Cummins
Little frustrating but sometimes you have to respect your body, you can’t fight your body. Disappointing, probably missed out on the spiciest wicket of the series. Felt a bit of discomfort during my second spell in the first innings. The chat was about belief, the other bowlers stepped up in the first innings. With a bowler short, the others had to take responsibility. The chat this morning was about the same thing, about having belief and showing character. Lots of ifs and buts, the whole series was fought hard, we were in the game today as well, not like we were out of it, this is how Test cricket goes. Being in the game for longer, creating pressure, absorbing pressure and playing to the situation are all important. You have to adapt to the situations and these learnings will help us in the future. They’ve (youngsters) gained a lot of experience, they’ll go from strength to strength. We’ve shown that we have a lot of talent in our group. Lot of the youngsters are keen, they’re disappointed that we haven’t won but they’ll take learnings from this experience. It was a great series, congratulations to Australia, they fought really well.
Jasprit Bumrah | Player of the Series
Has been an enjoyable couple of months. The last few weeks have been awesome. Just got my body right. Lot of hours in the gym. To win 3-1 against India, hasn't been done in a while. I am happy playing whenever I can.
Man of the Match Scott Boland
Nice to contribute, I don’t worry about the results too much. Two great teams, felt like it would be nice if I could come out and contribute. Same approach as always, felt like I was moving well, knew that if I could build a partnership with Usman we would be well placed. The last series here they played exceptionally well, even in Perth they put us on the backfoot. Been a crazy five Tests, the guys that got through all five are probably looking forward to some time off. There’s been a lot of media attention too. I think there were 15 people really pleased that Bumrah didn’t bowl today. He’s a great performer, he had an exceptional tour. Nitish too, I already knew how good he was. They have a lot of players that play well. We played extremely well too and stepped it up. I’m wrecked, I don’t know what I’m going to do for the next 10 days. I’ll look after myself and get prepared for Sri Lanka.
Travis Head
It’s been a hell of a game, couldn’t have asked for much more. Great crowd, great atmosphere. I was counting down the runs, was pretty confident the whole chase. When it was down to four, I was going to try and flog it, it came off else I was going to leave it to Head. Nice couple of weeks to be around the lads. To get a chance in the last one was a bit unexpected but it was great. Hell of a crowd, whole series has been well supported. Great support from everyone back home, been a hectic few days, thanks to everyone.
Beau Webster
Australia (Jan 2007 - Jan 2009)
South Africa (Dec 2012 - Mar 2014)
India (Mar 2017 - Jan 2018)
India (Dec 2021 - Jan 2022)
Australia (Jan 2025 - *)
Virat Kohli is renowned for his dynamic and passionate engagement with the crowd, which has become an integral part of his persona both on and off the field.
The former Indian captain often teases the crowd during matches, adding an element of entertainment to the game. His ability to interact and sometimes lightheartedly provoke the fans has made him a crowd favorite.
Sachin Tendulkar has one of the largest and most devoted fan followings in the history of sports. His incredible achievements, humility, and consistency over a career spanning more than two decades have endeared him to fans worldwide.
In India, Tendulkar is more than just a cricket player-he is a cultural phenomenon. His performances brought people from all walks of life together, often halting everyday activities when he played. His influence extended beyond cricket, with his name synonymous with excellence and perseverance.
Due to fewer appearances for the nation due to the presence of the first-choice, more experienced pace trio of captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood, former Australian pacer Brett Lee praised fiery pacer Scott Boland, referring to him as "Mr Consistent" and drawing comparisons to former Australian spinner Stuart MacGill.
Despite a strong start by openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul in the second innings, India lost quick wickets and finished the day at 141/6, with a 145-run lead and little batting firepower remaining. Boland continued to haunt the Indian team with his accurate line and lengths, taking four wickets.
Jasprit Bumrah was not at the Sydney Cricket Ground for close to three hours on Day 2 of the fifth Test as the seamer was rushed for precautionary scans after a back spasm.
With the match delicately placed, India would want the services of their MVP on Sunday but it's understood that while he should be okay to bat, a call on his bowling will be taken on the basis of how he feels in the morning.
The hosts chased down the 162-run target just after lunch on the third day after it had earlier wrapped up India's second innings in quick time for 157.
Australia won the series 3-1 after victories in Adelaide and Melbourne, to go with a nervy, yet successful, run-chase in the final innings in Sydney. India won the first Test at Perth and the 3rd Test at Brisbane was a draw.
Sunday's victory also means the hosts booked their spot in a second straight World Test Championship final where it will play the already-qualified South Africa at Lord's in June.
In a devastating setback for India's hopes of bowling out Australia to level the series and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for a record-extending fifth consecutive time, star bowler and captain Jasprit Bumrah did not bowl during Australia's second innings.
Bumrah's injury occurred on Saturday and had only been described as “ back spasms” by the India team after the star seamer had returned from medical scans at a nearby clinic. Bumrah had back surgery to repair a stress fracture in April 2023.
The 31-year-old, who has taken 32 wickets in the series — the highest ever by an Indian bowler in a single series in Australia — to almost single handedly keep India in the contest did not warm up with the other India bowlers prior to play Sunday and looked uncomfortable when he did come out to bat as the tourists tail was quickly swept up by the hosts.
Even without its talisman, India's attack still sent jitters through Australia's batting as it had the hosts at 71-3 at lunch and then removed Usman Khawaja (41) to seed more doubt.
But Travis Head (34 not out) — a frequent thorn in India's side in recent years — and debutant Beau Webster (39 not out) guided Australia home for a landmark series win under captain Pat Cummins.
