India sweat on Bumrah fitness as Pant blitz raises hope

Sydney: Has there been a single day of normal Test cricket in this Border Gavaskar Trophy series? Every day has had its own unique rhythm, with moments of brilliance and heartbreak that leave fans either screaming in frustration or thanking the cricketing gods. The Sydney Test has continued this trend, delivering another thrilling chapter in an unpredictable series.

If Day 1 was a battle of attrition, Day 2 at the SCG saw both teams press the fast forward button with 15 wickets falling. On days like these, when there is so much happening, things can get a little blurry, but certain moments stay with you. Look back and see — each person has his/her own list — and it’ll give you an idea of what you truly appreciate in the game. Is it forward defence? Accurate bowling? Fielding? A batter going nuts?

At close of play, the match was interestingly poised — India are 145 runs ahead, thanks largely to a typically mad Rishabh Pant knock of 61 off 33 balls, with four wickets in hand.

With Jasprit Bumrah, a total of around 170 might be defendable, but the pacer was laid low by back spasm and left the field for roughly half of the Australian innings. He is being monitored by the medical team, but his sheer presence on the field will be a big boost to the visitors.

At various points during Saturday, Australia had the chance of moving ahead. But a Bumrah-less India still found the will and resolve to pull them back on a wicket that spiced things up. The hosts were dismissed for 181 in their first essay with Prasidh Krishna – playing his first Test of the series – taking 3/42, Mohammed Siraj 3/51 and Nitish Reddy 2/32. A four-run lead may not mean much, but it is a big deal in terms of the confidence it gives to the bowling group.

It started early — Bumrah was on the field when play began though and needed just eight balls to draw first blood. Marnus Labuschagne has had a middling series but he has batted time and that could have been crucial for the Aussies on a tough wicket. He edged one and India got their review right.

It got things going in the right direction for the team but there was a calm period before the next wicket as Sam Konstas and Steve Smith put together a 20-run partnership. The pitch also seemed to be playing a lot better than it did on the first day; the sun was out too.

But Siraj was up for the fight. He was consistently pitching the ball up and getting it to swing late. This tempted the fiery Konstas to go for the drive and the resulting edge was caught by Yashasvi Jaiswal at gully.

And it looked like India would run through them when Siraj also sent Travis Head (4) back to reduce the Aussies to 39/4.

But Australia found their hero in Beau Webster, who has looked anything but a debutant in this match. The right-hander made a composed 57 and his partnership with Smith helped the score advance to 96 before Prasidh took the first of his wickets.

On a grassy wicket of variable bounce, Smith (33) was always going to be a dangerous batter and getting him was the key. It was a length ball that did the trick and the batter moved to defend it, but all he got was an edge to second slip.

Prasidh has the reputation as a four-ball bowler — every over gives batters an opportunity to get some runs. And after a good first over, he did exactly that. But the lunch break really allowed him to get his act together.

“The difference was when I got back for lunch,” said Prasidh. “I actually looked at where I was bowling, the lengths that I was bowling. But my perception of the length that I wanted to bowl was slightly different than the analyst, and we sat together and had a better idea of what my reference point is when I am coming in to bowl the next bell and that really helped.”

Australia never managed to stitch together partnerships after that and were eventually bowled out for 181. But with the SCG wicket doing so much, it was clear that the Indian batting line-up wasn’t going to have an easy time either.

And that is how it turned out, despite a quick start, until Pant decided to fight fire with fire. Just a day ago, on the same wicket, he had chosen the defensive approach. But today, he was in the mood for something different and it was apparent from the first ball he faced.

Boland was tying every other batter in knots, but Pant’s isn’t every other batter. He charged down the pitch and flat-batted the first ball over mid-on for six. And that was the cue for carnage.

He swung his bat at everything to send the Aussies scattering during an innings that perhaps only he could attempt.

“It was really fun,” said Prasidh. “All of us were sitting together, the bowlers were sitting together and watching him bat, and we said “if I was sitting at home and watching this, I would have loved it”, and to be able to do it from the ground, nothing like it. I know it’s a lot of risk but that’s the way the game is played today.”

But Pant was eventually dismissed and India weren’t quite out of the danger zone yet. They will hope the remaining batters can carry the total to 200. No one really expects the game to go into the fourth day, and that means Day 3 will be just as manic as Day 2; and with the series on the line, perhaps even more thrilling.

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