It doesn’t happen often that you lose not one but two captains in one game. That’s exactly what happened with the Indian cricket team at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Before the start of the India vs Australia 5th Test, Rohit Sharma dropped himself, and in between the match, interim captain Jasprit Bumrah sustained a back injury that ruled him out of the last one and a half days of the match.
Injury rules Jasprit Bumrah out
Bumrah had suffered a back spasm after throwing down over 150 overs, the most for any Indian bowler, in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. He did come out to bat in the final batting innings for Team India and also managed to face three deliveries before getting out.
When it was time to come out and defend 162 runs at the SCG, unfortunately, Bumrah wasn’t there. Virat Kohli took over as the captain and led the side into the middle. An all-time great series by a bowler in history and a chance to end the India vs Australia Test series 2-2, ruined by an injury sustained less than two days before it all ended.
What can Prasidh Krishna & Siraj do?
Although Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj had done well in the first innings, the initial breakthroughs were given by Bumrah. The pitch seems to have eased out a little, and without their ace, defending 162 doesn’t seem viable at all. Even if they deliver some blows in their initial spells, can Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar keep Team India in the game? It doesn’t seem likely, but from what we have seen, anything can happen when these two teams are going toe-to-toe.
Lowest score defended at SCG in Test cricket
| Total Defended | Batting Team | Bowling Team | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 110 | Australia | England | 1887 |
| 116 | Australia | South Africa | 1994 |
| 152 | Australia | England | 1883 |
| 158 | Pakistan | Australia | 1973 |
| 175 | Pakistan | Australia | 2010 |
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