Throughout the India vs Australia Test series, Jasprit Bumrah has been fighting a lone battle. Had the pacers been supportive, the India cricket team would have won at least one of the two matches they lost. But what’s past has passed. The Sydney Test presented them with a chance at redemption. And boy, have they impressed with.
Bumrah injured, Siraj-Prasidh take over
Once again, Bumrah opened up the game with the wickets of Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne. But, shockingly, that’s all he did. In fact, the pacer who was captaining Team India instead of Rohit Sharma in Sydney threw down just 10 overs, which wasn’t even 1/5 of the total overs Team India bowled.
The reason was, of course, that Bumrah had not just left the field but the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) and gone to the hospital for some scans. Even before he wasn’t available, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna did fine work, but after Bumrah was gone, they took over with some help from Nitish Kumar Reddy and handily dismissed Australia for 181.
Siraj, who hadn’t played the role of Bumrah’s deputy well, turned up today. His 2-wicket over, dismissing Sam Konstas and Travis Head, changed the game and put India on top. There was a lull in the middle, and then just before lunch, Prasidh Krishna took the prize wicket of Steve Smith.
Bumrah went out after the second over of the second session, but Team India continued to chip away. Prasidh once again broke up a good partnership with the wickets of Alex Carey and Nitish Reddy; back-to-back wickets of handy tailenders Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc were crucial, and then debutant Beau Webster’s wicket by Prasidh, when he was batting on 57, was the final nail in the coffin.
Indian pacers in 1st innings of Sydney Test
- Jasprit Bumrah: 10-1-33-2
- Mohammed Siraj: 16-2-51-3
- Prasidh Krishna: 15-3-42-3
- Nitish Kumar Reddy: 7-0-32-2
