Bumrah, Siraj wreck Australia's top order as India dominate day 2 morning session
Jan 04, 2025
Sydney [Australia], January 4 : India's right-arm seamers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj dismantled Australia's top order to give the visitors an upper hand by the end of the first session on Day two at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.
At Lunch, Australia stood at 101/5, with debutant Beau Webster (28*) and Alex Carey (4*) unbeaten at the crease. The Pat Cummins-led side still trails India by 84 runs in the match.
The hosts resumed Day two at 9/1, with opener Sam Konstas unbeaten on seven. Right-handed batter Marnus Labuschagne joined him at the crease. However, the Indian bowlers applied relentless pressure from the start, maintaining an accurate line and length.
Bumrah claimed the first wicket of the day, dismissing Labuschagne in the fourth over for just two runs. With this dismissal, Bumrah surpassed legendary spinner Bishan Singh Bedi's record for the most wickets in an overseas Test series by an Indian bowler.
Steven Smith then joined Konstas at the crease. In the 12th over, Siraj delivered a game-changing spell, taking two wickets in a single over.
He first dismissed Konstas for 23 on the second ball and then removed Travis Head, the highest scorer of the series, for just 4 on the fifth ball, pushing Australia onto the back foot.
Debutant Webster then partnered with Smith to stabilize the innings. The duo guided Australia past the 50-run mark in the 15th over and completed a 50-run partnership in the 26th over. However, in the 28th over, Smith fell to Prasidh Krishna for 33, marking the fifth wicket for the hosts.
After Smith's dismissal, wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey joined Webster at the crease. At the break, the pair had managed to build a modest partnership of five runs.
For India, Bumrah and Siraj claimed two wickets each, while Krishna picked up one in their respective spells.
Brief Scores: India: 185 (Rishabh Pant 40, Ravindra Jadeja 26, Scott Boland 4/31)
Australia: 101/5 (Steven Smith 33, Beau Webster 28*, Jasprit Bumrah 2/27).
