5th Test: Australia reach 71/3, need 91 more runs for victory

Sydney, Jan 5 (IANS) Pacer Prasidh Krishna picked three wickets to keep India in the hunt of defending 162 as Australia reached 71/3 in 13 overs at lunch on day three of the fifth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.

After Australia took 7.5 overs to end India’s second innings at 157 in 39.5 overs, with Scott Boland taking 6-45, Prasidh picked 3-27 to lead the charge for visitors’ in captain Jasprit Bumrah’s absence.

The enthralling play in the first session, where seven wickets fell overall, means Australia need 91 more runs to win the match and series, with Usman Khawaja and Travis Head unbeaten on 19 and 5 respectively. On the other hand, India require seven wickets to win the game and retain the trophy.

India’s start of defending 162 wasn’t ideal as Prasidh and Mohammed Siraj were all over the place in their lines and lengths to concede 35 runs in the first three overs, including eight wides and four leg-byes, apart from Sam Konstas hitting three quick boundaries.

But Prasidh finally got his lengths right and removed Konstas, who went for an almighty slog, but holed out to mid-off for 22. Shortly after Australia brought up their fifty, Prasidh struck again by having Marnus Labuschagne steer to gully for six.

Steve Smith crawled to 9,999 Test runs, and was one run short of reaching 10,000 Test runs club. But Prasidh had other ideas, as he bowled a length ball which bounced sharply and took the outside edge of Smith’s bat and was caught by forward-diving gully.

With Head and Khawaja in the middle, Australia will be eager to end the game on day three as the match is all but certain to have a thrilling finish.

Previously, resuming from 141/6, India could add only 16 runs to its overnight total before their second innings ended in first 45 minutes of day three.

With the pitch having enough help and movement for seamers, Boland and Pat Cummins picked two wickets each in an accurate bowling performance to end India’s innings quickly and set the stage for an exciting finish to the series.

The figures of 6-45 coming in 16.5 overs is also Boland’s first five-wicket haul in Tests since his iconic 6/7 on debut against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2021 Ashes, as the seamer got a match haul of ten wickets, with the Sydney crowd in pink cheering for him with full energy.

Ravindra Jadeja seemed to have got his attacking mojo by slicing a short and wide ball from Cummins for four, taking India’s lead past 150. But two balls later, Cummins got a fuller ball to angle in, then seam away and take the thin outside edge of Jadeja’s bat to Alex Carey and fall for 13 off 45 balls.

In his next over, Cummins got one to angle in from wide of the crease and seam in to castle Washington Sundar him through the gate for 12 off 43 balls. Boland got his six-fer by having Siraj edge to first slip and rattling Bumrah’s leg-stump.

With Bumrah not bowling due to his back spasms, Australia have managed to keep themselves in the reckoning for chasing 162. If successful, it will be their first Border-Gavaskar Trophy series win in a decade, something which had been missing from the glittering trophy cabinet of Cummins & Co.

Brief Scores: India 185 and 157 in 39.5 overs (Rishabh Pant 61; Scott Boland 6-45) lead Australia 181 and 71/3 in 13 overs (Sam Konstas 22; Prasidh Krishna 3-27) by 91 runs

–IANS

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