Struggles continue in Sydney as well

Australia’s Scott Boland celebrates after dismissing Virat Kohli in Sydney yesterday. PIC/AP; PTI

In the last few years, Test match batting in Australia has become a difficult proposition. A slant towards livelier surfaces and a rejigged constitution of the Kookaburra ball have precluded the possibility of tall scores and forced batters to dig deep, relying on their technical expertise and their temperamental acumen to plod through demanding phases.

Juicy strip

India were put through an examination by fire on a juicy strip at the Sydney Cricket Ground on the opening day of the final Test, a test they didn't fare too well in with Scott Boland and Australian skipper Pat Cummins their principal tormentors. Despite out-of-form skipper Rohit Sharma deciding to drop himself, India's batting fortunes didn't exactly take off and the visitors were bowled out for 185 after stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah opted to bat.

During a 17-ball cameo which fetched him 22 runs, Bumrah had had a close look at the conditions, and he produced an excellent last ball of the day to have Usman Khawaja caught at second slip by KL Rahul, sending Australia to stumps at nine for one. Already, he has had a running battle with the feisty Sam Konstsas, who charged the first ball of the Australian reply which he whipped through mid-wicket for four. A spicy contest looms on Saturday's Day Two.

Spice was quite the flavour of the day with India's batters feeling the heat. In itself, batting was anything but straightforward. It was the kind of track where, no matter how much time one spent, it was impossible to feel ‘in'. Against that backdrop, several soft dismissals didn't help though for the second innings in a row, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja put their heads down after Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli threw their hands away after doing all the hard work.

The litany of tame dismissals began in the day's fifth over when Rahul flicked a harmless Mitchell Starc delivery straight to the fielder at forward square-leg. Starc was driven more than once in his first spell when he pitched the ball up in looking for swing, but Cummins gave nothing away and the wonderful Boland kept India honest by falling into a great rhythm, hitting a spot consistently and offering the batters no width to free their arms.

Crucial fifth-wicket stand

Yashasvi Jaiswal's endeavour to disturb Boland's rhythm resulted in a catch to slip, a charging Gill inexplicably poked Nathan Lyon off the last ball before lunch to slip and Kohli, reprieved by the TV umpire on nought, perished to a loose stroke outside off in a series where that mode of dismissal has been commonplace for the former captain. India were tottering at 72-4 and their luck held somewhat when Jadeja was put down twice by the time he had reached five. Alongside a courageous Pant, who weathered numerous blows to his body and one crunching hit to his helmet from Starc, he added 48 for the fifth wicket when Boland dismissed Pant and Nitish Kumar Reddy off successive deliveries.

Jadeja's two-and-a-half-hour vigil was ended by Starc while Washington Sundar was contentiously ruled caught behind by the TV umpire Joel Wilson, who overruled the on-field umpire even in the absence of conclusive evidence. It was left to Bumrah, chancing his arm and smiting Cummins for a huge six over mid-wicket, to push the score to the early limits of acceptability, though it is with the ball that India will expect their skipper to do the damage on the morrow.