Team India suffered a similar fate while batting first on day one of the fifth and final Test in Sydney but ended with Usman Khawaja’s wicket. Batting first after winning the toss, India scored a paltry 185 in the first innings, with Rishabh Pant among runs (40). Scott Boland continued an impressive run with four wickets, but what unfolded between Sam Konstas and the stand-in Indian skipper Jasprit Bumrah was day one’s highlight.

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Day one began with the shocking news of regular Indian skipper Rohit Sharma opting out of the series decider, with Bumrah donning the captain’s hat for the second time this series.

While India made two changes to their playing XI, bringing in seamer Prasidh Krishna for injured Akash Deep and replacing Rohit with Shubman Gill, Australia brought in the debutant Beau Webster for underfiring Mitchell Marsh.

Australia made most of the conditions, removing both openers – Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul inside the first eight overs.

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However, the moment of the first hour came when Virat Kohli edged one to the slip cordon only for Steve Smith to grab it and later scoop it off the ground for the gully fielder to complete the catch, which, later, got adjudged not out. 

Although Kohli survived a first-ball dismissal, he fell prey to Boland’s peach after lunch, getting out caught in the slips. 

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Pant and Ravindra Jadeja tried saving India’s grace and even managed to do it slightly, but Boland’s dual strike later put their backs against the wall.

Boland picked Pant and Nitish Kumar Reddy (0), with Mitchell Starc and Captain Cummins wrapping up the tail soon after.

Also read | SHOCKING! Rohit Sharma’s name missing from official team sheet for SCG Test

For the nth time in the series, India got all out under 200, mostly after batting first, a worrying sign for the team already undergoing some tough times both on and off the field. Even with a youngster replacing low-on-form Rohit, India failed to put a decent total on the board, putting pressure on the bowling unit to compensate.

‘Drama at SCG’

Sam Konstas began proceedings with a four off the first ball of Bumrah, cheering the crowd up.

However, what happened just at the stroke of stumps made headlines. Standing at the non-striker end, Konstas interrupted Bumrah (before the final ball of the day) while having a go at the Indian seamer. Both shared a few words before the on-field umpire separated the two. 

That moment riled up Bumrah, who picked Khawaja, caught in the slips on just two.

Australia ended day one of the fifth Test on 9/1, trailing by 175 runs.