Key events
1st over: Australia 13-0 (Konstas 5, Khawaja 3) Siraj with a good ball first up, beating the edge and the off stump, but then loses his line and bowls twice down the leg side. The second one is so wide it beats Pant for four byes. The collection plate has gone around. Two slips and a gully, with a deep third to discourage the ramp, and Konstas plays it along the ground to that man for one. Khawaja pulls without timing through midwicket for two. Then advances to push and run, diving in at the non-strikerâs end as the ball is thrown from mid off. That lets Konstas play his first Konstas shot, charging at Siraj and thrashing the cover drive aerially for four.
Australia get almost 10 percent of the target in one over.
It will be Siraj and Prasidh to open up, at any rate. Indian team in position, Konstas facing up with Khawaja watching on.
Tight huddle from the Indian team, a long conversation. It must be Kohli leading that, imploring them to produce something special. I think thatâs Easwaran as the sub fielder. So is there no Bumrah, or will he get jabbed up and appear?
Where is Bumrah? Heâs not with the team boundary side, warming up. Might still be taking his pads off.
âMorning! Long time follower, first time emailer,â chirrups Rishi. âItâs been a tough series to follow as an Indian fan since Perth, I wonât miss anxiously waking up and seeing us 80-4. Looking forward to the England series. Our last frontier IMO. Love your work!â
Thanks Rishi. Thereâs a certain tour to the south of Africa that India have never won either, though theyâre unlikely to play more than two Tests there on any future trips. Doesnât feel the same.
India all out 157, Australia need 162 to win
Even on this difficult surface, Australia shouldnât mess this up. Although who knows, when it comes to nerves and small targets and seam movement and perhaps a last flourish from Jasprit Bumrah if he can get his back to cooperate.
WICKET! Bumrah b Boland 0, India 157-10
Ten-wicket match for Scott Boland. The first time in his career. Bumrah doesnât make it too hard for him, after Prasidh pinches a run first ball with a straight push. Bumrah decides that slogging is the go, and gives it a big attempt. Misses. Boland doesnât.
WICKET! Siraj c Khawaja b Boland 4, India 156-9
Boland has five! And a chance for ten in the match if he gets the next one. He wonât get many more helpful pitches than this, but heâs been relentless. Bowls one ball off-line down the leg side, then immediately corrects to just outside off stump, having Siraj nick to first slip in time-honoured fashion. Taken low, hands on the ground, but the replay is clean and clear.
39th over: India 156-8 (Siraj 4, Bumrah 0) The two overnight batters with credentials are gone cheaply, and itâs down to the genuine tail to have a whack and hope for some luck. Bumrah batting ahead of Prasidh Krishna. Bumrah blocks the first ball, then opens his front foot and baseballs at the next one, but thatâs steeeeerrrrike one. End of the over.
The lead is 160.
WICKET! Washington b Cummins 12, India 156-8
Skewed away again by Siraj first ball of the Cummins over, little fumble in the gully from Webster allows them to sprint the single, as his throw goes over the bowlerâs head. Nasty bounce that squares up Washington, the fend lands in front of gully from the glove. So they have Webster at third slip and Labuschagne at gully now for Washington, wanting to ramp up pressure. He hasnât played an attacking shot yet, so why not?
But thereâs no need for slips in the end, as Cummins comes around the wicket, angles in, seams in, and takes out middle and off stumps. And Bumrah is coming out to bat!
38th over: India 155-7 (Washington 12, Siraj 3) Boland produces another ripper that nearly bowls Washington. Seaming in to the left hander, just bouncing over. No score from the six balls. Who would have thought that the only runs scored from Boland in three overs this morning would be by Siraj?
âHiya Geoff and Rob,â writes Paul Moody. âShame itâs almost over, been enthralling even though no live TV here for me. Cricket is not a sport for Brasil, but they are missing out. Hope itâs an exciting finish. Much appreciated your humour laced commentaries.â
Donât say that to Roberta Moretti! The Brazil womenâs team has gone from strength to strength the last decade, mostly under her stewardship. She recently handed over the captaincy but is still involved.
37th over: India 155-7 (Washington 12, Siraj 3) Nicked away for four! Webster goes Supermanning across to his right at gully but canât get hold of the ball as it finds the slip gap perfectly. Washington profits, Cummins deals with the frustration. End of the over, Siraj calls for a sharp run as Washington plays down into the ground, and they make the dash to manage the strike, Webster again coming in to gather and throw and miss as Siraj dives in.
The lead is 159. Every run an event at this point. Get that to 180 and theyâre in the hunt.
36th over: India 150-7 (Washington 7, Siraj 3) Stats-wise, Scott Boland has taken a huge proportion of his wickets in the first 12 balls of a spell. So itâs a minor miracle for Siraj to steer two runs between slip and gully, then skew a ball to slip on the bounce. Washington slipped when turning for a third run, and looked like he may have twisted his ankle a bit. Seems ok now. Boland beats the edge fifth ball, then Siraj winds up for a huge drive and misses! But has survived the over.
The lead is 154.
35th over: India 148-7 (Washington 7, Siraj 1) Mohammed Siraj at No9 is not a comforting prospect for India. So presumably Bumrah will bat last, if he must, to make sure that warm-up is next to his bowling warm-up? The Indian camp said he had back spasms, which might be manageable. Siraj gets a run first ball though, to fine leg, and Washington has a big square drive to end the over but misses out. Siraj on strike in Bolandâs second over. Not good for India.
The lead is 152.
WICKET! Jadeja c Carey b Cummins 13, India 147-7
Width from Cummins, and thrashed by Jadeja for four! Thereâs the strokeplay that he so often puts away in Tests. A lavish cut shot. So Cummins responds with lavish movement back into the lefty, beating him by a fraction. Top bowling. And the next ball, makes up that margin â slightly fuller, scrambled seam moving inward, and it takes the thick defensive edge.
34th over: India 143-6 (Jadeja 9, Washington 7) Ooh, nick! Boland first ball, as is his wont. But Washington gets it to ground in front of Webster in the cordon, no small feat when Websterâs arms are so long he could basically tap the batter on the shoulder from there. The next five balls, survived, and thatâs a feat: Bolandâs first 12 balls are historically his most dangerous.
33rd over: India 143-6 (Jadeja 9, Washington 7) Cummins starts off, and Jadeja pinches a single immediately. Washington pinches a bit of luck! Parries a ball in the air towards square leg, and Konstas might have got that if heâd dived forward. Instead he stays back expecting it to carry. Washington gets the next ball past Konstas for a run.
The lead is 147.
The Jane McGrath banner is rolled up and marched off the field. The flag-bearers wait by the boundary line near the respective team representatives. For India, just Washington Sundar, waiting for Ravindra Jadeja to join him. They have the job of putting together however many runs they can scrap out on this pitch. Thirty metres around the boundary, the Aussie XI masses and runs onto the field once the umpires step over the rope.
Various formalities happen on the field with a singer I canât immediately identify, some banners being marched around by volunteers, and now the pink carpet walk takes place with the Australian team and the Indian team walking down to present their signed caps to Glenn McGrath. These will be auctioned later. The India ones might fetch much higher bids if they can pull off a win here.
It is Pink Day in Sydney! Glorious sunshine, too, in blessed contrast to a couple of these days over the years. The crowd has fulfilled the brief, pink outfits from wall to wall in the Members and Ladies stands. We havenât filled up all the bays yet across the sweep of the Brewongle, Churchill, Trumper, OâReilly, and Bradman stands, but theyâre on the way.
Massive lines down at the tram this morning outside Central station. Sunday morning. Game in the balance. People are turning out.
Drop us a line, if you like, to let us know where or how or in what temper youâre closing out the series: our emails are open. Address in the sidebar.
It was a sugar-high day yesterday, so all I could really do after play was try to sum up a bit of what happened.
Preamble
Geoff Lemon
Alright, folks. Game on, and game almost over, if things continue at the pace they have. We saw 26 wickets fall in the first two days: a combination of a pitch doing enough, some fast bowlers using it well, and a lot of batting that doesnât know how to handle it. The unforced error count has been high for both sides. On debut, Beau Websterâs 105 deliveries is the longest innings anyone has produced. Nathan Lyon and Ravindra Jadeja have delivered nine overs between them, and thatâs the only spin out of 156 overs bowled.
So now weâve got India 145 ahead, with Jadeja and Washington to resume, three fast bowlers who could raffle No11 between them to follow, and then an Australian chase of whatever those five batters can add. So yes, maybe the current pair resume and bat all day, but itâs more likely to be over quickly.
Today is also Jane McGrath Day at the SCG for the McGrath Foundation to raise money for breast cancer care, so the ground will be the usual wash of pink. Shall we commence?