Mohammed Siraj hasn't had the best of times during the Border Gavaskar Trophy, but the Indian pacer came back strongly in the 5th and final match of the series. Siraj took two crucial wickets of Travis Head and Sam Konstas in one over to pile the pressure on Australia.
Siraj maintained a consistent line outside the off stump, which finally paid off in the 12th over of the match, when he got an edge off Konstas' bat. That was safely caught at slip. In the same over, Siraj got another edge, this time off the dangerous Travis Head, which also went to the slips, to bring down the fourth wicket of Australia with the score at just 39.
After the two wickets, Steve Smith and debutant Beau Webster put on an important 57-run partnership to prevent a collapse. However, Australia lost another wicket in the lunch session when Smith fell to an almost unplayable delivery from Prasidh Krishna.
Earlier, Jasprit Bumrah found a thin edge off Labuschagne's bat that flew to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. The entire Indian team raised their voices in unison, but the on-field umpire was unmoved. Bumrah immediately opted for DRS. TV replays showed that there was an edge as Spike was caught by UltraEdge, forcing the umpire to reverse his decision.
With thatwicket, Bumrah surpassed Bishan Singh Bedi's record for most Test wickets by an Indian bowler in Australia. Bumrah, who started the series with 30 wickets, added two more to become the Indian bowler with the most scalps on Australian soil in a single series.
The Indian pacer now has a huge responsibility to lead from the front and guide the team to victory in Sydney. While India can no longer win the Border Gavaskar Trophy, they still have a chance of retaining the trophy if they win the 5th match at the SCG.
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