India vs Australia, 5th Test Day 3 Highlights: AUS beat IND by 6 wickets and win series 3-1 in Sydney

The chaotic Test tour is over, India’s winning streak in Australia has ended and now is the time for some dispassionate evaluation. It’s important to look back to find the way forward.

The second last day of the series could be a good start. When Rishabh Pant returned to the dressing room after his 33-ball 61, India stood up and clapped. After his subdued 40 from 98 balls in two hours in the first innings, the daredevil was back to his old ‘Gabba’ self, it was said. (Read more from Sandeep Dwivedi)

Heaping praise on Jasprit Bumrah during the Melbourne Test, Adam Gilchrist said: “It is just a different ball game, a different planet, that Bumrah is playing on compared to everyone else.” The praise that he received from Gilchrist, as well as several other former Australian cricketers— comparing him to the West Indies greats of the past too as he crossed 200 wickets at an average of less than 20 – was richly deserved.

On Sunday, India lost the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Sydney with Bumrah unable to take the field. His body was put through a lot, especially on Day 4 in Melbourne when he toiled. Eventually, his 32 wickets in the series (the most by an Indian bowler in Australia) ended up in a 1-3 defeat, thanks largely to insipid batting performances and questionable selection calls. (Read more)

I just absolutely love what I do. I mean, that's probably the biggest driver in wanting to play test cricket and work with this team and support staff. I absolutely love everything about it. It's so much fun. So, you know, I could keep doing it for a little while, even better. 

Absolutely. We've got obviously two vice captains of the team. We've had three debutants this series. You're always balancing between kind of the here and now, but also you've got a bit of an idea to the future. So they're conversations that we always have. I don't think there's any point in doing things just for the sake of it. So, you know, those can play out over the next couple of years, a few years. But of course, we're always thinking about it.

it's great being able to bring them (family) on tour. And, you know, once his test fashion finishes, going back to just being a full time dad and husband. Yeah, yeah, he did a better job than being a test captain in London. So I feel very lucky.

Pat Cummins on Kohli: Is always been a wonderful contest. More than runs, the theatre he brings! Sometimes good riles up opposition, which is probably part of his plan! (Smiles). Yes sad if this is his last series in Australia

What happened after Perth loss? " It's what you don't change that's more important. We had a bad week but game plans , selectuons were all where e wanted it to be. Maybe executions. Marnus worked hard. We bowlers also did on executions

First of all, every individual knows that his game and his hard work is the most important thing for any sport and any profession. It's not just about the sport. It's about how hungry you are, how passionate you are and whether the team is moving forward with your contribution or not.

Because ultimately, it's neither my team nor your team, it's the nation's team. I believe that, as I said, there are very honest players in our dressing room who know how hungry they are and whether the team can move forward with their contribution. But yes, as far as my question is concerned, my biggest responsibility is that I have to be fair to everyone in the team.

Not only one or two individuals. If I'm fair to only two or three individuals and not to others, then I'm being dishonest to myself. So, whether it's the player who hasn't debuted yet, or the player who has played 100 test matches, my simple goal is that I have to be absolutely fair and equal to everyone.

Dressing room

Yes, happiness will always be intact because the reason is that all we can do is try and prepare to the best of our ability, try and be 100% committed on the field, not only on that particular day, every session, every hour, every moment. If we are committed to what we are doing with honesty, I think that should be fine. And more importantly, I have already answered that question that to keep everyone happy I have to be absolutely honest and equal and fair to everyone that I see.

I know we have not got good results and it is frustrating, I am not saying that it is not frustrating, it is challenging, but whatever we can do with the best interest of our ability, I think that will continue to happen in the future. 

On Rohit sitting out

First of all, I would like to say that so many reports have been written and so many things have been said. At least, we can be a little more sensible in that regard.

If a captain, not even a captain, if a leader has taken this decision ahead of his team, then I don't think there is anything wrong with that. So, a lot of things have been said and a lot of things have been said. Ultimately, the international team is not sitting there, the most important thing is the team and the most important thing is the country.

So, I believe that the rest of the people, whether it is me or whoever else, should keep the team ahead.

Unreal. Few of us didn't have this Trophy. Lived up to all the hype. Just been clear with our plans. We tried to be proactive, Ultimately worked, out. Immensely proud. We weren't at our best at Perth. We had a lot of fun playing alongside each other. I love playing with these guys. Such a special group. Feel privilged to be part of such a team. Really proud of what we have achieved. Always nice to have a squad. Three debutants in this series fitted in well. They contributed in different times. Pretty happy with how I played. I had a fresh up coming into this series. These are the big series you prepare for. Some keen moments when our main stays really stood up. You need to do that to beat a side like India. Our guys put up their hands up. Would go down one of my most favourite Test series. Thanks to Rohit and Jasprit. The fans made the series. Every venue was incredible. MCG was off its head. Three sell outs in three days here at Sydney. Shows why Test cricket is so special and why we love playing it so much. Seen everyone turning out in pink and celebrating an amazing cause is a great way to kick start the year.

Little frustrating but sometimes you have to respect your body, you can’t fight your body. Disappointing, probably missed out on the spiciest wicket of the series. Felt a bit of discomfort during my second spell in the first innings. The chat was about belief, the other bowlers stepped up in the first innings. With a bowler short, the others had to take responsibility. The chat this morning was about the same thing, about having belief and showing character. Lots of ifs and buts, the whole series was fought hard, we were in the game today as well, not like we were out of it, this is how Test cricket goes. Being in the game for longer, creating pressure, absorbing pressure and playing to the situation are all important. You have to adapt to the situations and these learnings will help us in the future. They’ve (youngsters) gained a lot of experience, they’ll go from strength to strength. We’ve shown that we have a lot of talent in our group. Lot of the youngsters are keen, they’re disappointed that we haven’t won but they’ll take learnings from this experience. It was a great series, congratulations to Australia, they fought really well.

Has been an enjoyable couple of months. The last few weeks have been awesome. Just got my body right. Lot of hours in the gym. To win 3-1 against India, hasn't been done in a while. I am happy playing whenever I can.

Nice to contribute, I don’t worry about the results too much. Two great teams, felt like it would be nice if I could come out and contribute. Same approach as always, felt like I was moving well, knew that if I could build a partnership with Usman we would be well placed. The last series here they played exceptionally well, even in Perth they put us on the backfoot. Been a crazy five Tests, the guys that got through all five are probably looking forward to some time off. There’s been a lot of media attention too. I think there were 15 people really pleased that Bumrah didn’t bowl today. He’s a great performer, he had an exceptional tour. Nitish too, I already knew how good he was. They have a lot of players that play well. We played extremely well too and stepped it up. I’m wrecked, I don’t know what I’m going to do for the next 10 days. I’ll look after myself and get prepared for Sri Lanka.

It’s been a hell of a game, couldn’t have asked for much more. Great crowd, great atmosphere. I was counting down the runs, was pretty confident the whole chase. When it was down to four, I was going to try and flog it, it came off else I was going to leave it to Head. Nice couple of weeks to be around the lads. To get a chance in the last one was a bit unexpected but it was great. Hell of a crowd, whole series has been well supported. Great support from everyone back home, been a hectic few days, thanks to everyone.

That's it Beau Webster finishes off in style for Australia. The hosts win by six wickets. There is not much to be critical of India's defence they were a bowler short and it was Bumrah and to expect more than what has unravelled would not have been ideal. In MCG and SCG here they had their moments did the Indians but they did not go on to capitalize on them. That is what the champion teams do make the most of moments like those and that is what Australia did in this series. A word on Pat Cummins what a cricketer he is. Whenever Australia needed him tactically and with the ball as well he delivered the goods. We will be back with the presentation do stay with us.

After 26 wickets fell in the first two days of the SCG Test, India great Sunil Gavaskar said it was "not ideal" for a five-day game to fail to reach day four. He said if a similar thing happened on an Indian turner "all hell would have broken loose".

"There would have been all kinds of innuendos, all sorts of comments," he said on ABC Sport.

At the end of the 11th over of Australia’s second innings on the third day of the fifth Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Virat Kohli was engaged in a battle with the Australian fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), gesturing that there is no sandpaper in his pockets or inside his pants.

The gesture was in a reference to the infamous sandpaper incident where Australia were caught tampering with the ball in 2018 in Cape Town against South Africa. (Read more)

Webster has batted well in the first innings He along with Head will send some calming nervous for the Aussies in the dressing room. Coming into the morning it felt like a 50-50 game but like he always does man for all seasons Pat Cummins when Australia needed the most stepped up and delivered the goods. While Bumrah has been the highest wicket-taker it will be interesting to see the impact Cummins has had in this series. Again and again when India looked like they were getting back into a fighting situation Cummins with the ball was there and killed those hopes.

India might consider bringing in a spinner here. With just about 50 runs to get if the tweakers have to make an impact, they have to come into attack now. Kohli cannot delay it for too long as with low runs it will get increasingly difficult for the spinners to make any impact. Even Kohli can try Nitish who picked a couple of wickets in the first innings and has the ability to swing the ball. There might not be swing now but if he can pitch the ball in the right area there will be some seam moment on offer for him. But whatever maybe the cause the change is due now.

While logically having Prasidh does make sense on this wicket because of his height and inconsistent bounce offered on this wicket he still is playing his first match in the series. In their debut game against South Africa in 2023 on a similar green deck, he showed signs of inconsistency with his lines and lengths. Today though he has been better to an extent but he still is leaking a lot of runs. As we update Mohammed Siraj gets among the wicket. Khawaja tried to pull the ball and got the bottom edge to the keeper. Much needed a wicket for India but has it come a touch too late. We never know.

Usman Khawaja is playing arguably the crucial knock of the series. Throughout the tournament he was troubled by Bumrah and today when he is not there Khawaja decided to chance his arm by playing a few shots early on which did work for him magnificently well. He is the batter who has looked assured in this chase. On the other hand 10 minutes into the session India seemed to have approached wait and watch strategy instead of trying something different. Travis Head on the other hand too has got a boundary away before Lunch and if he can get himself in among runs this chase will be get done and dusted quickly.

It can well be the final session of this Test match. Usman Khawaja and Travis Head has walked into the middle unless India has a master plan up their sleeve it increasingly feels like India's game.

"What is that about?"#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/HwNZXhKW1S

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 5, 2025

Australian coach Andrew McDonald has accused India of trying to intimidate young opener Sam Konstas.

"Clearly the way that India celebrated that it was quite intimidating. It's clearly within the rules and regulations of the game, as there have been no charges laid.

"To have an opposition to swarm the non-striker like that, we have a duty of care to make sure he is OK and in a headspace to go out the next day and perform."

That's the end of the morning session. The game was at the balance last evening however, Pat Cummins and Scott Boland cleaned out the Indian tail and the batters came all guns blazing. Yes, India does hold a chance because of the nature of the wicket but for that they have to trigger a collapse of sorts. Given the inconsistent nature of bowling, it seems unlikely. The absence of Bumrah makes this bowling attack half as threatening as it should be. We will be right back after the break do join us the next session might be the final session of this Test match and the series.

Vinayakk: On Saturday, Smith had actually joined another elite club despite missing out on the milestone in the first innings when he was dismmissed on 33 by Prasidh Krishna. According to 7Cricket, he became the fourth batter to be dismissed in the 9,990s along with Brian Lara, Mahela Jayawardene and Alastair Cook. On Sunday, he took it a step further by getting dismissed twice in the 9,990s! And now he will finish this series on 9,999. Sri Lanka, here he comes.

Well, that is the third wicket the ball took off and Steve Smith tried to guide the ball towards the third man got the top edge and the ball looped to Yashasvi Jaiswal at the gully. Smith is one run short of 10,000 runs and that is how it is going to be for now. For all the bad deliveries Krishna has bowled in this innings, he also managed to deliver some cracking deliveries which makes it even more difficult bowler to face up. Aussie batters do know what they get from Siraj however, with inconsistencies of Krishna it is hard to predict what he will come up with the following delivery. India is now right back in this game.

Marnus Labuschange square cuts one straight to Yashasvi Jaiswal of Prasidh Krishna. Australia has now lost the second wicket. Not much skill is involved in it from Prasidh's perspective but they will take it on the Indians however they came as long as they keep coming. Steven Smith has walked into the middle and this will be the crucial passage of play. If Indians can pick Smith Australia side will start feeling the nerves and India will start believing they have a chance in this game. However, to do that they have to bowl good deliveries in the first nine overs there have been too many deliveries which have been all over the place.

50 up for Australia. They have batted well so far and India did not help themselves with the way they bowled either. Australia are now huge favourites to get the job done. It just seems like India has already given up on the defence when they realised there was no Bumrah. Krishna sprayed a few all around the pitch and Siraj too has been taken for runs the backup seamer Kohli can turn to is Nitish Reddy here and given the way frontline seamers are bowling it not might be too long before he needs to be introduced. Also, Jadeja might be given a spell as well because if it seems it might just as well turn.

Sam Konstas tried to hoik the ball down the ground and got the top edge. The ball went high in the air and mid-off took a simple catch. That it the breakthrough India needed however, they have let the momentum swing towards Australia. Konstas on the other hand too will re-think his approach if that shot is necessary at this point it is something he will learn as his career goes on. Yes, Rishabh Pant tends to play similarly as well but there is a method to Pant's madness on the contrary with Konstas it seems like hit as many balls as possible.

Vinayakk: No Bumrah to start and two wides down the leg side in the first two overs from Siraj and Krishna, followed by four byes. This is an awful start from India. “Wild is the only word,” Sunil Gavaskar says on Star Sports. “You have 162 to defend and you are conceding THESE runs. Unnecessary.”

Australia have scored 16% of the target in 2 overs.

10 minutes into the chase Australia have made their intentions clear. They are going to have a go at it and will look to close out this game as quickly as possible. From the Indian perspective not having Jasprit Bumrah is a massive blow for them. With him not being there not only is India a bowler short but now have to rely upon the likes of Nitish Kumar Reddy and spinners to do the work as well. Given the way Australia have started this game should not go longer than about 40-45 overs hence Virat Kohli's stand-in captain has to stack up the overs accordingly of Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna.

Prasidh krishna and Nitish Reddy practice bowling. Siraj walks out with a few others. No sign of Bumrah yet. Team huddle on. No Bumrah

Scott Boland nicks Mohammed Siraj to the slips and then picks Jasprit Bumrah who gives a wild hoik and the ball takes of the leg-stump. India are bundled out for 157 runs and Australia will need 162 runs to win this contest. It is not a massive total it must be said Australia are favourites to win this game at this point in time unless Bumrah and Siraj cook up a magic spell. A batting effort which promised a giid score last evening in the end ended up in a tame effort. Not to say it is going to be an easy chase for Australia by any means but they can if they do apply themselves and see of the new ball spells from Bumrah and Siraj.

Pat Cummins got another one. It is a classic delivery the ball came back in and kept a tad bit low and Sundar had no idea about it and got himself bowled. If the wicket of Jadeja was about taking the ball away this one was about bringing the ball back in. India has lost eight wickets now and seems like with Bumrah and Siraj batting any runs they can add on from here are just bonuses. And yes, we said Bumrah he has walked into the middle which is a sigh of relief for both Aussie and Indian fans as nobody wants to see this final innings of the series without him bowling.

We have a seen delivery from Cummins which hit the crack and kept low. This is another concerning thing for the batters going forward. The cracks underneath would have been exposed as soon as the grass dried out and looks like the grass is drying out now. It is hard to figure out why so much has been left on the wicket. A wicket like this will bring both teams together more and make sure that Australia loses any advantage they have. We have seen in Gabba and Melbourne even to some extent in Adelaide if the surfaces are good for batting this Indian team does not have the skill-set to score big runs with the bat.

Pat Cummins has scalped Ravindra Jadeja here. It was a good delivery one which Jadeja does gets out too often. The ball pitched and moved slightly away with the angle as Cummins delivered it from over-the-wicket to the left-hander It is a difficult ball to execute but Cummins did manage to do it. It was about the fourth stump line, so it did the damage. Mohammed Siraj has walked into the middle. With the wicket of Jadeja now Sundar does not have many options but to attack the bowlers. India needs to get another 40-50 runs if they have to compete in the game. It also depends on where Bumrah is at with his health.

Australia has dropped 15 catches in this series. India has dropped nine chances. Interestingly, Steve Smith has dropped seven catches in this series alone. (Via - ABC Sport)

"We are not moaners, we are not whingers. When we go [abroad] and play cricket we will tough it out, and if we are beaten, we are beaten. We understand that overseas it's very difficult to beat home teams. You'll never find us complaining.

"But 15 wickets in a day in India, man, there would be hell."

The sun is shining today it is going to be another fascinating day of play. It might be the final day of the play we never know. India needs another 50 runs to make sure that they have a proper fighting chance and all Australia needs is a wicket here and they will be into the tail of the Indian batting.

Jasprit Bumrah is leading India out. He is wearing the whites. It looks like he is set to bat. It is still to see whether he will be able to bowl or not. 

Australian coach Andrew McDonald has accused India of trying to intimidate young opener Sam Konstas.

"Clearly the way that India celebrated that it was quite intimidating. It's clearly within the rules and regulations of the game, as there have been no charges laid.

"To have an opposition to swarm the non-striker like that, we have a duty of care to make sure he is OK and in a headspace to go out the next day and perform."

After 26 wickets fell in the first two days of the SCG Test, India great Sunil Gavaskar said it was "not ideal" for a five-day game to fail to reach day four. He said if a similar thing happened on an Indian turner "all hell would have broken loose".

"There would have been all kinds of innuendos, all sorts of comments," he said on ABC Sport.

Sriram Veera from SCG: The players and support staff from both teams are getting back to dressing rooms.

Sriram Veera from SCG: KL Rahul gets some tips on catching at a close-in position from the fielding coach T Dilip

Gautam Gambhir and Morne Morkel have been chatting for the last 10 minutes, both frozen in those poses. 

Sriram Veera from SCG: Harshit Rana is getting some bowling tips from Brett Lee.

Jasprit Bumrah is expected to bat in the second innings for India, but it remains to be seen if he will be available to bowl in the side's defence.

Bumrah had bowled 152.1 across the nine series innings before walking off, picking up 32 wickets at 13.06, passing Bishan Bedi's record for most wickets taken by an India bowler on a tour of Australia.

Rishabh Pant's blistering counterattack capped a chaotic second day of the fifth and final test between Australia and India where 15 wickets fell on Saturday and the star bowler of the series left the Sydney Cricket Ground with an ambulance escort.

Yet the Border-Gavaskar trophy still remains very much in the balance as India reached 141 for 6, holding a 145-run lead over Australia with three days remaining.

Australia was bowled out for 181, giving India a four-run lead on the first innings. 

Beau Webster top-scored for the hosts with 57 and a wicket in a bright debut, while Steve Smith narrowly fell short of bringing up 10,000 career test runs in front of his home crowd.

"I must say, it would be attitude that I’d talk to him about not his batting," Allan Border said in commentary on Fox Cricket.

"There’s no way you would say, 'You shouldn’t be doing this or that'.

"It’d more be about if you want to play shots, then make sure you’re watching the ball. It’s more the attitude and the cockiness of his chirp. Batting-wise, I’d just let him go." 

Border’s assessment was echoed by fellow former Aussie captain Ricky Ponting, who had been left disappointed with Konstas’ actions during the Test. 

"The one thing I didn't like...I didn’t like Konstas getting involved," Ponting said on Channel Seven in reference to Khawaja's dismissal on the opening day. 

"That was not his battle to fight. So, for the young man there, I hope that there was some talking to from the Australian dressing room last night because he should have stayed out of it."

"I don’t know whether it is naive enthusiasm or that’s just the way he has always played," Mark Waugh said.

"But really there was no need for Sam to get involved.

"I think he should have bit his tongue and it’s got nothing to do with him, actually. I think Sam will reflect on that and think he should have minded his own business. He's just got to let the bat do the talking." 

Sriram Veera from SCG: Jasprit Bumrah is doing shadow bowling at the SCG. Was that shadow bowling for the benefit of the Aussies congregated on the other side of the pitch?

Sriram Veera from SCG: Jasprit Bumrah was sat outside the dressing room, chatting with the team doctor for 10-15 mins. And now he goes on to the playing arena behind Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

Sriram Veera from SCG: Gautam Gambhir has a long chat with Nathan Lyon by the pitch side. He smiles as he breaks away. Takes the umpire's permission and walks on the pitch. Takes a stance and plays a few imaginary defensive pushes. And now as he walks away, former Australian bowler, a radio commentator these days, Stuart Clark has a word with him

Sriram Veera from SCG: Jasprit Bumrah walked up the steps into the dressing room with a smile and greeting to the old dressing room attendant at the SCG. Safe guess to say he will bat, but is he good enough to bowl is the question

Crowds are lining up in big numbers at the SCG. 

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the third day of the fifth Test match played between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney. India are 141 for 6 and are leading by 145 runs at the Stumps on Day 2. Stay tuned for all the live updates.