India shrug off Bumrah injury to claim first-innings lead in Australia

India captain Jasprit Bumrah is forced off with injury on Day Two of the fifth Test but Australia fail to capitalise.

India brushed off the absence of captain Jasprit Bumrah to dismiss Australia for 181 and reach 141 for six for an overall lead of 145 on an extraordinary second day of the finely balanced fifth Test.

On a day of high drama at a sunbathed Sydney Cricket Ground, Bumrah took the first wicket to set India on their way but departed with the team doctor soon after Lunch for medical scans of his back after suffering spasms.

Prasidh Krishna (3-42), Mohammed Siraj (3-51) and Nitish Kumar Reddy stepped into the considerable bowling void left by their captain to rout Australia and fire India to a slender first-innings lead of four runs at Tea.

There was still plenty of spice in the wicket, however, and paceman Scott Boland took 4-42 in the final session to add to his four-wicket haul on Friday, as Australia lopped the top off the Indian batting and dug deep into the middle order.

Rishabh Pant threw off the shackles and produced some extraordinary shots in a stunning 28-ball half-century to stop the rot but he too departed for 61 in the final hour, Australia skipper Pat Cummins claiming the 14th wicket of the day.

There was still time for Boland to claim his fourth victim in the shape of Nitish Kumar Reddy, leaving Ravindra Jadeja, who was eight not out, and Washington Sundar, unbeaten on six, at the crease at the close of play.

“As many runs as possible would be great for us,” Krishna said when asked how big a lead the Indian bowlers would be comfortable defending, potentially without Bumrah.

“We don’t really know how the wicket is behaving. It’s going up, it’s going down. If you can be aggressive, there is risk