Australia vs India: Fifth Men’s Cricket Test Day Two – Live | Australia cricket team

On January 4, 2025By Littum

Key events

19th over: Australia 66-4 (Smith 18, Webster 13) Beau Webster clubs another couple of runs through midwicket from Krishna. The big Tasmanian has looked good for his baker’s dozen so far. He needs a lot more if Australia are to overhaul India’s 185 today. Can he and Steve Smith keep it up?

Ross McGillivray chimes in with an early contender for word of the year: “Labuschagne (Verb). Walking away slowly trying to convince yourself and the audience that what just happened didn’t really happen.

I like it Ross. Drop the boffins at Macquarie a line.

18th over: Australia 64-4 (Smith 18, Webster 11) Bumrah and Smith duel. And again Bumrah makes the ball swing back a kilometer. Strewth, this pitch in Sydney is full of vim. Smith manages a single and Webster does likewise to leave Australia trailing by 121 runs.

17th over: Australia 62-4 (Smith 17, Webster 10) Krishna – not the main deity in Hinduism, who is worshiped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu, but the fast bowler from Karnataka – returns. Smith hit him for six and four off his last two balls. Krishna does better on the first five here. Not so good in the sixth as Webster topples for FOUR.

Colum Fordham tunes from beautiful/gritty Naples.

I really should be in bed but I can’t take my eyes off this spicy contest and just like the last few overs last night, the Indian quicks are giving the Aussies a tough time. As they must if India are to square the series.
Great to see Konstas’ fearless reaction to Bumrah and Siraj’s wonderful pace bowling. India need to field more aggressively if they want to maximize the opportunity created by Marnus’ wicket
Great to have the OBO for company.

Great to have you on board, Colum! “Spicy” is the word. Or should I say Speziato!

16th over: Australia 58-4 (Smith 17, Webster 6) Webster flick for FOUR. It’s 14 from three balls for Australia and the first boundary for Australia’s debut all-rounder. It goes a bit to his head in the next one as he puts one at cover and sets off, only to be sent back sharply by Smith. Strewth! Bumrah makes his fifth ball chase back viciously. The one that started on a fifth stump line and sailed over the leg brace!

15th over: Australia 53-4 (Smith 17, Webster 1) Australia fight in Sydney. Smith has Prasidh Krishna by the throat again. Krishna is in his third Test for India, just two wickets short of 65 from them so far. But he is tall, hungry and fast, sending them down at almost 140 km/h. Smith doesn’t care. He leans back and casually pulls him into SEX! Now he goes the other way, leans into the last ball and lifts it over the offside ring for FOUR. Smith now needs 21 runs to reach 10,000 Test runs.

14th over: Australia 43-4 (Smith 7, Webster 1) Webster edges! He went hard to Siraj and the ball deflected off the cue tip and landed just short of third slip. Close! Now the big all-rounder from Snug gets one into the covers and gets off the mark in Test cricket. Siraj has the ball to swing harder than Austin Powers. He beats Smith with the fourth, but Australia’s no. 4 gets revenge on the next one and drives down the ground for three.

13th over: Australia 39-4 (Smith 4, Webster 0) Australia spiraling at the SCG! Beau Webster is out in the middle for his first Test innings. But the first new boy Prasidh Krishna steams in with Steve Smith. His first ball explodes outside the pitch and goes backwards towards Smith and cannons into his hands. It was ugly! Smith, slightly nervous, leaves the rest.

WICKED! Head c Jaiswal b Siraj 4 (India 39-4)

The head arrives. The head hits a four first ball. Head edges… The head goes! What a one off Mohammed Sira and just reward for some fine fast bowling. Head did what Head does and drove off his toes for the most glorious four off his first ball. Siraj put the next one wide and full. It bounced back at Head, who defended, caught a thick edge and sent it splashing into the slip cordon, where Jaiswal, who dropped three catches in Melbourne, took his second catch in three balls!

WICKED! Konstas c Jaiswal b Siraj 23 (Australia 35-3)

The Konstas show ends! Beautiful bowling by Siraj. He put it wide and Konstas flashed it, but the swing dislodged him and it flew to Jaiswal at gully, who took a sharp chance. Australian fans fall in disappointment, but India are on the rise!

Sam Konstas falls for 23 after getting off to a bright start against India on day two of the Pink Test. Photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

11th over: Australia 35-2 (Konstas 23, Smith 4) Konstas ramps Bumrah! It was just off center and it flew over skids and bounced twice before hitting the rope. The audience roars. Kid Dynamite is gone here. Bumrah sees him coming on the second one, and puts it wide. Konstas will not back down. he swipes at the third, gets hit in the ribs. Has another heave at the fourth but doesn’t connect, instead top edge over the infield for a run. Smith steps away for the last and gets four byes to fine leg. An eventful ending!

10th over: Australia 26-2 (Konstas 18, Smith 4) Siraj is swinging! One left Konstas late and drew OOOOHs from the tie barrier. Konstas, standing tall with pursed lips, sees two passes with seams go through. He waits for a wide and Siraj delivers on the fifth allowing a glance to fine leg. Australia trail with 159.

9th over: Australia 25-2 (Konstas 17, Smith 4) Konstas hits a four! We saw that shot in Melbourne where we went down to Bumnrah and drove down the ground. He also hits at the next, bottom edges to fine legs.

8th over: Australia 16-2 (Konstas 12, Smith 4) Steve Smith has arrived. He walked out needing 38 runs to reach 10,000 Test runs and a quick single from Bumrah made it 37. He now sets up squares to Siraj and slams down the ground for three. Quick start for Smudge! And a painful one for Siraj, who has split a finger trying to stop that drive. Blood on the wicket. And now almost an expiration! Konstas clipped it from the hip and Smith set off, but Konstas sent him back. Smith had to spread out to get by. A direct hit would have had him. Konstas gets another run and streaks wide through the gap.

WICKED! Labuschagne c Pant b Bumrah 2 (Australia 15-2)

Tick, Tick… Bumrah! He’s done it again. Brilliant bowling from India’s no. 1 man, and Marnus starts his snail’s crawl back to the pavilion. It was a gem of a ball that bit and lifted and kissed the rim on the way through. Sure enough, Snicko shows static and Labuschagne is gone. Australia in early trouble on day two!

7th over: Australia 15-1 (Konstas 11, Labuschagne 2) Jump to Bumrah! Labuschagne is wise to keep it down. He is regretted by the next one. Huge appeal but no finger lifted from the ref. India seem very confident and will send it upstairs for review…

6th over: Australia 15-1 (Konstas 11, Labuschagne 2) Konstas is beaten! Nice outswinger by Siraj. It is a setup for delivering wobble nails on the middle and the leg next. Konstas keeps it out. Fourth ball is a wide and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant lands on the ball in his tumble to stop Byes. He can’t stop that! Konstas hits another swinging ball through covers for two.

5th over: Australia 11-1 (Konstas 9, Labuschagne 2) Here comes Jasprit Bumrah. Marnus Labuschagne is on strike. He blocks the first and steps out to the second and runs for two. Positive start for Marnus. Bumrah gets him to edge the next one. The day a bounce is still in spades on this SCG pitch. Bumrah is up to 135 kmph as he chases a 32nd wicket of the series.

4th over: Australia 11-1 (Konstas 9, Labuschagne 0) Runs from the first ball! Siraj strayed to the pads and Konstas square-cut him for two. It will settle the nerves – if this child has any. Straight balls meet a straight bat on the next two. India are chirping this morning, none more vocal than Virat Kohli at first slip. Konstas, with that Elvis lip curl, blocks one, leaves one. We’re gone!

Players are on the pitch and we’re about to get started. Australia’s Sam Konstas will face India’s Mohammed Siraj from the Paddington end.

This is the 112th Test between these great cricketing nations. Australia have won 47, India 33 and there have been 30 draws. There has also been a draw and one of the heroes of that 1986 thriller was Dean Jones, whose innings of 210 in the Madras/Chennai heat of 45 degrees has gone down in history as one of the bravest ever.

Shannon Gill has this fascinating quality about Deano.

We had over 47,000 fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground yesterday and the queues are snaking in again today, especially with the promise of Sam Konstas batting today.

I’m not sure India shares Australia’s love affair with the Sundance Kid from Kogarah. Whether it’s hitting like a boy in the backyard, chirping in the field or playing to the crowd, the 19-year-old gets under the skin as only a lipsy teenage boy can.

Here you can see how Konstas started his round yesterday. The rocks on this kid…

Feel free to email me during today’s game. There were some strong opinions piling into InBox yesterday from all four corners of the globe on the validity of Steve Smith’s catch of Virat Kohli, the stability of Rishabh Pant’s hector protector, and on Usman Khawaja’s last-over stop or Sam Konstas’ oral evidence was responsible. for Jasprit Bumrah got his back up and conjured the jaffa that cost Australia their first wicket.

And while you’re online, please donate to The McGrath Foundation in this pink test.

Day one was an arm wrestle that almost dissolved into a barroom brawl. Here’s how the dramatic last minute unfolded…

For those who arrived late, here’s how Geoff Lemon saw day one…

Preamble

Angus Fontaine

Greetings cricket fans and welcome to day two of the fifth and final Test between Australia and India in Sydney, where the skies are blue and the fish are jumping.

Day one was hectic. On a spicy Sydney greentop, India’s batter was beaten – and better. They scored 185 runs, with no batter getting past 40, and had as many bruises. Australia’s bowlers were relentless, with Mitchell Starc snarling through 18 overs for three wickets and Pat Cummins chipping in with two. The quiet hero was Scott Boland who took 4-31 from 20 sublime overs with eight maidens.

As we have come to expect from these two sides, there was plenty of drama and controversy. Boland caught Virat Kohli’s edge first ball and Steve Smith got his grips under the catch and sent it up to Marnus Labuschagne to general pandemonium… only for the third umpire to find that a blade of grass had touched the ball.

The other flashpoint came in the final minute of the day when Jasprit Bumrah lost his composure with Usman Khawaja, who had stalled at the striker’s end. Sam Konstas, who had the crowd on a leash all day with two catches and 2000+ selfies, threw some shade Bumrah’s way in support of his partner and the two advanced on each other. The judges got a plug in the confrontation, but the bear had been stung. Bumrah duly settled in with a demon ball that caught Khawaja’s edge and left Australia 9-1 at stumps.

That’s how we left it. How does it start today? Konstas is not out seven after diving down and sending Bumrah’s first ball of the innings to the boundary. The boy wonder has a big target on his head today. Can he survive and thrive like he did at the MCG? Or will India, who need a win to clinch the series, fight back again?

Tie them down and tighten them up. We’ll find out at 10.30am AEST.