India vs Australia 5th Test Day 2 LIVE Score: Fired-up Bumrah deals early blow, dangerous Labuschagne falls early

India vs Australia 5th Test Day 2 LIVE Score: The Indian fielders have drowned Marnus Labuschagne and Sam Konstas with sledges in the first three overs of the day, so much so that the umpire had to intervene and have a word with Kohli in Bumrah's first over of the day itself. Australia started the day on a a score of 9/1. A quick-moving first day at the Sydney Cricket Ground saw 11 wickets fall, as a mixture of excellent bowling, extremely bowler-friendly conditions, and plenty of barbs fired back and forth between the two teams leaves a tantalizing contest heading into the rest of the Test match for fans. The significance of the match is immense: if Australia don't win in Sydney, they will continue to suffer from a drought of a decade-plus without getting their hands on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. If India fail to win, they miss out on the World Test Championship finals after having been runaway favourites heading into the second half of the year....Read More

With all these stakes on the line and both sides well aware, it was a big and confident decision made by the Indian leadership group to drop Rohit Sharma from the team due to a too-long run of poor performances in the format. Jasprit Bumrah, who captained India to the sole win of their series so far in Perth, was back at the helm against his opposite number, Pat Cummins.

Nevertheless, day one continued to be the same old story for India's fragile batting unit. For the seventh time in eight innings in this series so far, India's batting failed to really get going, as wickets in clusters meant that no partnership ever really formed that threatened Australia. The good news for India from their performance is that they can credit Australia as much if not more than they can look at themselves: there is an incredible amount of seam and bounce in this Sydney pitch, offering plenty for the pace bowlers in particular with a touch of green on the surface and cracks which are already beginning to widen. The wicket of Usman Khawaja will also be a template: pitching on off stump and holding its like as well as staying low, the variable bounce and natural deviation of the new and old balls alike will keep Bumrah, Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna interested.

India ended the day 176 runs in the lead, with a wicket in the first three overs meaning there was a silver lining for the team to take back into the dressing room. While 185 isn't much, 150 proved to be more than competitive at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Can Bumrah find yet another spell of inspiration to continue his crusade as a one-man wrecking crew for India so far in this series?

Bumrah will also be fired up from his altercation with Sam Konstas right on the verge of stumps at the SCG, where he swapped words with the Australian teenager before going on to find Khawaja's outside edge and staring Konstas down, along with the rest of the team. In a series in which India have often looked flat and unimposing with the ball, especially in the first innings for Australia in the last three Tests, India's bowlers having that fire and competitive edge will be essential. The Australian batters cannot be allowed to feel comfortable at the crease, or feel the runs coming thick and fast after how much of a struggle it was for India's batters to break the shackles. It will require an energetic, everything-on-the-line kind of performance from a bowling lineup that is reaching the end of a long-drawn series, and having a pantomime villain to latch onto might just be what team India requires.

Conversely, Australia will want to be risk free and see out the new ball in the hope that conditions flatten out and allow them to make the best of what is likely to be the most batting-friendly conditions on day two. Konstas signalled his intent to go all-guns-blazing at Bumrah rather than sit into a shell and wait for one with his name on it, but the stolid and defensively airtight techniques of Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith are more than capable of frustrating India's bowlers. Australia will be aware India are likely once again a pacer short, choosing to use two spinner, and if they manage to wear down Bumrah in particular, a lot of pressure will be placed onto a raw and so-far untested Prasidh Krishna in his first match of the series. With Scott Boland’s performance as the third seamer to live up to, Krishna will want to make sure he can provide able support to the lead bowlers at the very least, if not establish himself as an out-and-out threat on a lively wicket.

Below are a few pointers regarding India vs Australia 5th Test Day 2:

- Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Marnus Labuschagne in just his second over of the day

- Australia resumed on 9/1, behind India (185 all out) by 171 runs.

- All eyes will be on Jasprit Bumrah's battle against Sam Konstas.

- India drew their last two Test matches at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

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