Sydney Test: No Jasprit Bumrah with ball in huge blow for India on Day 3

India’s stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah opted out of bowling due to injury on Day 3 of the ongoing fifth Test against Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney. Earlier, he walked out to bat in the second innings, raising the hopes of Indian fans but couldn’t come on to bowl. Notably, Bumrah left the ground in the second session on Day 2 for some scans, leaving Indian fans worried about his fitness.

Prasidh Krishna gave an update on his fitness at the end of the day’s play and revealed that the India speedster complained of back spasms and hence was taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure. Despite all the injury concerns, Bumrah walked out to bat on Day 3 with the team in desperate need of a valuable contribution with his bat.

AUS vs IND 5th Test Day 3 Live

However, he couldn’t make a difference with the bat as he got dismissed for a three-ball duck trying to hit Scott Boland on the leg side. As a result, India got all out for 157 in the second innings, setting Australia a target of 162 in the fourth innings.

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Following his innings with the bat, much to the dismay of the Indian fans, Bumrah didn’t come out to bowl in the second innings leaving the onus of leading the bowling attack on Mohammed Siraj. Hence, the India speedster finished the tour with the most wickets in the series across both teams.

Bumrah finished the series with most wickets

Bumrah scalped 32 wickets from five matches at an average of 13.06 and a strike rate of 28.37 with three five-wicket hauls to his name. He also broke the record for most wickets taken by an Indian bowler in a single series in Australia. Bumrah surpassed Bishan Singh Bedi’s tally of 31 wickets registered on the 1977-78 tour.

Courtesy of his performance, Bumrah has already registered the highest ratings in the ICC Test rankings for an Indian bowler with 907 ratings to his name. However, after a phenomenal year with the ball, it’s imperative for Indian cricket that the speedster takes some rest and be at his best with the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 also on the horizon.