Australia v India: Rishabh Pant innings gives India hope in final Test as visitors sweat over Jasprit Bumrah fitness

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A stunning 61 from Rishabh Pant gave India a lead of 145 runs in the final Test against Australia at the end of the second day, leaving the Test finely poised. Pant responded after Australia's Scott Boland put the hosts in the driving seat with four wickets. India will be sweating on the fitness of star seamer Jasprit Bumrah, who walked off the field early in the afternoon.

‘Out of this world!’ – Pant makes back-to-back sixes in electric innings for India

Video credit: TNT Sports

India finished day two of their final Test against Australia with a lead of 145 runs thanks to a superb 61 from Rishabh Pant.

The visitors had done well to bowl out Australia and claim a first innings lead but were shaken when stand-in captain and star seamer Jasprit Bumrah had to leave the field to gets scans on a possible injury.

India were then left reeling when Scott Boland had put Australia in the driving seat and carved up India with precision. and it was up to Pant, who pulled off the second-fastest fifty by an Indian player in Test cricket, behind his own 28-ball performance against Sri Lanka in 2022.

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Boland took four wickets and one of his victims was Virat Kohli, who fell for six in what could be his final bat on Australian soil.

Beau Webster continued an excellent debut, becoming the first Australian to score a half-century on Test debut since Adam Voges in 2015.

He was Australia's top scorer on a day that began with them being unable to hit top speed in their innings, with only Webster and Steve Smith passing 23.

Both Smith and Webster were taken by Prasidh Krishna, who also took Alex Carey's wicket to end with three wickets, the same as Mohammed Siraj.

Webster makes ‘fine 50 on debut’ to help Australia shore up first innings

Video credit: TNT Sports

The day had begun with Bumrah making the record for most wickets taken by an Indian bowler on a tour of Australia as he took Marnus Labuschagne having got Usman Khawaja at the end of Day 1 .

Australia were then unable to take advantage of his departure before being bowled out for 181.

India started their second innings strongly as Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul showed their intent by combining for 35, until Boland began his four-wicket effort by taking the pair of them.

But after the Australian had snared Kohli, Pant stood up and played his astonishing innings of 61 before Pat Cummins removed him.

Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar then saw India to stumps after Nitish Kumar Reddy was caught by Cummins at mid-off.

SHARMA REFUTES RETIREMENT TALK

Sharma said that his decision to sit out of the Test in Sydney was "not a retirement decision" as concerns over his form continue.

The 37-year-old averaged just 6.2 across his five innings and also missed his side's win in the first Test in Perth due to the birth of his second child.

His absence in Sydney then left Bumrah the captain's blazer before he was forced to the leave the SCG in the second session.

Rohit refuted retirement talks and clarified his position, saying: "This decision is not a retirement decision. Nor am I going to take myself out of the game.

"I sat out of this match because runs are not coming off my bat. There is no guarantee runs won't come five or two months down the line. I have seen a lot in cricket that life changes every second, every minute, every day.

"I have confidence in me that things can change, but at the same time I have to be realistic as well. So life won't change by what people with a mic, pen or laptop write or say. They can't decide when we should retire, when we should sit out, when we should captain. I am a sensible man, mature man, father of two kids. So I know what I need in life."

‘The perfect finish!’ – Bumrah gets Khawaja late on Day 1, stares down Konstas

Video credit: TNT Sports

In Melbourne last week two failures caused talk around his place in the team to begin, and head coach Gautam Gambhir tried his best to avoid questions on the topic ahead of the final Test.

"I made this decision after coming here," Rohit added. "We had only two days between the matches. On New Year's, I didn't want to have this chat with the selector and the coach. But it was in my mind that I am trying my best but I am not getting the runs. I have to accept it and have to get myself out of the way.

"The chat that I had with the coach and the selector was very simple: my bat is not scoring runs, I am not in form, this is an important match, and we need players who are in form. As it is, the boys are not in great form. So I had this simple thought in my mind: we can't carry out-of-form players.

"That's why I thought I should tell the coach and the selector what's going on in my mind. They backed my decision. They said you have been playing for so many years, you are the best judge of what you are doing.

"It was a difficult decision for me, but if you keep everything in mind, this was a sensible decision. I am not thinking too far. Right now, what does the team need? That is what I was thinking. Nothing else."

How to watch Australia v India in the UK

Every day of all five Test matches will be broadcast live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

The final Test in Sydney starts on January 2 at 11.30pm UK time.

TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, offering a line-up of up to four TV channels (TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4), and up to six digital or red-button channels (TNT Sports 5 to 10), and TNT Sports Ultimate plus TNT Sports Box Office HD.

You can subscribe to TNT Sports through discovery+, BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.

Watch and stream England men's 2025 white-ball tour of India live on TNT Sports and discovery+

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