The Indian camp provided an update on fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah at the end of day two of the fifth and final Test against Australia.
Day one of the Test match moved quickly, as India were bowled out for 185 before taking one Australian wicket by stumps – off the last ball of the day following a war of words between Sam Konstas and Jasprit Bumrah.
The tourists continued to chip away on the second morning but worryingly lost captain Bumrah to injury as he left the field shortly after lunch, only to re-emerge from the dressing room in his training gear. He left the stadium soon after to undergo scans, the exact nature of which remain unknown.
Despite Indian fans fearing the worst, their hopes would surely have picked up once Bumrah returned to the Sydney Cricket Ground in the final session of the day, just over an hour before the close of play.
At the end of the day, India pace bowler Prasidh Krishna was asked about an update on Bumrah's condition, given that there had been no official word from the BCCI on their spearhead. Krishna said: "Bumrah has back spasms. The medical team is monitoring him."
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The fast bowler had spent nearly a year out of the game between 2022 and 2023 with a stress fracture of the back. In the fourth Test in Melbourne, Bumrah sent down a total of 53.2 overs across both innings – the most in his Test career.
Before leaving the field, Bumrah had accounted for Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne. By the time he went off with Australia five wickets down, it looked as though India might struggle to bowl the hosts out quickly. But the support cast, including Krishna and Nitish Kumar Reddy stepped up admirably to bowl Australia out for 181 and take a four-run lead.
Going in to bat again, India then made it to 141-6 by stumps thanks to a blistering 61 off 33 balls from Rishabh Pant – a lead of 145 runs. Twenty-six wickets have fallen in two days of this match, which could potentially be over as early as tomorrow.
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