Only the suspicion of what Jasprit Bumrah, the outstanding bowler of the series and Rohit’s replacement as captain, might do on the surface constrained the joy of home fans packed into the famous old ground.

They got a hint from the last ball of the three overs India managed to bowl at Australia before the close of play when Bumrah dismissed Usman Khawaja for 2.

Teenager Sam Konstas, unbeaten on seven, made it safely to stumps with Australia 9 for 1.

Australia lead the series 2-1 and will reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and a place in the World Test Championship final against South Africa with a victory in the finale

Rishabh Pant was the top run-getter for India as he played a 40-run knock. Jasprit Bumrah played a late cameo, making a crucial contribution of 22 runs on the back of three fours and a six to take India to a fighting total.

Boland precipitated the end of India’s laboured innings early in the final session when he had Rishabh Pant caught at mid-on for 40 off a miscued pull shot and dismissed Melbourne centurion Nitish Kumar Reddy off consecutive balls.

Washington Sundar was beaten by Boland’s hat-trick ball without making contact with it but Ravindra Jadeja was soon trapped plumb in front by Mitchell Starc (3-49) for 26 to leave India reeling on 134-7.

Sundar was unfortunate to depart for 14 when a TV review detected a brush of his glove on a Cummins delivery and Bumrah wagged the tail with 22 runs from 17 balls before the Australia skipper had him caught at mid-wicket to end the innings.

India could still retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a victory but looked on the back foot from the moment Bumrah won the toss and sent his team into bat.

Cummins said he would have done the same but the paceman was still licking his lips at the greenish tinge on the wicket and the leaden skies above Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs.

The tourists had 11 runs on the board when Rahul departed for four and only six more when Jaiswal, on 10, was caught in the slips by debutant Beau Webster from a Boland delivery that nipped back to the off side.

Boland thought he had Kohli out for a golden duck off the next delivery but the roars of the sellout crowd turned to jeers when the third umpire ruled the ball had kissed the grass as slip fielder Steve Smith flicked it up for Marnus Labuschagne to catch.

Cummins tossed the ball to Nathan Lyon for the last over before lunch and the spinner removed a charging Shubman Gill, Rohit’s batting replacement, for 20 with a thick edge into the busy slip cordon.

Virat Kohli, perhaps as out-of-sorts in his batting as Rohit, had scored 17 runs from 69 balls when he became Boland’s second victim with a stab at a delivery outside off which Webster collected with a fine diving catch in the slips.

Bumrah had earlier attempted to douse rumours of rifts in the India camp when he said Rohit’s absence from the team was the 37-year-old’s own choice.

“Our captain has shown leadership by opting to rest in this game,” he said at the toss.

India captain Rohit Sharma on Friday ‘opted to rest’ himself from the fifth and final Test against Australia after a string of underwhelming performances, marking a rather dramatic start to the series finale.

His deputy Jasprit Bumrah took over the leadership role, something that he had done in the series-opener as well when Rohit took a short paternity break.

“Our captain has shown leadership, he has opted to rest,” said Bumrah at the toss that India won and opted to bat.

During the customary pre-match warm-up session, Rohit was seen playing football with Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan, who is ending the series without getting a game.

After this, Rohit was seen engaged in a discussion with the team’s video analyst Hari Prasad. He left the outfield close to the toss time before Bumrah walked out to a loud roar from the capacity crowd.

When the TV cameras panned on him, Rohit was seen sitting outside the dressing room with Fielding Coach Ryan Ten Doeschate by his side. Head Coach Gautam Gambhir sat a distance from the duo.

Sanjay Manjrekar lauded Rohit for his decision. ‘So typical of Rohit Sharma. Doing the right thing, doing what’s right for the team. But could not understand the ‘cloak & dagger’ around the issue. Wasn’t even talked about at the toss,’ Manjrekar posted on X.

Rohit made the call after scoring 31 runs in five innings across three Tests. The 37-year-old white ball great looked like a pale shadow of himself in those innings, struggling to execute even his bread and butter shots including the trademark front pull.

Looking at India’s practice session on the eve of the game, it became clear that Rohit was going to sit out.

The speculation over his future in the longest format also gained momentum after India lost the fourth Test in Melbourne to trail the five-match series 1-2.

2024 turned out to be the least productive year for Rohit in Test cricket as he collected 619 runs in 26 innings across 14 matches averaging 24.76.

Having played his 67th five-day game in Melbourne, Rohit is also being expected to call time on his roller-coaster Test career soon.

Rohit could not replicate his stellar success in white ball cricket over the course of his 11-year Test career.

After not realising his potential in the middle-order following his debut in 2013, Rohit’s red ball career got a second wing in 2019 when he started opening.

Last year Rohit guided India to a much-awaited T20 World Cup title but his performances dropped drastically in the traditional format.

His longtime teammate and former captain Virat Kohli is also facing criticism for his repeated dismissals outside the off-stump in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy thus far.

The first innings of the fifth Test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on January 3, 2025, was nothing short of disappointment for Virat Kohli and his fans.

Virat Kohli’s struggles against deliveries outside the off-stump continued on Friday morning, as his style of batting has bas become predictable for opponents.

India was struggling at 17/2 after losing both openers early. The pressure was mounting, and Kohli’s job was to steady the ship. However, things didn’t go according to plan, as he soon found himself involved in a nerve-wracking moment during the early stages of his innings. Scott Boland, Australia’s reliable pacer, was bowling a probing length outside off-stump.

Kohli, who has often been troubled by deliveries in that area, jabbed at one outside off, and it flew to first slip. The ball appeared to brush the ground before Steve Smith made a stunning attempt at a catch. The Aussies were convinced it was the end of Kohli, but after a review, third umpire Joel Wilson deemed the delivery not out.

However, Kohli’s second brush with disaster came soon after. On the 31st over of the innings, Kohli again edged a Boland delivery and this time was caught at third slip by Webster.

7 out of 8 times, he’s been dismissed in a similar fashion in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Despite his brilliant century in the first Test of the series in Perth, his subsequent scores were far from reassuring. In the 2024-25 series, Kohli has struggled to find consistency, and his dismissal in Sydney only added fuel to the fire.

KOHLI IN ONGOING Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25:

Perth Test: 5 and 100*

Adelaide Test: 7 and 11 

Brisbane Test: 3

Melbourne Test: 36 and 5

Sydney Test: 17 and Yet to bat