Gavaskar feels that Kohli was in the wrong when he mad the decision to engage with the crowd, as this gesture ended up putting more pressure on the shoulders of his teammate.

“Kohli must understand that whatever he does to react to the crowd actually puts more pressure on his teammates, who also then become targets of the spectators,” Gavaskar wrote in his column in The Sydney Morning Herald.

While Kohli was facing criticism for doing this act to provoke the Australian crowd, he failed with the bat. The Australian pacers made full use of his weakness against deliveries on the outside off stump, the star Indian batter was caught eight times behind the stumps.

Kohli managed to score just 190 runs at an average of 23.75. His best knock was in the opening Test of the five-match Test series in Perth, where he scored a century to help India beat the hosts by 295 runs.

The post Sunil Gavaskar blames Virat Kohli for increasing ‘Pressure on his Teammates’ by interacting with Australian crowd appeared first on Cricket Country.

During the 11th over of the innings, Kohli engaged with the crowd and showed both of his empty pockets. This was a reference to an action done by Australian opener Cameron Bancroft during their tour of South Africa, when three players were found guilty of ball-tampering.

The crowd at the Sydney Cricket ground (SCG) seemed to love this action by Kohli as this showed him playing in a fair manner when he was in the slip cordon. This act also brought a smile to the face of wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.

Virat Kohli showing empty pockets indicating no sandpaper with him.#INDvsAUSTest #AUSvsIND
"Without Bumrah" #Siraj #PrasidhKrishna pic.twitter.com/mCx8HdZPha

— Ashok (@imashok1234) January 5, 2025

Coming to the match, Prasidh Krishna helped India stay in the match. He brought the first wicket of young opener Sam Konstas in the 4th over of the innings. A few overs later, Marnus Labuschagne got caught by Yashasvi Jaiswal at the third slip. Steve Smith was also dismissed by Prasidh Krishna by the bounce. Australia was 71/3 after 13 overs.

The post WATCH: Irritated by Australian crowd, Virat Kohli trolls them by imitating Ball-Tampering action during Sydney Test appeared first on Cricket Country.

It was earlier reported that Bumrah was feeling discomfort on his back. While there is no official confirmation from the medical team of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), former Australian pacer-turned-commentator Brett Lee believes this can be a long term issue.

“I think it will be something long-term,” Lee said on air via Fox Cricket.

India came to defend a small target. Earlier, when Day 2’s play came to an end, Prasidh Krishna had stated that Bumrah was facing some discomfort on his back and the medical team is monitoring him.

“Bumrah had a back spasm. He went for scans. The medical team is monitoring him and we will know when the results arrive,” Krishna said.

This injury of Bumrah can come out as a major blow to the Indian team, considering the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is right around the corner. Before the ICC event, he was also set to feature in an ODI series against England at home grounds.

The post Brett Lee gives update on Jasprit Bumrah’s injury in Sydney Test: Not what Prasidh Krishna said appeared first on Cricket Country.

Bumrah is currently the highest wicket-taker in the five-match Test series. He is unplayable for the Australians in the ongoing series. Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Bangar believes that if Bumrah was not fit them a lead of 200 runs won’t be enough for India.

“I think there is a difference of 50 runs, without Jasprit Bumrah you have to put 230-240 runs on the board and with Jasprit Bumrah I think somewhere around 180 will be quite challenging for Australia. One thing that liked was, when he came back after the scan, obviously it took a lot of time because the hospital is a bit far, he looked in good shape and his body language was such that there was no indication for the Australian team and it is very important to maintain the secrecy,” said Bangar on Star Sports.

Bangar has praised the decision of Indian management to not open up about the pacer’s availability for Day 3 of the Sydney Test, stating that the Australian batters are yet to find a way by which they can face Bumrah’s bowling.

“Because, tactically you do not want to announce whether Jasprit Bumrah will be available for bowling or not and even if he is not available and this news goes across the oppositions dressing room, because till now Australian batsmen haven’t found out a way to counter him they don’t know whether they should attack, defend, or whether they should play on front-foot. So to execute this plan it is important to maintain secrecy, so Jasprit Bumrah and the Indian team management managed it quite well!” added Bangar. 

Coming to the match, India reached 141 for six when stumps got called on Day 2 as Australia was wrapped up for 181 on the second Day of the final Test of the series.

Scores

India 1st innings: 185- all out
Australia 1st innings: 181- all out
India 2nd innings: 141/6 in 32 overs after Day 2

The post ‘It is important to maintain…’: Former Indian cricketer gives Massive hope on India’s chances of winning Sydney Test appeared first on Cricket Country.

When speaking to the media after day 2 of the Sydney Test, Sidhu sated that these sort of massive decisions have to be taken before or after a series, and not when a series is underway.

“My take on the Rohit Sharma issue is very simple. Such decisions have to be taken before or after a series. Horses cannot be changed midstream and here is a captain… There will always be opinions, we have a habit of pulling our heroes down. That should not be the case,” Sidhu said.

Sidhu further gave reference of Rohit’s performance of 6 months ago in the 2024 T20 World Cup, where India won the title after defeating South Africa in the finals.

“Six months ago, the man had lifted the World Cup for you and he was scoring runs… At the moment, Indian cricket stands tall like a mountain. We have more and more young players playing, people are gravitating towards our country, and India sits at the top of ICC as well…” added Sidhu. 

“Rohit Sharma represents 150 crore Indians as a captain… During a series, when you remove him, you are sending the wrong signals,” Sidhu concluded.

Coming to the match, the pitch of the Sydney Ground helped bowlers as the game saw fall of 15 wickets on Day 2 of the fifth Test match. Indian premium pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who is also the stand-in captain of the team for the match, was also seen leaving the ground due to a back injury.

The post ‘Cannot be changed…’: Former Indian cricketer’s massive comment on Rohit Sharma ‘Opting Out’ from Sydney test appeared first on Cricket Country.

Prasidh Krishna, a bowler who had a massive contribution in India’s bowling attack during Australia’s innings, addressed the media and stated that Bumrah was suffering back spasm, which has given rise to a lot of questions about his participation on Day 3.

“He had a back spasm. He had gone for scans. The medical team is monitoring him. So, we will know whenever the medical team gets back to us,” Krishna told the reporters.

However, according to a report, the legendary pacer might come out to bat on Day 3. Apart from that, the decision regarding his bowling will be made by the management, which will be based on his condition on the morning of Day 3.

“Bumrah was taken for a precautionary scan after a back spasm but nothing serious at the moment. He should be okay to bat but a final call on his bowling will be taken on the basis of how he feels in the morning. So let’s see and the medical team is closely monitoring him,” the report claimed.

Bumrah is currently the highest wicket-taker in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, as he has picked up 32 wickets. He captained India in the first Test match, where the Indian team defeated Australia by 295 runs.

The post ‘Okay to bat but…’: Reports claim Massive update on Jasprit Bumrah’s injury before Day 3 of Sydney Test appeared first on Cricket Country.

After the lunch break, Bumrah had only bowled one over in the second session of the day, after which he was spotted leaving the ground and heading towards the dressing room. This gave ride to speculations about some sort of injuty.

The speculations soon turned to queries as Bumrah did not return to the ground after a prolonged period of time. Later on as the match progressed, visuals showed him with the support staff as he sat in the car to leave for the hospital.

Jasprit Bumrah has left the SCG: https://t.co/0nmjl6Qp2a pic.twitter.com/oQaygWRMyc

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 4, 2025

Bumrah was the stand-in captain for India as Rohit Sharma had decided to opt out from this fifth and final Test match of the series. Now since Bumrah has also not left the ground, Virat Kohli has been captaining the team.

The post WATCH: Team India in for a Shock? Jasprit Bumrah taken to Hospital for scans during Sydney Test appeared first on Cricket Country.

In a conversation with Star Sports, Rohit was asked to share his thought and views behind making this decision, to which he opened up and shared that he had a conversation with selectors regarding him not being in form and being unable to score runs.

“I stood down that is what I would say. The chat that I had with the coach and selector, was very simple that I was not able to score runs with the bat. I am not in form. This is an important match, we needed a win. We couldn’t carry many out of form players. They backed my decision, which was difficult for me to take,” he said on Star Sports.

Rohit also cleared air regarding him giving this decision some thought for a period of time, but could not convey his wish since it was New Year after the Melbourne Test came to an end. The Indian skipper also mentioned how it was important for him to step aside instead of having another failure in the final match of the series.

“The thought process was going for quite some time. The decision was taken after coming here. After Melbourne there was New Years’s day. On that day, I did not want to tell the coach and selector about this. I was trying but could not score and it was important for me step aside from this match,” he added.

“I don’t believe in what happens five months later. I want to focus on the present. This decision is not retirement decision. I am not going to move away from the game,” he said.

Coming to the match, India’s stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah won the toss and decided to bat first. The visitors managed to score 185 runs before Australian bowlers wrapped up their innings. Rishabh Pant was the highest run-scorer for India as he scored 40 runs.

Australian innings began on Day 1 of the Test, where they played three overs and lost the wicket of Usman Khawaja. The second Day saw the fall of Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith and Travis Head in the first session. By the time it was lunch time, Australia was at 101 runs on the loss of 5 wickets. KL Rahul was the best fielder in the first session, as he took three catches within the four wickets which got taken.

The post ‘I was not able to…’: Rohit Sharma breaks Speculations about retirement from Test cricket after ‘Resting’ from Sydney Test appeared first on Cricket Country.

What happened between Bumrah and Konstas:
Jasprit Bumrah and Sam Konstas were involved in a somewhat aggressive exchange during the final moments of Day 1. Bumrah took his position and was about to bowl to Usman Khawaja. Sam Konstas was at the striker’s end, and made a remark that did not sit well with Indian premium pacer. Bumrah reacted by taking two steps towards the Australian youngster.

The umpire had to step in on this altercation to keep the parties apart, but this incident clearly irritated Jasprit Bumrah. On the final ball of the Day, Bumrah got back as he took the wicket of Australian opener Usman Khawaja, followed by having a great celebration.

“I feel they had a little chitchat; they wanted to waste some time. I feel that’s the reason Konstas had a conversation with Jasprit Bumrah. He said something; I didn’t hear it. But I feel that’s the only thing which he wanted to do—waste some time so we don’t get to bowl one more over,” Rishabh Pant told reporters.

Coming to the match, India’s stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah won the toss and decided to bat first. The visitors managed to score 185 runs before Australian bowlers wrapped up their innings. Rishabh Pant was the highest run-scorer for India as he scored 40 runs.

The post ‘Wanted to waste some time…’: Rishabh Pant makes MASSIVE revelation on Jasprit Bumrah and Sam Konstas verbal spat appeared first on Cricket Country.

Though there were reports about him missing the match, it has still taken the cricket fraternity by surprise, along with a lot of people believing that the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) Test was the last Test match for Rohit Sharma. Many have said that that Rohit Sharma has been dropped, and it got covered by the label of ‘rested.’ Former Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu is not happy with the decision to keep Rohit out of the match.

“A Captain should never be dropped midstream nor given the option to opt out … sends wrong signals …. Have seen Captain s like Mark Taylor , Azharuddin etc persisted as captain for a year despite bad form. @ImRo45 deserved more respect and faith from the management … Bizarre coz it happened for the first time in Indian cricket history …. Blunder – for a fallen lighthouse is more dangerous than a reef,” Navjot Singh Sidhu captioned his video where he talked about Rohit’s absence.

A Captain should never be dropped midstream nor given the option to opt out … sends wrong signals …. Have seen Captain s like Mark Taylor , Azharuddin etc persisted as captain for a year despite bad form …. @ImRo45 deserved more respect and faith from the management …… pic.twitter.com/OJcSF9r3fU

— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) January 3, 2025

Sidhu affirmed that a captain should never be dropped, nor shall he be allowed to opt out since it sends a wrong message. He even stated gave the example of Mark Taylor and Mohammad Azharuddin, further adding that Rohit deserved more respect from the management.

The post ‘Should never be Dropped…’: Indian legend burst out at team management’s decision to let Rohit Sharma opt out of Sydney Test appeared first on Cricket Country.