 "Jasprit Bumrah's back spasm confirmed as Sydney Test enters final stages")
Indian cricket team pacer Prasidh Krishna on Saturday confirmed that captain Jasprit Bumrah is struggling with back spasm which forced him to leave Sydney Cricket Ground midway on Day 2 of the fifth Test to go for scans. “Jasprit Bumrah has a back spasm. Medical team is monitoring him so let’s see,” Prasidh Krishna said in the post-Day 2 press conference.
Team India were 141/6 at the end of Day 2 in the fifth and final Test and lead by 145 runs after Australia were dismissed for 181 earlier in the day. However, India were without stand-in skipper Bumrah for a large part of the day as he was forced to leave the ground to undergo precautionary scans. It was not clear at that time why Bumrah was taken to the hospital.
Team India receives big Bumrah blow
Bumrah was later seen in the dressing room after returning from the hospital but it will be interesting to see if he can bowl in the final innings as India look to clinch the must-win match at Sydney. India, who already trail 2-1 in the series, will be knocked out of the race for the World Test Championship (WTC) final with a defeat in the fifth Test.
It looks like a Roman era painting but it’s just Jasprit Bumrah leaving the SCG while being cheered on by the Indian fans, with question marks still hovering over whether he’ll be able to bowl tomorrow & have one final impact on a series he’s dominated #AusvInd pic.twitter.com/UuPzldc94l
— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) January 4, 2025
Bumrah bowled just 10 overs in the second innings of the match after India were bowled out for 185. He took two wickets but left the field shortly before lunch only to return post-lunch for one over before leaving for the hospital.
Record-breaking day for Bumrah in Sydney
On Day 2, Bumrah also surpassed legendary spinner Bishan Singh Bedi to snap the most wickets in an overseas Test series for India.
The Indian spearhead dismissed right-hand batter Marnus Lauschagne in the sixth over for just two runs. With this wicket, he completed the 32nd wicket of the ongoing series. Bishan Singh Bedi ended India’s 1977/78 tour of Australia with 31 scalps at an average of 23.87.
Most wickets for Indian bowlers in overseas Test series
Jasprit Bumrah: 32 wickets vs Australia in 2024-25
Bishan Singh Bedi: 31 wickets vs Australia in 1977-78
Bhagwath Chandrasekhar: 28 wickets vs Australia in 1977-78
Subhash Gupte: 26 wickets vs West Indies in 1952-53
Kapil Dev: 25 wickets vs Australia in 1991-92
Prior to Day 2 of this Test, Bumrah had outbowled everyone, taking 31 wickets at an average of 12.64, with best figures of 6/76. He has taken three fifers. He had bowled 143.2 overs in the series, the most by an Indian bowler, with Siraj being the second one with 130.1 overs, 16 wickets and an average of 31.56.
Across the series, only Australian stars Cummins (152 overs and 22 scalps) and Starc (149.2 overs and 18 wickets) have bowled more. Also with the bat, he had scored 42 runs at an average of 8.40, facing 87 balls and having the best score of 22. It is more runs than skipper Rohit Sharma, who has made 31 runs in three matches and five innings at an average of 6.20, having faced 110 balls.
With agency inputs
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