Turning point for Rohit, but not for Indian batters

It was a done deal but there was still some excitement at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday morning when Rohit Sharma suddenly decided to warm up.

- ASHISH MAGOTRA

It proved to be a false dawn, however, as he soon returned to the dressing room, choosing not to practice slip-catching. A little later, Jasprit Bumrah, wearing the India blazer, emerged from the dressing room and headed out for the toss for the fifth and final Test of the five-match series that India are trailing 1-2.

This was the first time in history that an India skipper sat out of a Test due to lack of form. Shubman Gill replaced Rohit in the 11 but India's batting fortunes in the series did not change much. After winning the toss, Bumrah, who captained India in the series opener in Perth in Rohit's absence, chose to bat on an unusually green and bouncy SCG pitch in overcast conditions. Australia's bowlers took advantage of the lively track to wrap up India's batting for 185. Scott Boland took 4/31, while Mitchell Starc returned figures of 3/49, as India was bowled out for less than 200 for the fifth time in the series.

It showed that there was a lot more to India's batting woes than just Rohit's bad form.

At stumps, Australia were 9/1, with Bumrah having Usman Khawaja caught at slip off the final ball of the day following a brief run-in between Bumrah and youngster Sam Konstas at the non-striker's end.