SYDNEY: It all seemed doomed the moment Jasprit Bumrah walked out of the field here during the fifth and final Test on Saturday. Signs were ominous. There were scans followed by silence. So much was riding on Bumrah the entire series that his absence for a few hours seemed like an eternity.
The lead-up to the final Test match of the five-Test series here was not ideal after the Melbourne drubbing. There were reports of a distressed dressing room followed by India skipper Rohit Sharma’s decision to ‘rest’ due to failure of form. Sunday was another melancholic day for Indian cricket. The last four wickets fell for 16 runs, setting up a target of 162 runs. Without Bumrah, Aussies had a psychological edge.
Being Bumrah seemed very difficult on Sunday when the Indian team marched out without him. India were staring at inevitability. Without Bumrah the attack lost its teeth as India pacers huffed and puffed to find the rhythm. Australia, despite a few hiccups, had a stranglehold on the contest. Bumrah stood helpless as the TV cameras occasionally panned on him.
The stand-in skipper, who bossed the show with the ball in the Border Gavaskar Trophy with 32 wickets in 9 innings, eventually had a resigned look on his face as Aussies won the match by six wickets and the series 3-1.The focus is now on some of the senior players like Virat Kohli and Rohit and support staff. With India’s second consecutive Test series loss, there could potentially be some shake-ups. Head coach Gautam Gambhir too would be facing some hard questions. The whitewash three Test series loss against New Zealand would be the added burden for him.
Even Sharma’s future would be discussed. Gambhir felt it was too early to speak about any changes. “It’s too early to talk about it. The series just got over. I think we still have five more months to plan where we want to head towards. But it’s not the right moment right now for me to talk about where we are going to be after five months. A lot of things change in sport. So let’s see before the England series what’s going to happen. But whatever will happen, will happen for the best interest of Indian cricket,” Gambhir said.