"Irrespective Of...": On Kohli Taking Over Captaincy, India Star's Reply

Indian pacer Prasidh Krishna, shared his thoughts on the leadership styles of Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma. Krishna emphasized that while every captain brings their unique approach, the team's preparation and clarity in execution remain constant, irrespective of who is at the helm.  "I think no matter who is leading, as a team we prepare really well about what we can do and what we need to be doing when he goes in as a bowling unit," Krishna remarked during the post-day press conference today, underlining the collective effort and synergy within the team.

He further elaborated that the clarity in plans is a hallmark of the Indian side, ensuring seamless transitions in leadership.

"The plan was pretty clear even while Bumrah was on or Virat was on, so not much changed that way," Krishna added.

Rohit Sharma earlier decided to drop himself from the playing XI in the fifth and final Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.

The world of cricket was left in a state of shock when Jasprit Bumrah came out at the time of the toss on Friday, confirming Rohit's absence from the playing XI. At the time of the toss, the stand-in skipper confirmed that Rohit opted out.

Coming to the final session of the match, Rishabh Pant's blitz knock helped India post 141/6 on the board in their second innings on Saturday, extending their lead to 145 runs against Australia on Day 2 of the fifth Border-Gavaskar Test.

Earlier in the day, Australia was bowled out for 181, giving India a slender lead.

Coming out to bat in the final session, Indian openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul displayed some fluent strokes, but the first breakthrough came when Scott Boland dismissed Rahul for 13, leaving India at 42/1. Jaiswal soon followed, clean bowled by Boland for 22.

India faced further setbacks as star batter Virat Kohli was caught in the slip cordon by Steve Smith off Boland for 17, falling to a delivery outside the off-stump. At 59/3, India was in trouble.

Debutant Beau Webster added to India's struggles, claiming his maiden Test wicket by dismissing Shubman Gill for 13.

Rishabh Pant, the wicketkeeper-batter ignited the innings with a scintillating counterattack, smashing Mitchell Starc for a six on the very first ball he faced. He then unleashed a flurry of boundaries, hitting three in a single over from Webster. Pant raced to a half-century in just 29 balls, hitting two consecutive sixes to Starc, the second-fastest fifty by an Indian in Tests. The record of 28 balls, also held by Pant, was set against Sri Lanka in 2022.

Pant's explosive knock ended at 61 off 33 balls when he was dismissed by Pat Cummins. His innings featured six boundaries and four towering sixes, lifting India to 124/5.

Nitish Kumar Reddy could only add 4 runs before chipping a simple catch to Cummins at mid-off, becoming Boland's fourth victim of the day.

At stumps, Ravindra Jadeja (8*) and Washington Sundar (6*) remained unbeaten, showing grit to keep India's lead intact. With the match finely poised, India will look to extend their advantage on Day 3.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)