Bumrah sidelined but India builds 145-run lead after wild Day 2 of 5th test against Australia

SYDNEY (AP) — Rishabh Pant's blistering counterattack capped a chaotic second day of the fifth and final test between Australia and India where 15 wickets fell on Saturday and the star bowler of the series left the Sydney Cricket Ground with an ambulance escort.

Yet the Border-Gavaskar trophy still remains very much in the balance as India reached 141-6, holding a 145-run lead over Australia with three days remaining.

“Low-scoring games like this, it just heightens the pressure within it, so long way still to go,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald said. “There’s gonna be plenty of cricket, so we’ll see what happens.”

Australia was bowled out for 181, giving India a four-run lead on the first innings, and could not take advantage of India captain Jasprit Bumrah leaving the SCG for medical scans for back spasms. Bumrah later returned to the SCG but there was no confirmation on whether the star bowler would be able to bowl in the remainder of the test — or bat in India's second innings.

Beau Webster top-scored for the hosts with 57 and a wicket in a bright debut, while Steve Smith narrowly fell short of bringing up 10,000 career test runs in front of his home crowd.

Pant then lit up the SCG with a swashbuckling 61 off 33 balls with six boundaries and four sixes to leave the match evenly poised after the end of just the second day.

“If I was sitting at home and watching (it), I would have loved it and, and to be able to (watch) it from the ground, I mean there's nothing like it,” said Prasidh Krishna.

“I know it’s, it’s a lot of risk, but then that’s the way the game is played today.”

At stumps, Jadeja was eight not out and Washington Sundar was unbeaten on six.

Scott Boland backed up his four wickets in India's first innings with four more on Saturday.

First, he bowled two near-unplayable deliveries to bowl opening pair KL Rahul (13) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (22).

Boland (4-42) followed that up by yet again tempting Virat Kohli outside off stump which the veteran guided straight to Smith at slip in what may be the 36-year-old Kohli's final test innings in Australia.

“Every time he plays, he does the job well,” McDonald said of Boland. “His ability just to be relentless on a length, move the ball both ways is, yeah, it’s proving difficult, in particular on the surface back over to the left.”

Webster (1-24) chalked up his first test wicket, having Shubman Gill (13) caught behind after a wild swipe.

Earlier, Australia conceded a four-run deficit as it was bowled out at tea.

Steve Smith (33) and Webster appeared to have stabilized the host's innings after its top order was toppled in quick time by Bumrah (2-33) and Mohammad Siraj (3-51).

Bumrah took Labuschagne to go with Khawaja's wicket and took his overall series tally to 32 wickets, the highest ever by an Indian bowler in a single series in Australia, passing spinner Bishan Singh Bedi’s 31 during the 1977-78 series.

Australia leads the series 2-1 and must avoid defeat to regain the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the first time since 2014-15. A win by India and a drawn series at 2-2 would allow the visitors to retain the trophy for a record-extending fifth consecutive time.

A win for Australia at the SCG would book the team’s spot in a second straight World Test Championship final where it would play the already-qualified South Africa at Lord’s in June.

Former India Rohit Sharma has hit back at suggestions he was dropped from the team ahead of the decisive 5th test, saying he made the decision to stand down.

The 37-year-old Sharma said that he had initiated the conversation with selectors.

“I had a chat with the coach and the selector was very simple,” Rohit said on India's Star Sports. “I am not making runs at the moment. I am not in form and it’s an important game. We need an in-form player.

“This was the simple thing in my mind. It was my understanding that I should tell the coach and the selector and they backed my call.”

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Australia's captain Pat Cummins, right, and Scot Boland celebrate the wicket of India's Nitish Kumar Reddy during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Australia's Scott Boland reacts after taking a the wicket of India's Nitish Kumar Reddy during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Australia's Steve Smith gestures to teammate Australia's Usman Khawaja after dropping a catch during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

India's KL Rahul is out bowled during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Australia's Scott Boland is congratulated by teammates Marnus Labuschagne, right, and Steve Smith after dismissing India's Yashasvi Jaiswal during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

India's Virat Kohli reacts as he walks from the field after he was dismissed during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Australia's Scott Boland, left, celebrates after dismissing India's Virat Kohli, right, during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Australia's Beau Webster appeals successfully for the wicket of India's Shubman Gill during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

India's Rishabh Pant bats during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Australia's Steve Smith dives as he attempts to take a catch during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Australia's captain Pat Cummins celebrates after taking the wicket of India's Rishabh Pant during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

India's Rishabh Pant bats during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

India's Rishabh Pant bats during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

India's Prasidh Krishna, right, reacts after dismissing Australia's Steve Smith during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

India's Prasidh Krishna is congratulated by teammates after dismissing Australia's Steve Smith during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

India's Mohammed Siraj bowls to Australia's Sam Konstas during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

India's Jasprit Bumrah appeals successfully for the wicket of Australia's Marnus Labuschagne during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Australia's Sam Konstas bats during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Australia's Steve Smith hits the ball for six runs during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

India's Mohammed Siraj reacts after talking the wicket of Australia's Sam Konstas during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Australia's Steve Smith takes a run during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Australia's Beau Webster bats during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

India's Prasidh Krishna, right, reacts after dismissing Australia's Steve Smith during play on the second day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The next presidential term in Venezuela is set to begin Friday, when the ruling party-controlled congress hosts a swearing-in ceremony for President Nicolás Maduro, despite serious doubts about the validity of last year’s official election results.

Maduro is expected to begin a third six-year term amid demonstrations by his supporters, but it is unclear if anyone among the millions who voted for his main challenger, Edmundo González, will also protest. González, who claimed to have won the July 28 election, left Venezuela for exile in Spain in September after a judge issued a warrant for his arrest.

Taking the oath of office will allow Maduro to cement a mishmash of policies that allowed the government to end the scarcities and runaway inflation that dominated most of his 11 years in office. Those measures, however, no longer fulfill his and his predecessor’s self-proclaimed socialist promises and continue to strip Venezuela of its democracy.

González has said he intends to be in Caracas on Friday, but he has not explained how he intends to do so or what his plans are upon arrival.

Here’s what to know about Venezuela’s next presidential term:

The doubts stem from the government’s lack of transparency in handling and announcing the results of the presidential election.

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, stacked with ruling-party loyalists, declared Maduro the winner hours after polls closed. However, unlike previous presidential elections, electoral authorities did not provide detailed vote counts, alleging that a website hack prevented them from doing so.

Yet, the opposition collected tally sheets from 80% of the nation’s electronic voting machines, posted them online and said the detailed vote records showed González won the election with twice as many votes as Maduro.

Global condemnation over the lack of transparency prompted Maduro to ask the country’s high court, also filled with allies of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela, to audit the election results. The court, without showing thorough evidence, subsequently reaffirmed Maduro’s victory and encouraged the electoral council to release the vote counts. But electoral authorities never did and neither did the ruling party, whose voting center representatives — just like the opposition’s — were entitled to tally sheets from every voting machine.

The U.S.-based Carter Center, which Maduro’s government invited to observe the presidential election, has said the tally sheets published by the opposition are legitimate.

The government frequently schedules demonstrations, particularly when it wants to show strength in numbers, such as on Friday. Maduro has called on Venezuelans to head to the streets that day, but not everyone marching with a pro-ruling-party shirt supports him. The government often coerces public employees and state-benefits recipients into participating in demonstrations.

Whether people will protest against Maduro on Friday remains to be seen since the government’s post-election repression campaign, including the arrests of more than 2,000 people, has had a chilling effect. And even if opposition supporters decide to demonstrate, it is unclear who would lead them.

On Sunday, opposition stalwart Maria Corina Machado urged supporters to demonstrate on Thursday across the country to push Maduro out of office.

“Maduro is not going to leave on his own, we must make him leave with the strength of a population that never gives up,” Machado said in a social media video. “Go outside, shout, fight. It is time to stand firm, and make them understand that this is as far as they go. That this is over.”

Machado, who has been hiding for months at an undisclosed location to avoid arrest, told supporters she “will be with” them Thursday.

Meanwhile, González remains away from Venezuela and opposition leaders who often accompanied him and Machado to campaign rallies were jailed after the election.

Members of the National Assembly, ministers and Maduro’s close allies within Venezuela are expected to attend.

The government’s centralized public information office did not immediately respond to a request from The Associated Press for a list of the heads of state who have confirmed their attendance.

But the list could be in the single digits since the country’s post-election crisis has further isolated Maduro.

Maduro has faced criticism for the election’s lack of transparency from dozens of countries, including neighboring Colombia and Brazil, whose leaders had been friendly toward him in practically all other matters. They even attempted to broker a peacemaking deal between his government and the opposition after the July vote. Neither country’s president will attend Friday’s ceremony and will instead send representatives.

Maduro’s last inauguration, in 2019, was attended by Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel and then-Bolivian President Evo Morales.

The food shortages and four-digit inflation that characterized most of Maduro’s 11-year presidency are gone, but the country’s protracted crisis has no end in sight.

These days, the average Venezuelan must cope with a monthly minimum wage of less than $2, soaring food prices, irregular fuel supply and a substandard public education system. But at the same time, a lucky few with ties to Maduro and his allies benefit from jobs and contracts that allow them to afford imported toilet paper that costs $70, import and sell vehicles, open made-for-Instagram restaurants, and offer luxury tourism experiences.

That inequality is precisely the kind that was supposed to disappear under the policies that Maduro’s mentor and predecessor, the late President Hugo Chávez, described as socialism for the 21st century. It is expected to widen as the government continues to wrestle with an oil-dependent economy crippled by limited crude production, corruption, mismanagement, economic sanctions, firmly restricted credit access and a lack of private investment.

Ahead of the election, voters across the country repeatedly said they or their loved ones would emigrate if Maduro remained in power. Under his watch, more than 7.7 million Venezuelans have already left their homeland in search of better living conditions.

National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez, center, poses for a photo with newly sworn-in lawmakers after the start of the legislative year in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, January 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)

FILE - Protesters clash with police during demonstrations against the official election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro's reelection, the day after the vote in Caracas, Venezuela, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)

FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, left, and opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez hold up vote tally sheets from the top of a truck during a protest against the official presidential election results declaring President Nicolas Maduro the winner in Caracas, Venezuela, July 30, 2024, two days after the election. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez, File)

FILE - A member of the Bolivarian Militia holds up a painting depicting President Nicolas Maduro during a rally celebrating Maduro's July 28 reelection, in Caracas, Venezuela, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez, File)

FILE - President Nicolas Maduro gestures during a news conference at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, July 31, 2024, three days after his disputed reelection. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)