Rishabh Pant's unorthodox batting made Indian fans nervous, but it was at least the closest they got to experiencing a fight from the visitors, who were reduced to 141/6 at stumps on the second day of the fifth and final Test at Sydney on Saturday.

Pant's aggressive batting brought up the second-fastest fifty (29 balls) by an Indian in Test cricket. The left-hander smashed a whirlwind 32-ball 61 after India dismissed Australia for 181.

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Virat Kohli was dismissed for six, and Ravindra Jadeja (8) and Washington Sundar (6) were in the middle, with India leading by 145 runs. India had made 185 in their first innings.

Earlier, Indian bowlers dominated the post-lunch session, with Mohammed Siraj (3/51), Prasidh Krishna (3/42), and Nitish Reddy (2/32) stepping up after captain Jasprit Bumrah (2/33) left the field, requiring scans for a niggle. For the hosts, Beau Webster scored 57 on debut, while Steve Smith made 33. Australia had resumed the day at 9/1

Brief scores: India 185 & 141/6 in 32 overs (Rishabh Pant 61, Scott Boland 4/42) vs Australia 181 in 51 overs (Beau Webster 57, Steve Smith 33, Prasidh Krishna 3/42, Mohammed Siraj 3/51, Nitish Reddy 2/32)

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