[Source: Reuters]

India dropped skipper Rohit Sharma but their batting woes continued as they crawled to 107 for four at tea on the first day of the fifth and final test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.

Openers KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal departed early with Rohit’s batting replacement Shubman Gill joining them before lunch and Virat Kohli for 17 just after the first break.

Rishabh Pant, who had made 32, and Ravindra Jadeja, unbeaten on 11, survived until tea but India added just 50 runs over the second session in the face of some accurate pace bowling from the home side, who lead the series 2-1.

The tourists could still retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a victory but looked on the back foot from the moment Jasprit Bumrah, who stepped into Rohit’s shoes as captain, won the toss and sent his team into bat.

Australia captain Pat Cummins said he would have done the same but the paceman was still licking his lips at the greenish tinge on the wicket and the leaden skies above the famous old ground.

The tourists had 11 runs on the board when Rahul departed for four and only six more when Jaiswal, on 10, was caught in the slips by debutant Beau Webster from a Scott Boland delivery that nipped back to the off side.

Boland thought he had Kohli out for a golden duck off the next delivery but the roars of the sellout crowd turned to jeers when the third umpire ruled the ball had kissed the grass before slip fielder Steve Smith flicked it up for Marnus Labuschagne to catch.

Cummins tossed the ball to Nathan Lyon for the last over before lunch and the spinner removed a charging Gill for 20 with a thick edge into the busy slip cordon.

Kohli, perhaps as out-of-sorts in his batting as Rohit, had scored his 17 runs from 69 balls when he became Boland’s second victim with a stab at a delivery outside off which Webster collected with a fine diving catch in the slips.

Bumrah had earlier attempted to douse rumours of rifts in the India camp when he said Rohit’s absence from the team was the 37-year-old’s own choice.

“Our captain has shown leadership by opting to rest in this game,” he said at the toss.

“That shows there’s a lot of unity in this team. There’s no selfishness. Whatever is in the team’s best interest, we are looking to do that.”