Battling a back spasm, India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was not fit enough to bowl on day three of the fifth and final Test against Australia on Sunday. In his absence, India stumbled once again, losing the game by six wickets and surrendering the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in 10 years.

India were dismissed 45 minutes into the morning session of day three for 157, adding just 16 to their overnight score of 141-6. The irrepressible Scott Boland finished with figures of 6-45, taking 10 wickets in the match.

Set 162 to win, Australia reached the target before tea against an Indian attack missing injured strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah, regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time since 2014-15. After the match, he was named player of the series for his 32 wickets.

Bumrah, who had suffered the injury on day two, ended as the leading wicket-taker in the series with 32 scalps. He was away from the field for three hours and 20 minutes on Saturday.

With Bumrah absent to open the bowling on Sunday, the Indian pace duo of Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna struggled, leaking 35 runs in the first three overs.

Krishna had revealed Bumrah's back issue after stumps on day two. However, Ricky Ponting suggested that the Indian camp might not have been entirely truthful about his injury. "It seemed like a real worry for me," Ponting said on Channel 7. "They said back spasms when he got back (to the SCG)."

"[But] he's running up the stairs. He ran off the field. That's not signs or symptoms of back spasms. I will keep my fingers crossed and hope it is. I would love to see him take further part in this game and not be out for an extended period of time again like he was with the stress fractures a couple of years ago."

Big Worry for India

Bumrah has been a workhorse during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia and to such an extent that it would not be wrong to give this series a tag of 'Bumrah vs Australia'.

Amid uninspiring performances from Indian batters and inconsistent bowling from other pacers like Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep and Harshit Rana and spinners Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah has found himself as the centre of all attention.

When India's usually dominant spinners struggle to draw some help from the pitch and pacers fail to intimidate the Aussies, it is Bumrah who is looked to as a saviour by his team and fans in search of a crucial wicket.

With the Champions Trophy around the corner, Team India cannot afford to miss out on their star bowler. Bumrah had undergone surgery in 2023 for a stress fracture in his back, and therefore, India will be extra cautious with the current concern.

India's next assignment is a three-match ODI series against England starting on February 6, followed by the Champions Trophy (from February 19 to March 9), and then the IPL, which starts on March 14.