Jasprit Bumrah denied fifer as Rahul's bizarre catch goes waste, no ball returns to haunt India star in final-over drama

Jasprit Bumrah remained the central figure in the incident amid Australia taking their lead to 333 runs at Stumps.

The see-saw battle between India and Australia on the fourth day of the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground ended on a dramatic note. And for the tourists, Jasprit Bumrah remained the central figure in the incident amid the hosts taking their lead to 333 runs at Stumps.

India's Jasprit Bumrah walk off the field on the end of the day four of the fourth cricket test between Australia and India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia, Sunday (AP)

It happened on the fourth ball of the final over of the day when Bumrah dished out a length ball against Australia's No. 10 Nathan Lyon. The batter remained rooted at the crease and tried to defend the delivery, but the ball straightened up, took the outside edge and went straight towards the third slip. KL Rahul allowed the ball to slip out of his hands but ended up completing it by using his legs to clutch onto it.

India began celebrating as they finally ended Lyon's vigil and the frustrating final-wicket stand, and Bumrah, too, completed his five-wicket haul. However, the on-field umpire did not raise his finger. He waited for a while and, then, after confirmation from upstairs, signalled it was no ball. It could have been Bumrah's third fifer in the series, the joint-most for an Indian bowler in a single series in Australia. But the fast bowler was denied the feat.

Lyon, Boland match 63-year record

Lyon smashed two runs on the free-hit delivery to bring up a 50-run stand for the final wicket before smashing a boundary in the final ball to take Australia's lead to 333 runs.

This was the second consecutive time in the match that Lyon and Boland, the 10th-wicket pair, survived 50 or more deliveries in the partnership. The last time it happened for a final-wicket pair was in 1961, between Pakistan's Afaq Hussain and Haseeb Ahsan against England in Lahore.

Earlier in the day, Bumrah was at his unplayable best at the MCG, claiming 4-56, including his 200th wicket, in a breathtaking performance. He single-handedly dominated Australia’s middle order, removing Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh and Alex Carey cheaply before the home side’s tail wagged, reaching 228-9 at stumps, with one day of play remaining. Australia lost four wickets for 11 runs in 22 deliveries, slumping from 80-2 to 91-6 in a dramatic middle-order collapse after lunch. But the home side rallied thanks to a 57-run partnership between Marnus Labuschagne (70) and Pat Cummins (41).