Sydney Cricket Ground smashes 50-year-old attendance record on Day 1 of BGT 2024-25 5th Test

The ongoing fifth and final Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) Test in Sydney Cricket Ground etched its name into the history books. With 47,566 spectators present at the Tea break, it has become the most-attended Day 1 of a Test match at the venue since 1976.

Earlier, the record for the India-Australia Day 1 crowd was 44,901, which came in January 2004. The packed capacity also broke the overall record of 46,070, witnessed during Day 5 of an Ashes Test between Australia and England in January 2007.

Interestingly, the game is in line to break the all-time attendance record of 189,989 over the course of five days. It was recorded during Australian captain Steve Waugh's final Test in January 2004 against India.

With a second and final World Test Championship (WTC) spot up for grabs, there has been immense interest in BGT 2024-25 among fans and the cricket fraternity.

The last Test in Melbourne also achieved significant milestones in terms of crowd attendance. More than 373,691 passed through the gates of MCG to witness the closely contested action between top-ranked teams. It broke the record of 350,534 spectators, set at the venue in 1937.

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BGT 2024-25: India end on a high after batting collapse

The Jasprit Bumrah-led side won the toss and opted to bat first. However, the decision backfired when India lost Yashasvi Jaiswal (10), KL Rahul (4) and Shubman Gill (20) in the first session.

Although Virat Kohli (17) showed resistance in the second session, he fell victim to his nemesis of a delivery yet again. Then, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja (26) opted for a defensive mindset, with only the former finding odd boundaries.

Scott Boland turned on the heat by taking back-to-back wickets of Pant (40) and Nitish Reddy (0). The crucial contributions from Washington Sundar (14) and Bumrah (22) paved the way for India to reach 185. Boland was the wrecker-in-chief for the hosts with four wickets.

With only 15 minutes of action remaining in the day, it was interesting to see whether India managed to get a lucky breakthrough. The finest bowler of the series, Bumrah rose to the occasion to induce the edge of Usman Khawaja (2) and help India end on a high. At stumps on Day 1, Australia finished at 9/1.