It was the partnership at the death of the Boxing Day Test that bowed Jasprit Bumrah and ultimately proved decisive in Australia reclaiming the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a gripping series against India.

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The Indian champion had devastated Australia’s top order for much of a summer in which his brilliance confirmed him as an all-time great but was red-lining late on Day 4 in Melbourne.

A stunning burst in which he removed Travis Head, Mitch Marsh and Alex Carey in the space of a couple of overs had catapulted his nation back into the Boxing Day Test.

But that was hours earlier. Now, almost 45 overs later, his skipper Rohit Sharma was begging him for one last effort in a bid to remove either Nathan Lyon or Scott Boland.

The plucky tailenders, whose partnership lasted almost 20 overs and produced 61 extremely valuable runs, managed to survive Bumrah’s last blast and reach stumps unbeaten.

As soon as the umpires whisked the bails off, the Australia pair and ten Indian players turned for the long trudge from the MCG pitch back to the comfort of their locker rooms.

All except Bumrah, who was left by himself in the middle of the MCG pitch, completely spent.

For several seconds the Player of the Series stood hunched over, his hands on his knees, taking big gasps of air in the twilight after what had been the longest day of his career. It is a defining image from a series overflowing with massive moments.

Bumrah returned the next morning to bowl Lyon and finished with figures of 5-57 from 24.4 overs. It followed the 4-99 he took a couple of days earlier from nearly 29 overs.

Never had he bowled more in a Test. But rarely has a team’s fortunes rested so squarely on one man’s shoulders. The damage was done, even though it would not become evident for almost another week. India had cooked its golden goose.

As India considers the wreckage following its 3-1 series loss to Australia, the discussion will centre on several points, some already canvassed in depth.

After producing a performance so dominant in Perth, one described by English great Michael Vaughan as one of the finest ever by a touring side in Australia, the Indians were outplayed.

In recent days there have been reports of friction in the dressing room. The Australian reported that after the walloping in the west, India’s players split into groups rather than celebrating as a team.

India’s captain Rohit Sharma arrived late and never found his form. Virat Kohli started with a century but leaves a fading figure who became engulfed in schoolboy stunts. Ravi Ashwin exited mid-series, retiring from international cricket, a sad goodbye for a champion.

Fans were locked out from training. Harsh words were exchanged with journalists. Shoulders were bumped. Red mist clouded judgments and rampaging egos got the better of some.

Should they play more red ball cricket? Why weren’t the batters prepared to dig in for the long haul? Can coach Gautam Ghambir, who was combative to the end, turn this team around?

Swept in a series at home by New Zealand and beaten by their fiercest foe abroad, he might have the toughest job in cricket.

But breaking Bumrah proved the straw that ultimately ended their hopes, because for all of the factors above, India’s hopes of squaring the series and retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy were still alive when he was bowling.

Less than a week after cutting a lonely figure in the middle of the MCG, the 31-year-old could manage one over after lunch on Saturday before stiffly walking off the SCG. He did not bowl again. And just over 24 hours later, the Australians held the trophy aloft.

DID INDIA MISMANAGE THEIR SHINING STAR?

The alarm bells warning of potential doom were ringing in the Indian dressing rooms at the MCG and Sharma, who became the latest skipper cut down on Australian soil, was wary.

Australia had entered the summer with a plan to ensure its fast bowlers were still potent at the end after fatigue had gotten the better of them late in a couple of recent summers.

By the time Australia clinched a 184-run victory in the Boxing Day Test to take the upper-hand, Bumrah had bowled the most overs of any player in the series. The shoe was on the other foot this time around.

While Bumrah had 30 wickets at an average of 12.83, his teammates at that stage had managed a combined tally of 36 wickets at 41.33. And he was red-lining.

“Yeah, there is (a risk of overturning it). To be honest, he has bowled a lot of overs. There is no doubt about it,” Sharma said.

“But again, every Test match we play, we keep that in mind. You know, the workloads of all the bowlers in fact. But again, if somebody is in such great form, you want to try and maximise that form however you can. And that is what we’ve been trying to do with Bumrah.

“But there comes a time where you need to step back a little bit and give him that little bit of extra breather as well. So, we’ve been very careful. I’ve been very careful. I talk to him about how he feels and stuff like that. Those things should be managed carefully. And I’m trying to do that on the field.”

Almost two days after Bumrah left the SCG for scans, it remains unclear exactly what the problem is. The initial word from the Indian camp was that he had suffered a back spasm. That he required an ambulance escort to hospital remains a curiousity.

Gambhir said after stumps on Sunday that in due time information about the problem would be released. But the Indians — and world cricket — will be hoping his absence is only temporary.

When Fox Cricket host Mark Howard put it to Travis Head on Sunday afternoon that it was a shame Bumrah was unavailable, the South Australian’s response highlighted his respect when stressing how difficult he was to face.

“I think there were 15 people (the Aussie squad) that were pleased Jasprit didn’t bowl today, but that is the way it pans out,” he said.

“He has had a hell of a series. It has been probably the best individual performance I have seen in a series since I started playing Test cricket.”

ANOTHER SKIPPER BITES THE DUST

Former Australian spinner Kerry O’Keeffe identified a critical factor in Australia’s ability to win back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time since 2014 in early November.

During a chat at the MCG prior to the one-day clash against Pakistan, the Fox Cricket expert said that Australia would go hard at Sharma and Kohli in a bid to bring them down.

And so it proved. Kohli started with a century in Perth, making the most of the benign conditions after Yashasvi Jaiswal had worn out the new ball and the Aussie bowlers.

But from then on he floundered. The century aside, he made only 90 runs and had become Scott Boland’s “bunny”, unable to restrict himself from playing outside off stump, by the end of the series.

Sharma, meanwhile, arrived midway through the Perth Test as a doting dad once again.

The smile on his face after he returned from a net session as India dominated in the middle of Optus Stadium was one of a man content with his place in the world. It did not last long.

Sharma departs Australia out of the team after making 31 runs in three Tests at an average of 6.2. It is the lowest on record for an opposing skipper, and that includes bowling captains including West Indian Courtney Walsh.

O’Keeffe had noted Australia was a tough test for any player in the mid-30s, let alone those who were struggling for their best form. The champions were vulnerable. And the Aussies knew it. The bowling attack hunted their prey relentlessly.

“So it’s come to pass,” O’Keeffe told foxsports.com.au at the SCG on Sunday night.

“The Australian tactic for years has been to look to bring down the opposition captain, and it’s been, if you look at the series they’ve won, it’s worked the whole time.

“They couldn’t get Rahane Ajinka the last time and he won the series. But if you look at the captains they’ve brought down in recent times, Sharma. Tick. Shan Masood with Pakistan. It was three-nil. Kraigge Brathwaite, it was one-all, but they were on top of Kraigge. They went to New Zealand and brought down Tim Southee, winning two-nil.

“They couldn’t bring down Bumrah. He was too good. But then the baton was passed to Rohit Sharma and they brought him down straight away, to the extent that he withdrew from the final Test. So that’s a tactic they seem to want to do if they can, if they can break the skipper and make him anonymous, it empowers them.”

‘EVERYTHING BOILS DOWN TO TEMPERAMENT’

Gautam Ghambir had a crack at Australian legend Ricky Ponting prior to the series, which set the tone for what became a spicy series with several clashes on and off the field.

Based on reports that have come out in recent days from several respected journalists, there are fissures in the team. The reported lack of interaction after their triumph in Perth is indicative of that.

Prominent Australian-based journalist Bharat Sundaresan wrote a detailed column in The Australian leading into the Sydney Test that told of the events of that night.

A member of the coaching staff was prepared to put his credit card behind the bar for the group to celebrate a stunning 295-run success where they outplayed the Aussies.

Instead the groups split and Sundaresan revealed he bumped into one member of the squad at a kebab store who was confused about his status with the side, having received little information from the coaching hierarchy.

Another report discussed the future post Sharma, citing a “Mr. Fix-It” who reportedly believed he could solve the Indian team’s problems.

Sharma cut a dejected figure in the nets a day before play and it was announced he had decided to stand aside for this Test for the good of the side.

But eyebrows were raised again when he did a television interview midway through the SCG Test with an Indian broadcaster declaring he had no plans to retire.

It was a leaking dressing room, which hinted at fractures within the group, though the Indians have repeatedly dismissed those suggestions. But where there is smoke, there is often fire, and while they were extremely competitive Tests, the losses piled up.

Kohli’s shoulder charge of Konstas raised eyebrows, so too his dressing down of a female reporter at Melbourne Airport. The war of words between the Aussie teenager and Bumrah on Friday night at the SCG was an escalation of tensions.

And while there is a school of thought that if you dish it out, you should be able to take it back, the Australians were incensed when every Indian surrounded Konstas, and not the departing Usman Khawaja, at the end of a dramatic opening day. And what a day it was.

India was beaten on Sunday night but Ghambir was not silenced. It is clear he is trying to set a tone for his side.

Aside from a shot at Andrew McDonald for his complaints about the treatment of Konstas, the Indian coach made it clear senior batters did not put a high enough price on their wickets.

“Not a lot of people are playing for the first time in Australia,” Ghambir said.

“(Other than) Nitish (Kumar Reddy) and Yashasvi (Jaiswal), all the other guys have had the experience of Australia. So I’m not going to say that it is only because of some of the young guys (that we lost), but I think there are a lot of experienced players as well.

“A bit (of the batters’ struggle) could be because of the wickets. Then again, it’s not only the case in Australia. We’ve had the same issues at home as well. So I think everything boils down to temperament. Everything boils down to how much you want to sometimes play those tough moments.

“How much do you want to grind out Test cricket? Because your bowling department will always be under pressure if you can’t put those first-innings runs on the board.”

Indian legend Sunhil Gavaskar, meanwhile, raised questions about the commitment of stars including Kohli, who skipped a Test series against England last year for parenting duties.

He called on the BCCI to instil a sterner culture amid concerns about the fact Kohli has not played domestic cricket for a decade.

“I think the next eight to ten days are crucial for Indian cricket to take a good, honest look at itself,” Gavaskar said.

“Most importantly, the star culture has to end. Total commitment to Indian cricket is non-negotiable. Players must make themselves available every single time unless there’s a genuine medical emergency. If someone isn’t fully committed, they shouldn’t be considered for selection.”

THE CAPTAINCY CONUNDRUM FOR AN EVOLVING SIDE

India leaves Australia with massive question marks.

While Sharma declared he has not retired from Test cricket, he is 37-years-old and would have been dropped if he had not “stepped aside” from this Test.

Kohli’s average in the past five years is barely 30. If not for his status as an icon, he too may have lost his spot in the side.

Then there is the question of Bumrah. India will be hoping the current issue is only a temporary one and that there are no lasting ramifications from bowling the champion into the ground.

Who leads the side in the future is also in question.

Bumrah was at the helm for the brilliant performance in Perth and, if fit enough, may have led India to victory at the SCG as well, Fox Cricket expert Kerry O’Keeffe said.

“India just couldn’t match Australia when it really counted. But coming into this game at 2-1 down, if Bumrah had stayed fit, this would have been a different result,” O’Keeffe said.

“So they could have said, ‘Look, morally — I know it’s a word that England likes to use — it probably would have been 2-all if Bumrah had stayed fit, because he was that much a factor in this series with 32 wickets, and this is a pitch where in the second innings, he would have created real mayhem. But they were a bowler down and the support bowling hasn’t been strong enough.”

Former India coach Ravi Shastri, during a chat at the MCG midway through the Boxing Day Test, said that Bumrah had all the credentials to deliver for his nation for years to come in a senior role, be it as the skipper or simply as the leading quick.

“I think he’s very ambitious and he is a super reader of the game,” he said.

“I’ve seen very few bowlers who read batsmen that quickly and set them up as well as he does. I played with the great Malcolm Marshall and he had that ability to suss out the strengths and weaknesses of a batsman very quickly and zero in on that area. Jasprit is the same.

“And for me, what stands out is his temperament and the way he goes about his fast bowling job. He’s never frustrated. He is just someone who is, while quietly, super confident about his own ability. He’s got tremendous self belief in his own ability.

“And even when I was the coach, (I knew) this man doesn’t need a pitch (to suit him). He can bowl on any strip and win, and that’s exactly what his record is all about.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s India, Australia, the West Indies, South Africa or New Zealand. It doesn’t matter where he goes. He gets wickets.”

That is indisputable. Bumrah proved a record breaker in Australia. But cricket demonstrated again it is a team game, not an individual one. And even a champion as good as Bumrah buckled on the weight of trying to carry an entire side on his shoulders.