On day 2 of the IND vs AUS 1st Test, all three sessions of the second day were in the name of India, in which the opening pair, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal, completely dominated the Australian attack in two sessions. India is in a strong position due to the half-centuries of Rahul and Jaiswal, and both returned to the pavilion unbeaten. Now on the third day, Australia will have to work hard to come back in the match.
Steady start by the openers of India on day 2 IND vs AUS 1st Test
Rahul and Jaiswal gave the Indian team a steady start on day 2 of IND vs AUS, as well as carried their innings forward with control. Rahul kept leaving the balls outside the off stump while Jaiswal also did not take much risk. Although there was an opportunity in the slip against Jaiswal in Mitchell Starc’s over, Usman Khawaja could not get under the ball in time.
While Rahul saw a close run to be passed during the 42nd over of the Indian innings and the bowling of Nathan Lyon.
Excepting these two things, most of the day was left with the Australians having a heavy shoulder. The only positive moment for the Australian team came in the last wickets of the innings when Mitchel Starc with Josh Hazlewood took the innings of Australia beyond 100.
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However, despite a paltry score in the first innings, it was India that had a lead of 46 runs, and in the second innings, Rahul and Jaiswal batted as if they were sharing more runs than India had scored in the first innings. It is the second-highest partnership by an Indian opening pair in Australia.
The Rahul-Jaiswal pair in IND vs AUS Test, is also the first Indian opening pair to share a century partnership in Tests in Australia after 2004. Earlier, Virender Sehwag and Aakash Chopra had shared a 123-run partnership in Sydney. Though Rahul looked in good rhythm in the first innings as well, he was given out in a debatable decision.
In the second innings, Rahul maintained his rhythm, and his straight drive at the start of the innings was even declared the shot of the match by Cheteshwar Pujara. On the second day, Rahul was leaving the balls with his bat back behind the pads, so that the Aussie attack failed miserably to get outside edge of Rahul’s bat.
On the other hand, Jaiswal faced more balls in the beginning and he completed his half-century much before Rahul. After the half-century, Jaiswal also changed his gear and did not hesitate to step out to get a six off Lyon’s ball. With this six, Jaiswal also became the batsman who hit the most sixes in a calendar year in Tests.
Jaiswal’s innings were definitely controlled but between those shots, he was getting tempted to play drives, due to which one of his catches was also dropped in slip. According to ESPNcricinfo Smart Stats data, while Jaiswal had control over a total of 83 percent of the shots in his innings, Rahul played shots with 89 percent control. Consequently, Jaiswal hit seven fours as well as two sixes by taking risks.
Australia will have to begin the third day of IND vs AUS Test from the same position from where it began the second day. Australia, which had been at a loss of seven wickets for 67 on the first day, lost its eighth wicket in the form of Alex Carey in Jasprit Bumrah’s over on the first ball of the second over of the day.
Along with the taking of a wicket, this bowling figure of Bumrah is the best bowling figure in an innings after Kapil Dev as an Indian Test captain.
Australia’s ninth wicket had fallen at a score of 79 in the form of Lyon, but after this, Starc took charge of one end and faced more than 100 balls. Using the fourth and fifth bowling options, Nitish Kumar Reddy (3 overs) and Washington Sundar (2 overs) for the first time on the second day itself, skipper Bumrah completed the last wicket of the innings.
Harshit Rana, who took Lyon’s wicket, made Starc his third victim on debut and stopped Australia at its third-lowest score at home and with this, the lunch was announced.
