(Cricket news) Australia started day 2 well in control as they were 156/4 with a lead of 47. India kept things really tight at the start as they didn’t give away runs easily. The pressure was building and it resulted in Peter Handscome’s wicket from Ravichandran Ashwin’s ball. Umesh Yadav was brought into the attack and he showed exactly why his record in home Tests is incredible.
The seamer displayed some quality reverse swing bowling as he got rid of Cameron Green, Mitchell Starc and Todd Murphy. Ravichandran Ashwin came back into the attack to dismiss Alex Carey and Nathan Lyon. Australia were bowled out for 197 as the last 6 wickets fell for just 11 runs as India came back in incredible fashion after a disappointing day 1.
Trailing by 88 runs India needed to get a big score but their openers were once again dismissed cheaply. Shubman Gill tried to step out and hit Nathan Lyon over mid-on but completely missed the ball and was bowled. Lyon then trapped Rohit Sharma plum in front as India were struggling at 32/2. Virat Kohli just like the 1st innings started really well and looked confident. He tried to take on Matthew Kuhnemann but was soon out LBW after scoring 13 off 26. Lyon continued the onslaught as he got rid of Ravindra Jadeja and KS Bharat cheaply. Shreyas Iyer came on and immediately started counter attacking which took India past the 100 run mark.
Mitchell Starc was brought back to try and emulate the reverse swing that Umesh Yadav got. He failed to do so but still managed to dismiss Shreyas Iyer who was starting to look dangerous. Ravichandran Ashwin played a decent cameo of 16 off 28. He was also trapped in front by Nathan Lyon who completed a fantastic fifer. Cheteshwar Pujara stood tall during this entire time. He scored 59 off 142 balls and played a gem of a knock when India needed it the most. Pujara was really sure in his defense and he attacked when the opportunity came.
The Saurashtra batter’s footwork was incredible which forced the bowlers to do something different. In the end he was dismissed by Nathan Lyon thanks to a brilliant catch by Steve Smith at leg slip. Lyon trapped Umesh Yadav in front on the very next ball but the decision was reversed after a review. However Umesh Yadav hammered the next ball straight into the hands of Cameron Green at deep mid wicket. Lyon got his 8th wicket by dismissing Mohammed Siraj as Axar Patel was once again left stranded on the non-striker end. India were bowled out for just 163 leaving Australia a target of just 76 runs.
Also read: NZ announce unchanged squad for Test series against Sri Lanka; to tour UAE in August
