Melbourne: India have the upper hand in the Boxing Day Cricket Test against Australia. India beat Australia by 195 runs in the first innings of the second Test of the series.
At stumps on the first day, India were 36 for one. Opener Shubhman Gill (28 off 38 balls, including five fours) and Cheteshwar Pujara (seven) were at the crease. India lost the wicket of Mayank Agarwal. Mayank was caught by Mitchell Stark in front of the wicket after facing six balls.
India’s goal is to take the lead without losing more wickets on the pitch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Pacer Jaspreet Bumra took four wickets for 56 runs and off-spinner R.S. It was Ashwin who smashed Australia. Debutant pacer Mohammad Siraj also made his debut. Siraj took two wickets for 40 runs in 15 overs. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja took one wicket. Marnus Labushage (two not out), Travis Head (38 off 92 balls) and Matthew Wade (30 off 39 balls) were the main contributors to Australia’s innings.
Australia captain and wicketkeeper Tim Payne won the toss and elected to bat first. Boomera began to chase Australia, dismissing opener Joe Burns for zero. Burns, who faced 10 balls, batted for the ball that went out of Bumra and was caught by wicketkeeper Rishabh. With Wade and Labushage joining for the first wicket, it looked as if Australia would be in a better position. The tie fell when off-spinner Ashwin was caught by Jadeja trying to cross-bat. Shubhman, who ran for the catch, collided with Gill but the ball was safe in Jadeja’s hands.
Former skipper Steev Smith (0) also fell victim to Ashwin as he added three more runs to the scoreboard. Smith, who tried to glance at Ashwin, missed. Smith fell into the trap set by Indian captain Ajinkya Rahane. At bat, the ball landed safely in the hands of Pujara from the leg gully. In the first Test too, Ashwin tactfully dismissed Smith, who was dismissed after 52 innings. He did not fare well in the first innings of the first Test in Adelaide. Smith, who scored a run in the first innings, opened the scoring in the second innings before Australia won.
By the time Smith returned, Australia were 38 for three. With Travis head joining Labushage, an innings partnership was born. The Head-Labushan duo crossed the 100 mark with a run off the bad balls before the experiment. They also failed to lead the team to a good score. Head’s attempt to push the ball away from Bumra’s off stump failed. Rahane, who was waiting, broke the tie with a smashing catch. Labushane’s apologetic innings also ended in an unnecessary shot. The Australian star drove on without understanding the direction of Mohammad Siraj’s ball. This time the ball is safe in the hands of Shubhman Gill. Siraj’s maiden Test wicket was aided by another maiden.
Australia were left reeling after Labushan was sent off. Cameron Green (12) was caught for the second wicket in the Siraj Test. Captain Tim Payne (13) was handed over to Ashwin Hanuma Vihari. Nathan Lyon’s ODI batting style brings the score close to 200. Lyon hit 20 off 17 balls, including a six and two fours, before Bumra caught the wicket. Pat Cummins (nine) and Mitchell Stark (seven) returned unbeaten. Umesh Yadav was the only Indian batsman not to take a wicket.
Applause for Rahane
Virat Kohli will be replaced by Test captain Ajinkya Rahane. Rahane’s captaincy has reduced Australia to less than 200.
On a batting-friendly pitch in Melbourne, Rahane cleverly trapped the Australian batsmen through close-fielding and frequent bowling. Former India captains Virender Sehwag and VVS have said that Rahane’s fielding arrangements were excellent. Lakshman also said. Australia spin legend Shane Warne has said Rahane’s captaincy is outstanding. Rahane bowled the first five overs with Bumra and six overs with Umesh Yadav.
Meanwhile, Bumra also bowled three overs. Rahane also dared to bowl off-spinner Ashwin in the 12th over. Ashwin kept Rahane’s hopes alive by dismissing Matthew Wade and Steev Smith. Mohammad Siraj was given only six overs in the first spell.
Former Australia fast bowler Glenn McGrath has praised Rahane’s tactics of not using Siraj as a change bowler. McGrath said Rahane shocked Australia by bowling Ashwin. McGrath pointed out that Rahane was also ahead in using Ravindra Jadeja as Ashwin’s replacement.
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