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There is never a dull moment on the field when Mohammed Siraj is bowling. Despite the 20 per cent fine and one demerit point, Siraj did not tone down his aggression. During the first session of Day 2 at The Gabba, Brisbane, Siraj walked past Marnus Labuschagne and then interchanged the bails, similar to what Stuart Broad did in The Ashes. Moments after as Siraj started walking back to his bowling mark, Labuschagne put the bails back to their original place. While the crowd cheered seeing Siraj's antics, it worked in India's favour as Labuschagne lost his wicket in the next over.
The incident took place in the 33rd over of Australia's first innings. After the second ball, Siraj walked up to Labuschagne and interchanged the bails. The distraction worked as in the next over bowled by Nitish Kumar Reddy, Labuschagne went for a booming drive away from his body and edged one to Virat Kohli at second slip. Labuschagne departed after scoring 12 runs from 55 balls.
In Siraj's next over, Steve Smith had a reprieve as umpire's call went in his favour despite offering no shot. However, Siraj faced discomfort while bowling his 11th over in the innings. After bowling the second ball of the 37th over, he had a problem in his left knee or hamstring. He tried to stretch and walk it off. After talking to the physio, he left the field and Akash Deep completed his over.
Earlier in the day, Jasprit Bumrah struck twice to dismiss both openers Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney. Khawaja edged one to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. McSweeney edged it to Kohli after scoring nine runs from 49 balls.
The game started half an hour early to make up for the lost time on Day 1 due to incessant rain.
