Rohit Sharma-led India have taken another big step towards cementing their spot in World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 final with a big win over Australia in the second Test at Arun Jaitley Stadium. After bundling out Australia for 113, India chased down the 115-run target in the second session and won the game by six wickets to ensure that they will retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy irrespective of remaining two Tests’ results.
Monumental collapse
On Day 3 morning, Australia collapsed like a pack of cards. Ravichandran Ashwin got the ball rolling with the wicket of Travis Head (43) in the first over. The veteran off-spinner followed it up with the wicket of Steve Smith (9) who was hard done by the lack of bounce in an attempt to sweep.
Then, Jadeja ran riot starting with the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne who got bowled by an arm ball. In no time, Jadeja ran through Australian batting lineup as they got all out for 113. Jadeja registered his best bowling figures of 7/42 as Australian batters crumbled under pressure.
Easy run chase
In the run chase of 115, opener KL Rahul (1) continued his poor run as he got out to the first delivery from Nathan Lyon. Rohit decided to take the attack to the opposition and started hitting boundaries. He took the aerial route and hit two sixes. However, his rampant knock came to an end after a terrible mix-up with Cheteshwar Pujara. He got run out after scoring 31 runs from 20 deliveries.
Virat Kohli reached a milestone during his short stay at the crease. Kohli became the fastest to 25,000 international runs breaking Sachin Tendulkar's record. Kohli got out stumped for the first time in his Test career trying to hit Todd Murphy. He scored 20 runs from 31 deliveries. Shreyas Iyer walked out with the intent to attack and hit a four and six each. Lyon dismissed Iyer who hit the ball straight to deep mid-wicket fielder.
Srikar Bharat decided to finish the game soon as well. Bharat did not refrain from taking the aerial route. He remained unbeaten for 23 off 22 deliveries including three fours and one six. On the other hand, Pujara in his 100th Test appearance scored 32 runs from 74 deliveries. He finished the run chase with a boundary.
Axar's counter-attacking knock
On Day 2, India lost three wickets in the first session and were under pressure. After Lyon's magical spell in the first session, Kohli and Jadeja stitched a crucial partnership. But Jadeja (26) lost his wicket to Murphy whereas Kohli (44) became victim to a controversial dismissal.
Bharat recorded a single-digit score as India were under pressure with 139/7. The 114-run partnership for the eighth wicket between Ashwin and Axar Patel helped India recover. Patel’s counter-attacking knock of 74 helped India post 262 and reduce the deficit to just one run.
Khawaja, Handscomb save Aussies
Earlier, Cummins won the toss and opted to bat first. David Warner's bad form continued. Usman Khawaja stood tall while Ashwin-Jadeja dominated on Day 1. Khawaja scored 81 and was removed after an excellet catch from Rahul. Handscomb batted with the tail and remained unbeaten for 72 to help his side post 263. Ashwin and Jadeja took three wickets each whereas Mohammed Shami bagged four.
