Adelaide. After falling behind Australia by 157 runs in the first innings, India is in deep trouble of defeat after losing five wickets at 128 runs at stumps on the second day of the second daynight Test on Saturday.
Like the first day, the second day also remained entirely in the name of Australia. Australia took a crucial lead of 157 runs after scoring 337 runs in the first innings with a brilliant century from Travis Head (140) and moved towards a serieslevelling victory by taking five wickets of India at stumps.
Like the first innings, India's top order also flopped in the second innings. Experienced batsman Lokesh Rahul returned to the pavilion after scoring seven runs, Virat Kohli scored 11 runs and captain Rohit Sharma scored six runs. Young batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal was out after scoring 24 runs and Shubman Gill was out after scoring 28 runs. For Australia, Pat Cummins and Scott Boland took two wickets each and Mitchell Starc took one wicket.
India are currently 29 runs behind Australia's lead and their last batting pair is at the crease. At the time of stumps, Rishabh Pant is at the crease with 28 runs in 25 balls with the help of five fours and Nitish Kumar Rana is at the crease with 15 runs in 14 balls with the help of three fours. Now it will be the responsibility of Pant and Nitish to save India from an innings defeat tomorrow.
Earlier, Head scored a brilliant 140 on his home ground – his eighth century in this format – as Australia scored 337 runs in 87.3 overs and took a lead of 157 runs after tea. It was a tremendous innings from Head, in which he hit some brilliant drives along with his usual freeflowing cuts and pulls and hit 17 fours and four sixes.
The second session started with Head and Mitchell Marsh hitting fours off Bumrah, before Bumrah tried to defend Ravichandran Ashwin's sliding offbreak, but the ball went to Pant and umpire Richard Illingworth. He walked out of the field even before it could be lifted.
Replays later showed Snicko's line to be flat, which meant Marsh had never touched the ball before. After swinging the ball for four runs, Head came forward on the pitch and hit a six over Bumrah's head. He again tried to hit a big shot over midon off Ashwin's ball, but the ball hit his toe and Mohammed Siraj dropped a difficult catch.
Head continued to hit boundaries and hit four brilliant boundaries off Harshit Rana, one of which went between the keeper and wide first slip. Head brought up his century in just 111 balls by taking a single to square leg and celebrated with a fistpumping and rockthebaby celebration, as well as holding the bat handle inside the helmet, and the spectators cheered for another one from the local boy. A loud noise was made in celebration of the memorable century.
Head attacked relentlessly, lofting, driving and thumping, before hitting three fours off Rana and another off Siraj. Although Siraj dismissed Alex Carey behind a drive to Pant for 15, Head continued to progress by clipping and flicking brilliantly and hit three fours and a six off the balls of Siraj and Bumrah, who were hit to the left. Spasms in the adductor area of the leg required medical attention.
But Siraj responded by bowling Head with a brilliant inswinging yorker, prompting him to go out, after which Head responded to the fast bowler and walked off the field to a standing ovation from the audience. Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins hit four fours between themselves, before Bumrah dismissed Cummins with a brilliant inswinger at tea.
Siraj wrapped up Australia's innings by dismissing Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland after tea. For India, Bumrah and Siraj took four wickets each while Ravichandran Ashwin and Nitish Kumar Reddy got one wicket each.
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Image Credit: KhasKhabar.