Adelaide: The second day of the pink ball Test produced some exhilarating cricket, but Team India were at the receiving end for the most part of Saturday. And at stumps, Rohit Sharma’s men were staring at defeat.
After Travis Head’s belligerent 140 (141 balls, 17×4, 4×6) handed Australia a lead of 157 runs, India were tottering at 128/5 in the second innings with three days remaining in the day-night Test. The fearless Rishabh Pant (batting 28) and Nitish Reddy (batting 15) are at the crease, but it will require a miracle for India to deny Australia a series-levelling win after the visitors had recorded a resounding 295-run triumph in the opening Test at Perth.
Head, who has hurt India before also — including a matchwinning century in the 2021 World Test Championship final – was lucky a couple of times as he offered difficult chances, but the left-hander simply blasted India out of the game.
He didn’t even spare the incomparable Jasprit Bumrah, hitting him for boundaries at will, as he did against Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana and R Ashwin.
Bumrah (4/61) struck two important blows in the first session, removing Nathan McSweeney and Steve Smith. But then came Head and launched a brutal assault on Indian bowlers in partnership with Marnus Labuschagne (64) and Alex Carey.
Siraj (4/98) finally castled Head and gave him a nasty send-off, only to be booed by the huge crowd at Adelaide Oval. Siraj and Bumrah then polished off the Aussie tail with the second new ball, but India were up against it facing a big deficit.
Though Indian batters scored briskly, they kept losing wickets too.
KL Rahul (7) fell trying to hook Pat Cummins, Yashasvi Jaiswal (24) edged Scott Boland’s first ball to wicketkeeper Carey. Virat Kohli (11) was also caught-behind off Boland, while Shubman Gill’s promising and elegant knock of 28 was cut short by a Mitchell Starc beauty.
Skipper Rohit Sharma’s uncomfortable stay at the crease (6 off 15 balls) was ended by Cummins who breached his opposite number’s defence to hit the off stump.
Pant played some audacious shots like only he can, but it looks a bridge too far for India.
Brief Scores
India 1st innings: 180
Australia 1st innings: 337 in 87.3 overs (Travis Head 140, Marnus Labuschagne 64; Jasprit Bumrah 4/61, Md Siraj 4/98).
India 2nd innings: 128/5 in 24 overs (Shubman Gill 28, Rishabh Pant batting 28; Pat Cummins 2/33, Scott Boland 2/39).
Day/night Test to continue on Day 3.
