India managed to peg back the Aussies and halt them at 259-5 at the end of day 1 of the Boxing Day Test (3rd Test Match) at Melbourne. When the stumps were drawn, both the teams shared the honours on day 1 with the Aussies just ahead courtesy their long tail and India’s history of conceding some crucial runs to the opposition’s tailenders.
Indian bowlers looked confident throughout the day and bowled to their potential and applied the brakes on the scoring rate which was nearing 4 during lunch to less than 3 at stumps. Steve Smith continued his great form as he ended the day on an unbeaten 72 in the company of Brad Haddin who is batting on 23.
After choosing to bat, Australia lost the wicket of David Warner in the second over of the day as he edged Umesh Yadav straight into the hands of Shikhar Dhawan at third slip. Shane Watson looked sloppy when he came out to bat but settled on and along with opener Chris Rogers, he frustrated the Indian bowling attack with some splendid shots as the duo reached their fifty before getting out to R Ashwin and Mohammad Shami respectively.
Skipper Steve Smith, who is in the form of his life started cautiously and once when he set his eye in, he went for his shots and reached his half-century. In the mean time, Australia lost thw wickets of Shaun Marsh and Joe Burns who were caught behind off Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav respectively.
Australia will look to pile up some quick runs when they come out to bat on day 2 which might be the difference in determining the outcome of this match. Steve Smith remains crucial for Australia in getting a big total on the board.
Scorecard:
Australian Innings (Ist Innings):
|
Batsmen |
Dismissal |
Runs |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
|
Chris Rogers |
c Dhoni b Mohammed Shami |
57 |
126 |
5 |
0 |
|
David Warner |
c Dhawan b Yadav |
0 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
|
Shane Watson |
lbw b Ashwin |
52 |
89 |
4 |
0 |
|
Steve Smith |
not out |
72 |
158 |
4 |
1 |
|
Shaun Marsh |
c Dhoni b Mohammed Shami |
32 |
83 |
4 |
0 |
|
Joe Burns |
c Dhoni b Yadav |
13 |
27 |
2 |
0 |
|
Brad Haddin |
not out |
23 |
53 |
1 |
1 |
|
Extras |
(b 1, lb 6, w 1, nb 2) |
10 |
|
|
|
|
Total |
90 overs |
259-5 |
To bat: MG Johnson, RJ Harris, JR Hazlewood, NM Lyon.
Indian Bowling:
|
Bowlers |
Overs |
Maidens |
Runs |
Wickets |
Economy |
|
Ishant Sharma |
21 |
6 |
54 |
0 |
2.57 |
|
Umesh Yadav |
20 |
2 |
69 |
2 |
3.45 |
|
Mohammed Shami |
17 |
4 |
55 |
2 |
3.23 |
|
R Ashwin |
27 |
7 |
60 |
1 |
2.22 |
|
Murali Vijay |
5 |
0 |
14 |
0 |
2.80 |
More to Follow….