It has been an intriguing day of cricket between bat and a ball followed by a healthy banter from the players of both the sides which fortunately did not cross the line at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. It has been a hard-fought contest from both the sides as Australia edged past by dominating the third session as they have taken a crucial lead of 48 while losing just a single wicket in the session.
At the stumps of Day Two, Australia scored 237 for six in 106 overs with Matthew Wade batting on 25 off 68 balls and Mitchell Starc 14 off 19 balls.
Earlier, India has bogged down many chances which would have changed the scenario of the ongoing Test match had they held on the chances.
In the final session, Australia came back strongly after initial hiccups to add to the vital lead as the left-handed batsman Shaun Marsh (66 off 197 balls) had shown the whole lot of resilience with the bat alongside wicket-keeper batsman Matthew Wade as both put on 57 runs for the sixth wicket.
Fast bowler Umesh Yadav bagged the hard-fought wicket in his 22nd over when Marsh gave a simple catch to Karun Nair at the short mid-wicket. Marsh, who scored sixth fifty of his Test career, batted for 229 minutes before making a way for Mitchell Starc.
As Australia survived few close calls, the cherry also found the edge of the Australian batters which fell short of the slip fielders.
However, Australia lost three wickets during the post-lunch session as visitors score was 163 for five while adding 76 in the second session.
Ishant Sharma, who had bent his back to bowl the longer spells during the day achieved the reward for the day when he trapped Mitchell Marsh (0 off 11 balls) in front of the stumps which also kept low before tea was taken.
Interestingly, Kohli was seen pumping the Bengaluru crowd by waving his arms to make some noise at the stroke of tea.
Peter Handscomb (16 off 30 balls), who looked better with the bat early on, was caught by Ravichandran Ashwin when the ball popped out from his hand to collect the second attempt as the ball rolled back on his arm to take a clean catch.
It was left-arm spinner Jadeja, who was the pick of the bowlers even as he was underused earlier by skipper Kohli, who seemed to rely on his fast bowlers for the day. Jadeja bagged three wickets after bowling 17 overs by conceding 49 runs.
The moments during the day had further left fans awestruck and such things make Test cricket even more interesting for the fans where we have also seen a marathon of overs just like lanky fast bowler Ishant Sharma bowled, who earlier mocked Kangaroos skipper Steven Smith while making a funny face.
The rookie Matt Renshaw has been a find of the tournament so far for the Australia and looked solid for his side where the balls kept low and some took off from the surface which had a lot on offer for the spinners.
Renshaw (60 off 196 balls), who added 50 crucial runs for the third wicket with Shaun Marsh undone by Ravindra Jadeja when he fired the ball down the leg side to see Renshaw getting the left-hander stump from Saha.
After adding important 30 runs for the second wicket Smith (8 off 52 balls) was caught by wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha when a ball hit Smith’s bat before hitting the pad which lobbed up in the air showed how India bowled against Australia.
At lunch, Australia were 87 for two in 45 overs as India dominated the first session against the visitors who added just 47 runs in 30 overs as India’s 189 looked competitive total at a stage when bowlers kept things under control for the hosts.
Earlier, Australia resumed from the overnight score of 40 for two in 16 overs, it was India all over visitors in the first session who have had made a comeback in the 22nd over and sixth of the second day when off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin pitched the ball outside leg which eventually went on to hit David Warner’s (33 off 67 balls) off-stump who had no clue whatsoever as Virat Kohli and Co. drew the first blood of the day after Nathan Lyon’s eight star performance on Day One of the second Test.
Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin bagged a wicket each on Day Two.
Brief Scores:
Day Two, M Chinnaswamy Stadium:
Australia 237 for six in 106 overs; Matthew Wade 25* off 68 balls and Mitchell Starc 14* off 19 balls
Australia is leading by 48 runs with four wickets in hand.
Ravindra Jadeja picked 3 wickets in 17 overs after giving away 49 runs.