Australia vs India 2018: 1st Test Match, Day 2 - Tea Report

India was able to dominate the second session of the second day as they took two wickets. Both the wickets by were taken by India’s premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Shaun Marsh was the first to go just after the lunch break as the southpaw batsman tried to go for the drive with hard hands. Ashwin bowled a fifth stump line which was chased by the left-hander.

Subsequently, Ashwin was also able to get the better of Usman Khawaja. The left-hander had faced 125 balls for his 28 runs and was looking settled. Ashwin floated the ball which took a bit of glove to India’s wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, who took a good catch.

India is keeping a lid on the proceedings.

The standing umpire Kumar Dharmasena decided to give the decision in favour of the batsman, which was challenged by Virat Kohli through the review. The hot spot showed a nick and India had their fourth wicket of the day. Thus, India has done a good job in their bowling innings so far.

Furthermore, Indian bowlers kept a tight grip on the proceedings. The visitors bowled as many as 20 maiden overs as there were no easy singles for the host’s batter. India’s skipper Virat Kohli’s captaincy was also aggressive. Kohli was guile in giving a small burst to his pacers as it is another hot day in Adelaide.

Meanwhile, Travis Head and Peter Handscomb were successful in putting the Indian bowlers at bay. Handscomb made good use of his feet to tackle the spin of Ravichandran Ashwin. Both the batsmen took their initial time and batted with guile.

Thus, it has been a good comeback from the Indian team. The visitors could not add anything to their overnight score as Mohammed Shami was dismissed on the first ball of the day.

Brief Scores: India: 250, Cheteshwar Pujara 123.

Australia: 117-4, Peter Handscomb 33*, Ravichandran Ashwin 3-38.