Australia vs India 2018: 2nd Test Match, Perth - Lunch Report

Australia’s skipper Tim Paine won his first toss as the captain of the side and decided to bat first in new Optus Stadium of Perth. The hosts had already announced their playing XI whereas India had two forced changes in their final XI. The visitors went with an all-pace attack after they noticed a tinge of green grass on the surface. Thus, Umesh Yadav was included in place of injured Ravichandran Ashwin.

Furthermore, Hanuma Vihari replaced the injured Rohit Sharma. Meanwhile, Indian bowlers could not hit the right areas in the first session. They were too short in their length (they bowled more than 50% short deliveries) and failed to ask the right questions from the Australian openers.

It was Australia’s session hands down.

In fact, Australia’s openers Aaron Finch and Marcus Harris batted with gumption. Finch showed a great defensive technique as his bat and pad came together on the ball. Consequently, Finch body weight towards the ball was more sorted out as compared to the first Test. Moreover, the right-hander was quick to pounce on any loose delivery and also picked up quick singles on the off-side.

On the other hand, Marcus Harris who had impressed in the first Test match, took his time to get off the mark. However, the southpaw looked more at ease after he smashed Ishant Sharma to two straight boundaries in the V. Hence, both the Australian openers kept the Indian bowlers at bay and added 66 runs in the opening session to give a solid start to their team.

Meanwhile, Ishant Sharma bowled at an innocuous speed of 128 km/h and could not find his top form. In fact, the lanky fast bowler was either a tad tired or he was overthinking of overstepping the popping crease.

The closest India got to taking a wicket in the opening session was when Mohammed Shami trapped Finch in front of the wickets. Nigel Llong got his decision right as the ball was missing the stumps by a whisker and the tourists lost their review. Shami once again hit Finch on the pads on the next ball, however, Nigel Llong was once again unmoved.

Brief Scores: Australia: 66-0 , Aaron Finch 28*, Marcus Harris: 36*