India 150 and 172 for 0 (Jaiswal 90*, Rahul 62*) lead Australia 104 (Bumrah 5-30, Rana 3-48) by 218 runs
Jaiswal closed in on a brilliant century and finished 90 not out, while a resolute Rahul was unbeaten on 62 as India reached stumps on 172 for 0 with a lead of 218 runs.
A remarkable 17 wickets fell on a madcap opening day, but there were long periods of attrition on the second day which yielded only three wickets. It was a return to somewhat normalcy as a crowd of 32,368 at times resorted to Mexican waves and chants for entertainment.
India did not mind playing a sedate tempo. Jaiswal reached his half-century off 123 balls – his slowest 50 of his short Test career – and Rahul registered his in 124 deliveries. The unbroken partnership has exceeded the first innings totals of either team.
After an unlikely first innings lead of 46 runs, the fifth highest by any team making 150 or fewer while batting first, India’s position in the series-opener has been considerably strengthened as Jaiswal and Rahul batted through two sessions.
Jaiswal left the ball well and looked compact in defence. He had learned the lessons from the first innings and made sure he did not push at the ball hard. There was some trademark aggression like when he uppercut Cummins over the slips and swatted Starc over deep square leg, but he mostly unfurled textbook strokes through the covers and down the ground. Late in the day he skipped down at Nathan Lyon to send him into the stands over long-on.
Australia’s pace attack could not replicate their brilliant performance on the opening day. Perhaps feeling weary having to back up so quickly, Australia seemed helpless on a wicket that appeared to flatten amid sunny conditions. There was still some movement off the surface and occasional inconsistent bounce, but conditions were more benign.
Australia, though, were conservative at times with fielders in the deep underlining Jaiswal’s dominance, while seven bowlers were used with Marnus Labuschagne unsuccessfully unfurling his much-publicised short-ball strategy.
Like in India’s first innings, Cummins once again looked slightly underdone in his first red-ball match since the New Zealand Test tour in March. He closed with figures of 0 for 44 from 13 overs.
Australia did not take their chances with Jaiswal having a let off on 51 when he edged Starc only for Usman Khawaja to drop a tough chance low down at first slip. There was a missed run out opportunity on the next delivery when Rahul backed up too far, but the openers regrouped to continue India’s remarkable turnaround.
When play started, there had been an outside chance that the match could end within two days. Bumrah continued to speed up proceedings with a wicket off his first delivery of the morning when he nicked off in-form Alex Carey for 21.
Bumrah’s length and movement off the wicket was a constant menace as he threatened on almost every delivery. But it was debutant Harshit Rana who was rewarded for his hostile spell as he dismissed Lyon with a sharp bouncer that caught the glove and ballooned to the slips cordon.
At 79 for 9, Australia were in danger of being dismissed for their lowest score against India and overtaking their infamous 83 in the MCG in 1981.
But Starc, who after play on day one had stated that the pitch wasn’t as difficult to bat on as the scoreboard suggested, dug in and found a willing ally in Hazlewood. They put on 26 – the highest partnership of the innings – in 18 overs for the last wicket.
Starc had to withstand a short-pitch barrage from Rana as the former Kolkata Knight Riders team-mates engaged in a war of words. There was mock applause from the terraces when Australia reached 100 – a landmark that seemed unlikely for much of their innings.
Debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy and offspinner Washington Sundar, who was surprisingly included over veterans R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, entered the attack and bowled steadily during the match’s first sedate period of play. They could not provide a breakthrough as a frustrated India appeared set to have to ponder their approach through the lunch break.
But just before the interval, Starc lost his running battle with Rana as he holed out in a tame way to end a fighting knock. He top scored with 26 off 112 balls – more than double the next most deliveries faced of 52 from Labuschagne.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth
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