India vs Aus Cricket Blog: India End Day 2 at 248/6, Trail by 52
All the latest from Day 2 of the India-Australia Test in Dharamsala.
Stumps on Day 2
Australia’s star on Day 2? Nathan Lyon.
After lunch, Lyon picked four wickets starting with the immovable Cheteshwar Pujara.
Starting the last session at 153/2, India lost four wickets and added 95 runs in the 31 overs till stumps on day two.
Ravindra Jadeja and Wriddhiman Saha are batting on 16 and 10, respectively.
India: 248/6, trail by 52 runs with 4 wickets remaining in the first innings.
Lyon Breaks India's Momentum; Gets Rahane, Ashwin
Nathan Lyon strikes again, and again, as Ravichandran Ashwin follows Indian captain Ajinkya Rahane back to the hut.
After Rahane took a great catch to send Smith packing in their first innings, the Australian captain returns the favour. Rahane out on 46. Lyon catches Ashwin (30) on the back foot, and spins this past his inside edge to pick his fourth wicket of the innings.
With that, Lyon breaks India’s momentum.
Ravindra Jadeja and Wriddhiman Saha at the crease for India
India Cross 200
5 boundaries in 17 deliveries, and India is back on track.
Ravichandran smashes fours on two consecutive deliveries as India cross 200 for the loss of 4 wickets. The hosts still trail Australia by 98 runs.
Australia use the first DRS review of the match. The visitors lose their review and Ajinkya Rahane remains at 41 after the lbw off O’Keefe’s bowling.
Lyon Strikes Again
India losing control as Nathan Lyon strikes again. Karun Nair tries defending but the ball hits the glove, into the thigh pad and easily slips into Wade’s gloves.
Ravichandran Ashwin walks in. Let’s see how this spinner fares with the bat against the Aussies.
Pujara Out on 57
Nathan Lyon picks his first wicket of the innings as India lose key batsman Cheteshwar Pujara for 57 runs.
Pujara is caught by Handscomb off Lyon’s spin delivery.
Karun Nair replaces Pujara.
India: 166/3, trail by 134 runs
Tea on Day 2
India go into the second break of Day 2 with 153 runs on the board for the loss of 2 wickets. The hosts still trail Australia, who scored 300 in their first innings, by 147 runs.
After losing one wicket in the first session and going to lunch at 64/1, the hosts added 89 runs in the 32 runs and lost one more wicket since.
Pujara Scores 50 as India Reach 150
Cheteshwar Pujara brings up his fifteenth half-century in Tests off 132 balls. With that, India cross 150 and trail the Aussies by 149 runs.
At the other end of the crease is India’s captain for the match, Ajinkya Rahane. Rahane is filling in for Virat Kohli who was ruled out of the decider due to the shoulder injury he picked in Ranchi.
Pujara’s Last Match Before 'Summer Vacations' Start
Besides being India’s last match in whites this season, the Dharamsala Test is also Cheteshwar Pujara’s last game before he become a mere spectator of the Indian Premier League for the next two months.
Not considering the Dharamsala Test, Pujara is the highest scorer in the Test season so far and the number two batsman in the ICC Test batsman rankings.
KL Rahul Falls to Cummins
Steve Smith breaths a sigh of relief as KL Rahul is caught by Warner off Pat Cummins’ delivery.
Rahul out on 60.
Captain Ajinkya Rahane walks in to bat.
India Cross 100
Cheteshwar Pujara and KL Rahul help India cross 100 after lunch on day two of the Test series decider in Dharamsala. The Aussies have so far managed to pick just one wicket.
Fun Fact: Australia reached hundred in day one’s first session.
KL Rahul Scores Series' Fifth 50
KL Rahul brings up his fifth fifty of the series and sixth overall in Tests with another stunning four down midwicket.
Australians in desperate need for a wicket as Rahul and Pujara power on.
Lunch on Day 2
KL Rahul and Murali Vijay remain unbeaten as the teams end the first session of the second day of the Dharamsala Test.
India: 64/1 in 28 overs (Rahul: 31*, Pujara: 22*, Hazlewood: 1/16)
At lunch on Day 1, Australia were at 131/1 in 31 overs. Both David Warner and Steve Smith scored half-centuries in the first session on Saturday.
India Cross 50 in 20.5 Overs
KL Rahul punches the ball between the bowler and mid-on for a lovely four. India cross 50 in 20.5 overs.
India scoring at a slower pace as compared to Australia in the first innings.
Murali Vijay Falls to Josh Hazlewood
Josh Hazlewood rewarded for constantly attacking the line outside the off-stump with Vijay edging him to wicketkeeper Matthew Wade.
Breakthrough for the Aussies as the opener falls for 11 runs.
In walks Cheteshwar Pujara.
KL Rahul, Murali Vijay at the Crease
In the first five overs of the day, KL Rahul (5) and Murali Vijay (6) have taken India’s total to 11 for the loss of no wickets. The hosts now trail Australia by 289 runs.
Slight scare for Vijay in the third over. A casual shot lobbed in David Warner’s direction but the ball dropped short.
Day 2 of Series Decider in Dharamsala
Indian openers KL Rahul and Murali Vijay batted just one over on Day 1 of the Test series decider, to trail Australia by their first innings total of 300 runs. The hosts did not score any runs or lose a wicket in the one over bowled by Josh Hazlewood before stumps were drawn.
Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav made a memorable debut with a four-wicket haul that negated Steve Smith's defiant hundred as India bowled out Australia on the opening day of the fourth and final Test in Dharamsala.
Also Read: In Stats: Kuldeep Stars on Debut, Ashwin Enters Record Books
Kuldeep Yadav impressed many with his debut stint, but what about his bowling– apart from the chinaman delivery– makes him so special?
Cricket expert Nishant Arora explains.
David Warner, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell and Pat Cummins are the four scalps Yadav has in his kitty, but which of the wickets did he enjoy the most?
Pat Cummins it was. Here’s how the chinaman bowler plotted the Aussie’s wicket.
Also Read: Kuldeep Yadav Describes How He Plotted Handscomb’s Wicket
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