After a disappointing first day, India came out formidable on the second day, by taking quick wickets. Mohammad Siraj broke the long-stand partnership between Travis Head and Steve Smith. Although the bowlers were commendable as they were able to withstand Australia to 469 runs. The dashing opener Shubman Gill couldn’t assert his dominance. Shubman Gill was undone by a ball that darted back in from Scott Boland, and Pujara followed it with his dismissal in what was a spitting Image of his young India Teammate.
the batters failed to show the same fight barring Jadeja and Rahane none of the other batters were able to surpass 20 runs. India’s top four batters were engulfed by unfortunate dismissals, as they failed to deliver against Australia’s robust bowling, thus India find themselves looking down the barrel at 151/5, trailing Australia by a massive 318 runs with three days to go.
“It Was An Error In Judgement..” – Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri believes that Shubman Gill is young thus he will learn as he progresses further, but to see Pujara making the same mistake, it has left former India’s head coach baffled, as Pujara has plenty of experience playing in The Oval ground, for Counties thus he should know where his off-stump is, his leave was unsatisfactory and unseasoned. He stated While talking to AIR.
“That is leaving it poorly because the front foot has just gone across. It should be going towards the ball; he was looking to play it and then decided whether he should leave it. You see, the way he is leaving it, the off-stump is exposed. The front foot is still middle stump when it’s actually going towards off-stump. Watch that front foot. It should be further across and towards the ball. He though it was outside the off stump. It was an error in judgment,” Shastri told Air.
“We talk about leaving the ball in England and we always talk about knowing where your off stump is. This is not knowing where your off-stump is. See, Shubhman Gill being a little lazy with his footwork. He will learn; he is still young, but Pujara will be very disappointing seeing that. It should have been a little further towards the ball and across the line of the ball. That’s why they keep telling you- know where your off stump is,” he added.
Highlights of The Second Day:
India came out formidable on the 2nd day by snaring big wickets at a rapid succession. Mohammad Siraj gave an early breakthrough to India by eliminating Travis Head after he smacked a heroic inning of 163. Subsequently to Head’s departure, Cameron Green lost his wicket, too, by Axar Patel magnificent run out.
In- Form Batter Steven Smith reached the three figure mark only after 2 balls, but he too could not sustain longer as he was removed by Lord Thakur. Followed by the wickets of Pat Cummins, Starc, Carey, this withstood Aussie to 469 runs.
The bowling performance boosted confidence for the India team. However, this lead was short-lived as Aussies regained their dominance by dismissing India’s two explosive openers, Shubhman Gill and Rohit Sharma, before tea time. But the turning point came when Pujara was ousted by the star all-rounder Cameron Green and persisted Australia’s faith over him.
Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane seemed comfortable in between and played some outstanding shots, but this also hasn’t endured for long as Kohli lost his wicket by the bouncer tossed by Mitchell Starc. Then came Jadeja and ignited India’s hope by hitting some dynamic shots. However, that too didn’t last long as Nathan Lyon, on his first over, took away the wicket of the In form batter Ravindra Jadeja.
Now, all the eyes are set on Rahane and KS Bharat as they remain unbeaten at the end of the second day. They will look to capitalize on the score and will try to put up a struggle and fight against the Mighty Aussies on the third day.