Prasidh Krishna took 3 for 42 from his 15 overs. © Getty
India's pace pack presented a good account of themselves on the second day to restrict Australia to 181 and earning a minor four-run first innings lead. For the latter half of the innings, they were even without their captain and main bowler Jasprit Bumrah who had been spotted leaving the ground in a car in training gear, for what could presumably be for scans.
In the absence of Bumrah through that second session, however, India's younger crew stepped up. Nitish Reddy had two wickets in two balls as he had both Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc nicking off. The slip cordon did not drop any through the day, and it was only enhanced when Prasidh Krishna had Beau Webster caught at gully for 57. Webster was the lone batter that kept hitting back playing percentage cricket right through and holding the Australian innings together. He had initially helped them recover from a top-order stutter alongside Steve Smith in the first session.
India had got a good start with the ball on day two with both Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj testing the batters early. On the green-pitch with high seam movement, the sun being out made little difference to how difficult batting would prove to be. After the late strike on day one, Bumrah was at it again early on day two when he had Marnus Labuschagne nicking behind, adjudged on review.
Sam Konstas took the adventurous route out against Bumrah, reverse-lapping him for boundary or walking down to drive him down the ground. It enabled Australia to punch back but the counter could not last long. Siraj too found his rhythm outside off, moving the ball away from a good length. It eventually got the better of Konstas who edged to gully. Siraj's attacking lengths allowed Travis Head to clip one off his pads but in the same over he had him nicking to the slip cordon leaving them precariously poised at 39/4 inside the first hour.
However, on his home ground, Steve Smith managed to survive a few plays and misses while also leaving the ball well. He had some release shots on offer when Prasidh Krishna came on to bowl. India's third frontline pacer was not consistent with his lengths like Bumrah or Siraj, and that enabled Smith to both pull and drive crucial boundaries. In Webster, he also found a more than adequate partner to counter India's change-up bowling options as the runs began to trickle in. The duo added 57 runs for the fifth wicket as the wicket started to ease out a little more as the sun shone.
But against the run of play, as Steve Smith was approaching the milestone of 10000 Test runs he fell for 33, edging Prasidh Krishna to second slip. It gave India a much-needed fillip which they carried on into the next session
Brief scores: Australia 181 all out (Beau Webster 57, Steve Smith 33; Prasidh Krishna 3-42) trail India 185 by 4 runs.
India's pace pack presented a good account of themselves on the second day to restrict Australia to 181 and earning a minor four-run first innings lead. For the latter half of the innings, they were even without their captain and main bowler Jasprit Bumrah who had been spotted leaving the ground in a car in training gear, for what could presumably be for scans.
In the absence of Bumrah through that second session, however, India's younger crew stepped up. Nitish Reddy had two wickets in two balls as he had both Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc nicking off. The slip cordon did not drop any through the day, and it was only enhanced when Prasidh Krishna had Beau Webster caught at gully for 57. Webster was the lone batter that kept hitting back playing percentage cricket right through and holding the Australian innings together. He had initially helped them recover from a top-order stutter alongside Steve Smith in the first session.
India had got a good start with the ball on day two with both Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj testing the batters early. On the green-pitch with high seam movement, the sun being out made little difference to how difficult batting would prove to be. After the late strike on day one, Bumrah was at it again early on day two when he had Marnus Labuschagne nicking behind, adjudged on review.
Sam Konstas took the adventurous route out against Bumrah, reverse-lapping him for boundary or walking down to drive him down the ground. It enabled Australia to punch back but the counter could not last long. Siraj too found his rhythm outside off, moving the ball away from a good length. It eventually got the better of Konstas who edged to gully. Siraj's attacking lengths allowed Travis Head to clip one off his pads but in the same over he had him nicking to the slip cordon leaving them precariously poised at 39/4 inside the first hour.
However, on his home ground, Steve Smith managed to survive a few plays and misses while also leaving the ball well. He had some release shots on offer when Prasidh Krishna came on to bowl. India's third frontline pacer was not consistent with his lengths like Bumrah or Siraj, and that enabled Smith to both pull and drive crucial boundaries. In Webster, he also found a more than adequate partner to counter India's change-up bowling options as the runs began to trickle in. The duo added 57 runs for the fifth wicket as the wicket started to ease out a little more as the sun shone.
But against the run of play, as Steve Smith was approaching the milestone of 10000 Test runs he fell for 33, edging Prasidh Krishna to second slip. It gave India a much-needed fillip which they carried on into the next session
Brief scores: Australia 181 all out (Beau Webster 57, Steve Smith 33; Prasidh Krishna 3-42) trail India 185 by 4 runs.