AUSTRALIA TOUR OF INDIA, 2023
A masterful 120 from skipper Rohit Sharma, followed by fifties from Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel ensured that India overcame hiccups through the second day of the Nagpur Test. Debutant Todd Murphy was the pick of Australia’s bowlers with a five-fer but as the day wore on, India firmly stamped their authority over the game.
A partnership worth 81 for the eighth wicket between Jadeja and Patel enhanced India’s position late in the day as the duo ground out a tiring Australian attack. Patel got his second Test fifty, and Jadeja his 18th as India’s lead swelled to 144 on a tricky pitch.
The tone for India’s batting was set by Rohit who anchored the innings with a clinical show against the spinners on a turning pitch.
Murphy was the bowler who had pushed India into tight spots in the first two sessions. After getting two wickets already in the first session, he added to his scalps by having Virat Kohli strangled down the legside off the first ball post the Lunch interval. Suryakumar Yadav, who swept his second ball in Test cricket for a boundary, did not last long thereafter. He was bowled through the gate while trying to drive Nathan Lyon, with India losing half their side while trailing by 8.
Rohit Sharma, who was nearing a hundred, then managed to get to his landmark with a chip over cover against Murphy. It gave him his eighth ton at home, and soon helped India take the lead.
Rohit was also given good support by Ravindra Jadeja, who managed to put away a few loose deliveries to the boundary and even survived a close LBW review against Murphy to help India build a lead after the hiccups.
Earlier in the day, India started similarly well with the overnight batters R Ashwin and Rohit putting on useful runs early on. Both were fortunate to get boundaries off outside edges but also managed to hit a six apiece – Rohit pulling Cummins over deep square leg and Ashwin slog-sweeping Lyon over midwicket – as their partnership frustrated Australia over the first half of the session.
The duo took their partnership into the forties and were beginning to settle down before Australia hit back. Murphy, sticking to a line from round the wicket, managed to strike Ashwin on the front pad. While the onfield call remained not out, Australia were confident in going for a review and it paid dividends as Ashwin was LBW on 23.
Australia then came up against a proactive Cheteshwar Pujara who managed to get a boundary early. But the approach brought about his downfall as he ended up trying to sweep a delivery from outside leg and ended up presenting a simple catch to short fine leg, and Murphy his third wicket. The spinner had gone up for a review against Rohit as well after hitting him on the pad, but Australia ended up losing that on both counts – for a catch as well as LBW.
But that remained the closest shave for Rohit, who otherwise remained largely blemish-free batting over three sessions, and guiding India through expertly. His dismissal on 120, bowled by a peach from Pat Cummins with the second new ball threatened to open the door again for Australia. India’s lead was 52 at this point and debutant KS Bharat was snapped up by Murphy as DRS adjudged him LBW on 8. But Australia’s hopes were firmly shut with Patel starting off in a stoic manner before hitting his stride against a tiring attack.
Australia’s woes were compounded when Jadeja was put down in the last over by Smith, leaving India with a good chance of building on the lead on the third day as well.
Brief Scores:
Australia 177 all out (Marnus Labuschagne 49; R Jadeja 5/47) trail India 321/7 (Rohit Sharma 120, Ravindra Jadeja 66*, Axar Patel 52*; Todd Murphy 5-82) by 144 runs
(Cricbuzz)