India had the odds heavily stacked against them when they turned up for the 2nd Test against Australia at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) on Boxing Day (26th December 2020). There were speculations that India have panicked and were looking to make wholesome changes to their starting XI. There were whispers about how India without their regular skipper, Virat Kohli looks a rudderless side. To add to India’s woes, stand-in India captain, Ajinkya Rahane lost the toss, and Australian captain, Tim Paine having won the toss had no hesitation in choosing to bat first. Australia made no changes to their playing XI, while India made 4 changes to their starting XI. India handed out debuts to Shubman Gill and Mohammad Siraj who replaced Prithvi Shaw and Mohammad Shami respectively. While Rishabh Pant replaced Wriddhiman Saha as the wicket-keeper and allrounder Ravindra Jadeja replaced Virat Kohli.
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How did the first-day pan out?
Indian bowling was right on the money against the Australian batting line-up. Jasprit Bumrah repeatedly beat opener, Joe Burns, before dismissing him for a duck. The fellow opener, Matthew Wade looked adventurous in his brief stay and was willing to take on the Indian bowling. Captain Rahane introduced off-spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin into the attack pretty early looking at the moisture in the pitch and the move immediately paid rich dividends. Ashwin induced a false stroke from Wade and was caught brilliantly by Jadeja.
This wicket bought in the world’s best Test batsman currently, Steve Smith into the crease. Ashwin having previously dismissed Smith at Adelaide seemed to have had the wood on Smith. He took just two balls to dislodge Smith having him caught at perfectly placed leg-slip. Australia were in all sorts of trouble losing three wickets with less than 50 runs on the board. But the Aussies staged a commendable recovery through the partnership of Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head. Just when it seemed that Australia were getting right back in the game, Bumrah came back to dismiss Head in a well-thought plan. One wicket led to the other when debutant Siraj picked up Labuschagne, having him caught at leg-gully. This wicket egged Siraj and he went on to dismiss Cameroon Green in a beautifully setup wicket, where he bowled a series of out-swingers to him and then got one back in to trap Green plumb in front.
Did the tail wag for Australia this time too?
India didn’t allow the Australian tail to wag this time around and were all over the Aussies like a bunch of wolves. Ashwin dismissed Paine and Bumrah got Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon while the finishing touches were put up by Jadeja. He got Pat Cummins caught at long-on and was the last batsman dismissed. Australians were dismissed for 195, their 2nd successive score of below 200 in the first innings. India didn’t get off to a great start either. They lost the opener, Mayank Agarwal, for a duck in the first over. But debutant opener Shubman Gill set the stage on fire with his dazzling stroke play. Cheteshwar Pujara provided him ample support and India ended the day strongly having put 36 runs on board for the loss of 1 wicket.
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How important was Day 2 in the scheme of this series?
Australia bowled with a lot of intensity in the morning session today and were rewarded with the wickets of both Gill and Pujara. Cummins was the standout bowler for Australia. India went to lunch at 90-3 having scored 54 runs in the process. The duo of Rahane and Hanuma Vihari slowly started rebuilding and were looking calm at the crease. But Vihari departed for a fighting 21 and this brought in Pant to the crease. Rahane and Pant shared an enterprising partnership where both the batsmen scored freely and India ate into the deficit quite rapidly. Pant brought in the much-required impetus to the innings and even liberated Rahane at the other end. Pant was dismissed for 29 when Starc got him caught behind. Australians were pumped up thinking they will wrap up the Indian innings soon and restrict the lead to a bare minimum of 20 to 30 runs.
But what happened then?
But in came and Jadeja and the Indian batting looked as solid as it had been all tour. Jadeja’s assurance at the crease provided Rahane the right platform to counter punch and the captain didn’t disappoint. He started sedately paying respect to the opposition and the conditions alike. But once he got into his groove, he trusted the wicket more and even so his batting partners. He notched up a brilliant century in the company of Jadeja where the duo put a century partnership. In the fading light of day 2, Rahane’s stature as India’s captain and more importantly as the best batsman in the lineup stood tall. Seldom has there been such a dominating batting performance by India overseas in the recent few years and today was one such day. India had a lot riding on them to make this day count and they have delivered wonderfully well. They have given themselves a brilliant shot of winning the game from here having notched up a lead of 82 runs. It is now up to the Indians to dictate the game and maybe even the series from here.
