After a dramatic first session on Day 3 of the first Test match at Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Australia managed to make a great turnaround to win the Test and take 1-0 lead. The second Test match of the series started on Boxing Day with hosts Australia opting to bat first. Here are the highlights from the Day 1 of the MCG Test match.
Australia’s poor show with the bat
Very poor show with the bat from hosts after opting to bat first. Marnus Labuschagne top scored for them with 48 runs as they were bowled out for just 195 runs in their first innings. They lost their first three wickets in a hurry with just 38 runs on the board including Steven Smith departing for a Duck!
Marnus and Travis Head added 86 runs for the fourth wicket but once the duo is separated, Australia fell like nine pins! The next best stand in Aussies innings 27 runs between Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins for the ninth wicket.
Top performers
Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin led the Indian bowling attack in this innings. Bumrah bagged four wickets which included the wicket of Head by breaking the 86-run fourth wicket partnership. Ashwin bagged three wickets including the wicket of Steven Smith who departed for a Duck! Mohammad Siraj (2 wickets) and Ravindra Jadeja (1) bagged the other 3 wickets in Australia’s first innings.
India’s debutants
Opener Prithvi Shaw was out of form with the bat recently. His scores in the first Test match and his scores in the second half of the IPL 2020 edition was a reflection of that. In their place, Shubman Gill and Mohammad Siraj made their debuts for India in this second Test of the series at MCG.
Siraj was right on money with the ball in Australia’s first innings and bagged two wickets while Shubman Gill who opened the innings for India remained unbeaten on 28* at stumps on Day 1. He was dropped on 4 by Marnus Labuschagne in the slip cordon but later Gill showed his class with the bat remaining unbeaten at stumps.
The Milestone Zone
The ongoing second Test match between Australia and India at the MCG is the 100th Test match for these two teams against each other. Out of the 99 matches prior to this game, Australia have won 43 games while India won 28 games. 27 games were drawn and one match was tied.
Brief Scores: India – 36/1 (Shubman Gill – 28*, Cheteshwar Pujara – 7*, Mitchell Starc – 1/14) trail Australia – 195 all out (Marnus Labuschagne – 48, Travis Head – 38, Jasprit Bumrah – 4/56, Ravichandran Ashwin – 3/35) by 159 runs in the first innings
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