India 141 for 6 (Pant 61, Boland 4-42) and 185 advantage Australia 181 (Webster 57, Smith 33, Prasidh 3-42, Siraj 3-51) by 145 runs
However, the second innings penalty shootout could tilt in Australia’s favor if Bumrah is no longer fit to bowl in this Test.
However, India’s supporting bowlers improved admirably on the second day, with Prasidh Krishna and Reddy sharing five wickets between them. India’s non-Bumrah seamers scored combined figures of 8 for 132, their best in any innings on this tour.
Reddy picked up two wickets in two balls as Prasidh marked his return to the Test with the scalps of Steven Smith, Alex Carey and debutant Beau Webster, who top-scored for Australia with 57 off 105 balls.
Webster continued his excellent debut, becoming the first Australian since Adam Voges in 2015 to score a half-century on his Test debut.
The 19-year-old responded strongly with the bat as he advanced on Bumrah and bowled him to the ground for four. Then, after Bumrah reinforced the slip cordon by bringing in the third deep, Konstas unfurled another audacious reverse ramp, leading to Bumrah fielding a fielder at third deep.
However, in the next over, Mohammed Siraj brought Konstas to the gully for 23 off 57 balls with an outswinger. Three balls later, he trapped Travis Head at second slip for 4. As Bumrah and Australia’s quicks fell to the ground, the source of Siraj’s threat was his swing. So he continued to explore a fuller length to maximize that swing.
Smith and Webster stabilized Australia with a 57-run partnership for the fifth wicket before Smith fell to Prasidh on the stroke of lunch. Smith looked destined to reach 10,000 Test runs, but moments before the break, Prasidh changed his stock length to an even fuller one to see him off within five of the milestone.
Then in the afternoon he sliced through Alex Carey’s defenses with a similar length. Reddy shook Australia further with the wickets of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc. Australia lost their last four wickets for just 19 runs and were bowled out for 181.
Yashasvi Jaiswal then bowled India’s second innings in fine style, clipping Starc for four fours in the first over. KL Rahul also showed some attacking intent at the other end until Boland (who else?) stepped in and limited India’s quick start.
Full report below…
Deivarayan Muthu is Deputy Editor of ESPNcricinfo
