Pace Pack steps up in Bumrah’s absence to give India a narrow lead

The Indian pace pack gave a good account of themselves on day two to restrict Australia to 181 and earn a minor lead of four runs in the first innings. For the second half of the innings, they were even without their captain and senior bowler Jasprit Bumrah who had been spotted leaving the ground in a car in training gear, for what could presumably be for scans.

However, in the absence of Bumrah during this second session, the young Indian crew stepped up. Nitish Reddy had two wickets in two balls as he had Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc cut. The slip cord did not drop any during the day, and it was only improved when Prasidh Krishna had Beau Webster caught at gully for 57. Webster was the only batter who continued to fight back while playing in percentage cricket throughout and holding the Australian innings together. He had initially helped them recover from a major stutter alongside Steve Smith in the first session.

India had gotten off to a good start with the ball on day two, with Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj testing the batting early. On a green field with high seam movement, the sun being out had little effect on the difficulty of hitting. After the late strike on the first day, Bumrah started again early on the second day when he had Marnus Labuschagne behind, judged after review.

Sam Konstas took the adventurous route against Bumrah, either reverse-spinning him for the boundary or coming down to knock him to the ground. This allowed Australia to fight back, but the counterattack could not last long. Siraj also found his rhythm outside off, moving the ball away from a good length. He finally got the better of Konstas who almost lost his mind. Siraj’s attacking lengths allowed Travis Head to clip one over his pads, but similarly had him nicking the slipcord, leaving them precariously balanced at 39/4 in the first hour .

However, on his home court, Steve Smith managed to survive a few plays and misses while still getting the ball out well. He had a few release shots on offer when Prasidh Krishna came bowling. India’s third pacer was not consistent with his lengths like Bumrah or Siraj, which allowed Smith to draw and hit crucial boundaries. In Webster, he also found a more than adequate partner to counter India’s bowling change options as the runs began to flow. The duo added 57 runs for the fifth wicket as the wicket began to dim a little more as the sun shone. .

But against the run of play, as Steve Smith neared the 10,000 Test milestone, he fell for 33, edging Prasidh Krishna into second place. This gave India a much-needed boost which they carried 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.