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

The Indian pace pack put on a good show 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.

But in the absence of Bumrah during this second session, the young Indian crew stepped up to the plate. Nitish Reddy had two wickets in two balls as he cut Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc. The drawstring didn’t 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 cricket in percentage 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 pitch with high seam movement, the sun being out has little effect on hitting difficulty. After the late strike on the first day, Bumrah started again early on the second day as he had Marnus Labuschagne behind, judged after review.

Sam Konstas took the adventurous route against Bumrah, either spinning him inside out towards 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 off his pads, but in the same way he nicked the cordon, leaving them precariously poised 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 to bowl. India’s third pacer was not consistent with his lengths like Bumrah or Siraj, which allowed Smith to trace 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 get a little darker 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.