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Australia stays in complete control even with Jaiswal's 82
Australia stays in complete control even with Jaiswal's 82
Steve Smith's century and a couple of wickets each for Cummins and Boland, Australia ended Day 2 with a lead of 310 runs.
Australia maintained strong control in the MCG Test, despite a brave performance from Yashasvi Jaiswal, as India ended the day at 164 for 5, trailing the Australians by 310 runs. Scott Boland and Pat Cummins played key roles after Steve Smith scored his 11th Test century against India, a record for any batsman facing this team.
Jaiswal bounced back from four unremarkable innings in Adelaide and Brisbane to take on the Australian bowlers on Day 2. He was active with his footwork against the fast bowlers and handled Nathan Lyon comfortably in good batting conditions. He targeted Mitchell Marsh as well, aiming for a century. Virat Kohli showed patience and made smart decisions about which balls to play, staying disciplined against the tempting deliveries from the Australian bowlers that had slips ready for catches. Kohli had been practising this in the nets with teammates before the match, which helped him resist those deliveries. With edges not carrying, the bowlers had to adjust their strategy, allowing Kohli to score runs through flicks and pulls.
However, in the last hour of the day, a moment of confusion sent both batsmen back to the dressing room. Jaiswal was run out after a quick single to mid-on when Kohli didn't respond in time, leaving him stranded at the other end. Just seven balls later, Kohli edged one from Scott Boland—a ball he had largely ignored during the session—and was out for 36. Boland continued to apply pressure, getting rid of nightwatchman Akash Deep and leaving India at five down.
At the end of the second day's play, Australia’s advantage was largely due to Steve Smith’s remarkable century scored earlier that day. Smith faced off against Jasprit Bumrah in a mini-battle but managed to score freely off Deep, which helped solidify his team’s dominance established on the first day. Despite a few risky shots against Deep, none of them resulted in his dismissal, and he capitalized on Deep's struggles, scoring 30 runs off just five overs. The change bowlers weren’t able to stem the flow of runs either, as Siraj had a particularly rough day, ending with figures of 0 for 122 in 23 overs.
Smith paired up with Cummins to add quick runs in the morning before Jadeja finally ended the Australian captain's innings at 49. However, Smith soon reached his 34th Test century, his fifth at the MCG, and began to accelerate, taking on both Jadeja and Washington Sundar with confidence. Mitchell Starc also joined in, even hitting Bumrah for a six as the session wound down. The Lunch break offered a much-needed pause for a struggling Indian side, but they made early inroads in the second session. Jadeja dismissed Starc, and Deep got lucky with Smith’s wicket—a big shot went wrong and ricocheted off Smith’s leg to dislodge a bail, leaving him watching in disbelief. Bumrah wrapped up the innings shortly after, but India’s response was once again lacking.
Rohit Sharma opened the innings but was quickly sent back after he misplayed a pull shot on a delivery that wasn’t short enough. KL Rahul and Jaiswal began to build a partnership, but Cummins halted their momentum with a brilliant delivery that squared Rahul up just before Tea, leading to his dismissal.
India’s chances of mounting a decent response hinged on the partnership between Kohli and Jaiswal, which showed promise before it was abruptly broken. In a disastrous stretch, India lost three wickets for just six runs, allowing Australia to maintain their grip on the match.
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