India vs Australia: Rohit Sharma shuts up the Adelaide crowd.© X/Twitter
India were given a hard time by Travis Head and other Australian batters on the second day of the second Test in Adelaide on Saturday. While Head scored a ton, others gave good support. That is not to say that the Indian bowlers did not toil hard. Wickets came, but not at intervals that the Rohit Sharma and Co. would have liked to. There were exchanges on the field with Virat Kohli taking the cake. The former Indian cricket team captain has in the past riled up Australia crowd and it was no different on Saturday. He showed the ‘shut up’ to the Adelaide crowd after Marnus Labuschagne departed with Yashasvi Jaiswal taking a great catch off Nitish Reddy’s bowling.
India captain Rohit Sharma could not help but be amused at the proceedings.
Virat Kohli after Labuschagne dismissal #INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/hhTrSDoRqs
— SAHIL RAJPUT (@SahisahilS) December 7, 2024
Marnus Labuschagne finally regained form with a composed half-century before being overshadowed by Travis Head’s flamboyance as Australia negotiated the Indian pacers to reach 191 for four at tea on day two of the second Test here on Saturday.
Head picked the gaps with ease on way to an unbeaten 53 off 67 balls to keep Australia ahead in the contest after India grabbed three wickets in the first session. The hosts were ahead by 11 runs, having gone past India’s first innings total of 180.
Labuschagne (64), whose place in the team was debated prior to this game owing to his prolonged lean run with the bat, registered his 26th half-century and then launched himself into a flurry of boundaries in what were worrying signs for India.
But promising all-rounder Nitish Reddy cut short Labuschagne’s innings as the batter tried to guide him through gully only for Yashasvi Jaiswal to hold on to the catch.
Looking to fight their way back into the game after Australia’s dominance on the opening day, India got an early breakthrough through who else but Jasprit Bumrah four overs into play.
Playing in only his second Test after a forgettable debut in Perth, Nathan McSweeney had no answer to one of many excellent deliveries from Bumrah, which straightened a fraction after landing on the perfect length and all the batter could do was get a little nick while trying to defend after getting stuck on the crease.
McSweeney walked back after a hard-fought 39, a far better effort following his twin failures in the series opener, but Steve Smith’s poor run of form continued as the former captain got out in the most unfortunate fashion after a brief stay at the crease.
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