Rohit’s 100, Jadeja & Axar’s 50 torment Aussie bowlers on day 2 of the IND vs AUS Test, Highlights: The first day of test cricket between India and Australia lived up to all the hype that had been created prior to the start of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023. While on the opening day, team India suppressed the opposition with their sublime bowling effort, the second day bought an even better show for the hosts as India took a 144-run lead over the Aussies before the stumps. Despite Australia’s constant bowling effort, India managed to go past the benchmark score owing to the brilliant batting from skipper Rohit Sharma, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. Down below is the IND vs AUS test highlights of day 2.
Day two of the IND vs AUS 1st test in Nagpur began with Rohit Sharma and nightwatchman Ravichandran Ashwin taking the strike following the score of 77 in the loss of 1 wicket on day one. Skipper Rohit Sharma continued his assault against the Aussie bowlers as soon as the game began along with R Ashwin rotating the strike every now and then.
Rohit Sharma looked in complete control and the batter rebuilt his concentration for a big inning ahead. He along with R Ashwin added 40 runs to the Indian scoreboard in the initial few overs.
However, Australia’s managed to pull things back slightly by picking the wicket of R Ashwin, thanks to the debutant Todd Murphy. Ashwin departed after his well-struck 23-run innings from 62 deliveries. Although one end of the pitch was held firmly by Rohit Sharma, the other end saw a string of wickets falling in quick succession.
Following Ashwin’s scalp, Murphy went on to pick the wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara (7) and Virat Kohli (12), both for low scores. Meanwhile senior spinner Nathan Lyon chipped in and made his first breakthrough of the test match in the form of debutant Suryakumar Yadav (8).
The Indian captain was then partnered by all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who had a brilliant outing as a spinner on day one of the test. Both the batters brought back the Indian innings on track and kept their ends safe. The two batters breached the Australian total in no time and started taking the lead.
In the meantime, Rohit Sharma completed his century with a four against Todd Murphy on testing conditions. The opener batter marked his ninth test century in Nagpur against Australia and with that he even became the first Indian captain to register centuries in all three formats of cricket.
However, Rohit Sharma’s extraordinary knock against the Aussies couldn’t last long following his century as the batter was bowled by Pat Cummins soon after the second new ball was taken. Sharma scored 120 runs in 212 deliveries with the help of 15 boundaries and two sixes.
Indian wicketkeeper batter Srikar Bharat entered the bull ring following the dismissal of Rohit Sharma, but Todd Murphy removed him soon and completed his maiden test fifer on a debut game.
Axar Patel was the next man in with Ravindra Jadeja already inside. Both the all-rounders took the onus upon themselves to score quick runs and in no time they added 80-odd runs before the stumps on day two. While Ravindra Jadeja remained unbeaten at 66 runs from 170 deliveries, Axar Patel smacked the opposition for 52 unbeaten runs from 102 deliveries.
On stumps on day two of the IND vs AUS 1st test, India’s total stands at 321 runs in the loss of 7 wickets. The hosts have a lead of 144 runs with three more days remaining in the test match.
For Australia, spinner Todd Murphy continued to impress everyone with his probing lengths as he scalped five wickets. Nathan Lyon and skipper Pat Cummins got one apiece in their bag too to end the second day of the Nagpur test.
Watch IND vs AUS 1st Test Day 2 Highlights.