Day 2 of the second test of the Border-Gavaskar trophy ended with the Aussies getting a 62-run lead over the Men in Blues. Though it was Axar Patel whose innings saved India from a dangerous position, and it can now be said that the game is still in the hands of the hosts. Top-order batsmen were not able to score more, but it was Axar’s 74-run inning that got India close to getting a lead. Eventually, they ended up getting all out with one run trail.
Axar and Ashwin’s important partnership
Among the top-order batsmen, only captain Rohit scored 32, and Virat scored 44 among the mentionable ones, but primarily it wasn’t a session that India was longing for. Their order was declining from where Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin handled the business and gifted a much more important partnership to the Indian innings. Ashwin also scored 37 off 71, which included five fours and gave good support to Axar, who played freely on the other hand.
Though the dismissal of Virat Kohli was controversial as most of the experts were unable to understand whether it was an out or not out, the majority went for not out. Anyone was hardly happy with the decision, as the way the former skipper was playing, the game might have gone past Australia’s hand long beofre.
How will India do in second innings?
After getting trailed by one run, Australia came to bat and ended with 61 runs for the loss of one wicket in the likes of Usman Khawaja. Travis Head is gearing up as he is not out on 39 of 40 balls, and Labuschagne is looking forward to getting some hold too. India has to limit the Aussies within a defendable total, or else the pitch might be a great obstacle for the men in blues in their second innings.
