Australia maintained a strong grip on the second Test after dominating day two at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday. India ended the day at 128 for five in 24 overs. They still trail Australia by 29 runs in their second innings.
Australia's pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and Pat Cummins dismantled the Indian top order. The hosts are in a commanding position after Travis Head's brilliant 140 and Marnus Labuschagne's 64 helped Australia secure a 157-run first-innings lead.
India’s batting struggled against the quicks under the lights. By the 21st over, half the Indian team had already been dismissed.
Earlier, Australia resumed their innings with a total of 86/1. Head played a spectacular century while Labuschagne contributed a steady 64. Despite being dropped twice, Head made the most of his chances. He smashed 17 fours and four sixes in a 141-ball innings. Siraj eventually ended Head’s impressive run with a yorker.
Bumrah and Siraj had earlier contributed significantly with the ball. Bumrah took four wickets for 61 runs while Siraj claimed four for 98.
India’s second innings saw early setbacks with the loss of KL Rahul for just 7 runs. Yashasvi Jaiswal (24) fell after a sharp delivery from Boland. Virat Kohli (11) was caught behind and Shubman Gill (28) was bowled out by Starc. Despite these challenges, Rishabh Pant played an aggressive innings, hitting boundaries and providing some resistance.
Brief scores:
- India: 180 & 128/5 in 24 overs (Rishabh Pant 28 not out, Shubman Gill 28; Pat Cummins 2/33, Scott Boland 2/39)
- Australia: 337 all out in 87.3 overs (Travis Head 140, Marnus Labuschagne 64; Jasprit Bumrah 4/61, Mohammed Siraj 4/98)
