India vs Australia, 2nd Test in Perth: Match Highlights

Perth: Today Australia won the toss and elected to bat in the second Test match at Perth. The hosts were at 277 after losing 6 wickets by the end of the day.

Marcus Harris scored the highest after scoring 70. Second highest score, 58, was from Travis Head. Captain and wicketkeeper Tim Paine and Pat Cummins were not out at 16 and 11 respectively.

For India, Ishant Sharma and newbie Hanuma Vihari were most successful bowlers today, taking 2 wickets each. Jasprit Bumrah had the best economy with 1.86. He and Umesh Yadav took 1 wicket each.

There was a lot of pre-match hype around the pitch’s condition. The curator had pronounced the pitch bouncy.

However, when it came to team selection, Paine ignored the hype and went with a more conventional team that included their lead spinner, Nathan Lyon. However, Indian captain Kohli went with a supposedly aggressive approach of having a four-man pace attack and left out the lone spinner, Ravindra Jadeja, from the playing XI.

Bumrah posted figures of 1-41, but his sole wicket was a crucial one, making the breakthrough against opener Aaron Finch (50). He was generally pleased with both his performance and India’s recovery.

“I’m really happy,” Bumrah said. “After the way we started, we came back into the game. It was very good.”

“It was a good day [personally], but I was not lucky, I bowled some good balls. This is the way it goes. Some days you don’t get wickets, but I was happy that I was able to apply pressure.”

Prediction:

The difference between India and Australia will be how much Australia score from here, since the tail-enders for India are not that effective with the bat, compared to the Aussies.

Pat Cummins and Paine survived the nine-over new ball spell – where Bumrah was hostile with his lines and lengths. At this stage, Australia may be ahead, but only marginally. The pitch has quickened up and there’s enough assistance for the bowlers; will the Indians manage to wrap up the tail quickly? Join us tomorrow to find out – which promises to be another exciting day.

Also Read: India Vs Australia, 2nd Test: Australia Win Toss, Opt To Bat First