India are well on course for a win against Australia in the first Test match. Jasprit Bumrah, the Indian captain, dazzled with a bowling figure of five for thirty as India managed to gain a comfortable 46 runs lead at the lunch break on the second day of the first Test match after bundling the Australian team for 104 runs in 51.2 overs at the Perth Stadium on Saturday. This is the third lowest score recorded by Australia in Test matches played at home in the year 2000 and after. In the morning session, coming back from 67/7, the Indians seemed keen to finish the innings quickly, thanks however to Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, who were able to achieve a stubborn last wicket partnership of 25 runs off 110 balls while at least keeping the deficit under 50 runs. Apart from him, his counterpart debut all-rounder Harshit Rana also impressed by taking 3 wickets for 48 runs
Good news, the last-wicket resistance of the Australian batsmen was at last broken. In the audience, an actress also a wife of the cricketer Virat Kohli Anushka Sharma together with Sanjana Ganesan, the sports presenter and wife to Jasprit Bumrah, were also seen as relieved. Their response is currently trending.
India couldn’t have had a better start to day two’s play as Bumrah struck with his first ball of the day getting his 11th test five wicket haul for the wicket of Alex Carey who nicked it through. Handed a series of deliveries that were banged into the pitch, Harshit Rana ended up taking out Nathan Lyon when the batsman was kept too close for comfort and the pacer’s accurately aimed bouncer ended up glove edging the slip’s cordon.
Had Indian keeper Rishabh Pant not gone down awkwardly to catch a ball thus giving away a chance, Bubrah would have also claimed the scalp of Hazlewood for wearing the white jacket. Once again Starc was anchored and denied any further aggression and ran the bloody runs up until again courtesy of horrid bowling from Rana, he was struck on the helmet.
Moreover, the last-wicket pair of Starc and Hazlewood was also aided since the seam movement of the ball reduced after 40 overs, thus facilitating them more in getting vital runs. The duo held their fort well enough to stitch a stand of 25 runs off 110 balls, which was the highest partnership in this innings for Australia.
But just before the lunch break, Starc could not handle the pressure and skied a slog towards Pant to be out for 26 off 112 balls giving India a useful lead which now they would try to expand and gain the most from this hectic Test match by playing better in their second inning.
Brief Scores: India 150 in 49.4 overs lead Australia 104 in 51.2 overs (Mitchell Starc 26, Alex Carey 21; Jasprit Bumrah 5-30, Harshit Rana 3-48) by 46 runs