India bury the ghosts of Adelaide to go 1-1


Brief Scores: Australia 195 & 200 (Cameron Green 45, Matthew Wade 40, Marnus Labuschagne 28, Pat Cummins 22; Mohammad Siraj 3-37, Ravindra Jadeja 2-28) lost to India 326 & 70/2 (Shubman Gill 35*, Ajinkya Rahane 27*, Mitchell Starc 1/20) by 8 wickets. 

India averted a top-order flutter to gun down a 70-run target and clinch the Boxing Day Test after Australia were bundled out for 200, with a lead of just 69, at Lunch on the fourth day of the second Test. Shubman Gill (35*) and Ajinkya Rahane (27*) completed the formalities as India retaliated ferociously to their Adelaide goof-up by drawing the Border-Gavaskar series level.

Stat Alert: 

-India's first win away from home where they have fielded first since Aug 2010 when they beat Sri Lanka by five wickets at Colombo PSS.

-First defeat in a home Test for Australia after winning the toss since the seven-run loss to New Zealand in Hobart, 2011.

- Ajinkya Rahane is the second Indian captain to win all his first three Tests as captain after MS Dhoni.

-Most wins for India at an overseas venue: 4 at MCG, Melbourne (in 14 Tests).

With Australia just 2 runs ahead at the point of resumption, the blueprint was laid down quite clearly for the visitors: prize out the remaining four wickets as quickly as possible and then tick off the target to achieve series parity. They were one bowler short after Umesh Yadav left the field with a calf injury last evening and the bowlers in action got little purchase from the old ball in the morning session. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane shuffled his four available bowlers in short bursts to try and break the sixth-wicket stand that had dug in late yesterday to keep India at bay. The overnight batsmen, Cameron Green and Pat Cummins, proved to be really tough cookies and bided their time again to test India's patience. Their staunch resistance put the top-order to shame and offered a fine demonstration of how they could've gone about their business on the placid MGC track. 

There were a few ungainly edges and a couple of half-hearted lbw shouts, with India even reviewing one against Pat Cummins off Ravichandran Ashwin to no avail. However, the duo chugged along to bring up the 50-run partnership - Australia's biggest in the innings - which not just ensured that India will have to bat again but also that Australia themselves have something to play around with when they bowl. With no assistance from the surface whatsoever, India were forced to play the waiting game well until the second new ball.

Siraj targetted Green's pads to bring the leg-before into play but the tall-right hander was quick to notice the ploy, charging down and shuffling across to eliminate that form of dismissal. Cummins, at the other end, was rock-solid in defence and the pair rotated the strike efficiently as the lead swelled, much to India's frustration. Their grind stretched to over 30 overs before Jasprit Bumrah finally provided the breakthrough with the new ball. The pace spearhead got one to kick nastily off the deck and Cummins couldn't help but glove it to second slip after the first hour of the day produced 22 runs off 103 deliveries. 

Green farmed the strike to shield Mitchell Starc en route a staunch 45 before Siraj's bouncer hurried him into a miscued pull. Nathan Lyon was strangled down the leg after that but the tail showed the stomach for a fight as Australia went past their first-innings total of 195 with an extra 30 minutes taken in the session. India stuck to the bodyline barrage but Starc and Josh Hazlewood were up to the task and added some vital runs to their lead. India eventually had the measure of the tail-enders as Ashwin cleaned up Hazlewood in what would've been the last over before Lunch with a zippy slider that he misjudged and shouldered arms to. Debutant Siraj was the pick of India's effort, bowling with power and penetration to reap a stellar 3/37, contributing to an overall tally of 5 wickets in what was a dream debut for the new kid on the block. 

Previously, the lone instance when no Australian batsman scored a 50 in a home Test was against West Indies at the MCG in 1988-89. The Boxing Day bout would now be the second addition to the list with the highest being Marnus Labuschagne's 48 in the first innings.

The pursuit of 70 should've been a walk in the park but given India's horror collapse at Adelaide, nothing was cast in stone. Australia's pace demons came out all guns blazing and inflicted two casualties in the form of wickets of Mayank Agarwal and Cheteshwar Pujara, both dismissed poking at lifters fizzing away from good length to leave India rather anxious at 19/2. The twofold strike was too hot to handle, but Shubman Gill's majestic strokeplay kept the dressing room nerves in check. He dismissed overcooked lengths from his presence with delectable drives while rocking back to cut Starc with typical authority. Rahane too picked up from where he left off in the first essay, swivelling into position within a jiffy to pull Cummins over backward square leg. Given his captain's knock in the first innings, it was fitting that Rahane hit the winning runs to bury the ghosts of Adelaide in an emphatic fashion. 

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