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WTC Final | Ruthless Australia Stage Familiar Indian Collapse To Take Pole Position At The End Of Day 2


image-linexjwlMitchell Starc celebrating after a wicket of Virat Kohli (AP Photo)

The day 2 of the much-awaited WTC Final started with India looking for some desperate measures after Australia dominated Day 1 courtesy of brilliant knocks from Head and Smith. India though came out with intent in the first session and put together a spirited bowling performance to bowl out Australia for 469.

The momentum was on India's side while coming out to bat in the second session but the euphoria did not last long as Indian openers, Rohit and Gill both departed after a brisk start.

In no time, India were reduced to 71-4 with India's famed top four comprising of the likes of Pujara and  Kohli also departing after a decent start. Jadeja then counterattacked with 48 off 51 balls and stitched a crucial partnership with Rahane to bring some parity into the proceedings but Lyon's introduction led to the downfall of the southpaw, putting India in all sorts of trouble at 142-5. 

For Australia, all their bowlers got a wicket each and the pitch that looked quite flat when Head and Smith were batting on Day 1, proved too hot to handle for Indian batters on day 2.

India have ended the day 2 at 151-5 and have Rahane and KS Bharat at the crease with a humongous task in front of them going into the (moving day) day 3 of this WTC Final.

Talking Points

Australia's Bowling Class Too Hot For India

The final session started with India's hopes resting on on their most experienced Test pair of Pujara and Kohli. However, Pujara's brain-fade moment where he decided to leave a delivery that eventually knocked him over put India in a bigger hole as India were reduced from 30-0 to 50-3.

Then came another big blow, and for some, the biggest blow in the form of Virat Kohli as Starc produced a ripper of a delivery (some may say an unplayable delivery) to send back India's King, Virat Kohli back to the pavilion.

Jadeja-Rahane Fightback

Jadeja joined Rahane at 71-4 and straightaway got going, mixing caution with aggression nicely. Rahane also showed great composure and both of them stitched together a 71-run stand to bring some smiles back in the Indian camp.

Both of them looked comfortable in the middle and especially Jadeja, who looked set for another big score in England. However, Cummins came up with a masterstroke and brought Lyon into the attack against the left-hander Jadeja. Lyon too did not disappoint his skipper and immediately waived his magic as he found an edge off the bat of Jadeja to hand a killer blow at the fag end of the day.

NO-BALL turns out to be a saviour for India

Jadeja departed in the 35th over but before Jadeja lost his wicket, India would have lost Rahane in the 22nd over itself. Cummins with his beautiful in-dipper, hit Rahane on the pad and had umpire raising his finger too in reply of his loud appeal. Credit to Rahane though, he decided to take the DRS and emotions changed drastically in the matter of few minutes.

The replays showed that Cummins overstepped and the decision was overturned much to the respite of Indian fans around the world.

Expectations From Day 3

India are under the mat in this game and trail by 318 runs with just five wickets in hand. We can expect Australia to take a big lead in this game going into their second innings and for India, it is all about cutting down on the deficit when the pair of Rahane and KS Bharat walk out to bat on the morning of Day 3.

Brief Score

Australia: 469/10 (121.3)

Travis Head 163 (174), Steve Smith 121* (268);

Mohammed Siraj - 4-122 (29), Shardul Thakur - 2-83 (23)

India: 151-5 (38)

Ravindra Jadeja 48 (51), Ajinkya Rahane 29 (71)

Scott Boland - 1-29 (11), Pat Cummins - 1-36 (9)

India trail by 318 runs!