The Sydney Cricket Ground on Day 2 of the 3rd test match between India & Australia saw a glaring Steve Smith come back to form in style. His performance today showed how classy a batsman he is and how tough it really is to keep a big player quiet for such a long time in the series. After day 1 ended, Labuschagne and Smith steadied the Aussie ship after Warner went off in the initial overs and debutant Pucovski pulled off a heist with 62 on the board.
Coupled with few rain interruptions, we finally got some good amount of quality test cricket on the 2nd day of the 3rd test match India vs Australia.
Smith & Labuschagne Continue The March
Steve Smith & Marnus Labuschagne love batting together and over the past 2 years have been one of the most reliable number 2 and number 3 in international cricket. After strong starts on Day 1, both of them took the momentum on their side and put on a partnership of 100 runs. This was the second 100-run partnership after Marnus put on a 100-run stand with Will Pucovski for the 2nd wicket.
Jadeja On the Charge
Ravindra Jadeja took control of the game after he dismissed Labuschagne on 91. This was the first time the emerging batsman was dismissed in the 90s as he scooped one in to the hands of the Indian Captain. Jadeja took on Australia after he dismissed Wade, Lyon & Cummins to complete his 4-wicket haul.
Stern Smithy Holds the Fort
Steve Smith went on to hold one side while the other end kept on losing their wickets. The Aussie smashed his 27th hundred in his test career and his 8th against India. This was an innings of pure class, patience, and typical Steve ‘Smithy’ craziness as he was admiring the outswingers, shouting ‘NO RUN’ on every defence and completing his follow-through even after leaving the ball outside the off-stump. He did not get out of some bowler’s skill but he had to be dismissed by a rocket-style Jadeja throw as the Australian innings got all out for 338.
Gill-icious At The Top
Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma gave a decent start to the Indian innings as both batsmen looked solid and came into their typical selves after spending some time out in the middle. While Rohit got caught & bowled by birthday boy Hazlewood after he smashed his 100th six, the day belonged to the young and ‘short-arm jabby’ Shubman Gill. His elegance and technique were soothing to the eye, especially his short arm jobs on both sides of the wicket as the youngster cruised to his 1st test 50. Although he got dismissed soon after the celebration, he had given India a solid foundation.
India ended the day at 96-2 with Jinks and Pujara batting at 5 & 9 not out. The match is evenly poised with the 1st session belonging to India and the remaining to evenly shared. Let’s hope we are in for a cracking contest at the SCG. Stay tuned to live action at 4:30 am since the game will start 30 minutes prior to regular time in order to compensate for the showers that happened on day 1.
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