An all-round show by Ravindra Jadeja, followed by maiden fifty from Shubman Gill saw India finishing the Day Two’s play on top in the third Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
India on Friday bowled out Australia for 338 in the second session before a solid start by openers Rohit Sharma and Gill laid the foundation. India ended the day at 96/2.
Though both the opener departed at the twilight of the day, their 70-run stand has put India in a comfortable position. Rohit scored 26 in his comeback Test, while Gill made a gritty half-century.
Rohit, who was playing international cricket after a long time, looked in good touch during the course of his 77-ball knock. However, after scoring 24 runs with the help of three fours and a six, he got out caught & bowled by Josh Hazlewood.
That wicket didn’t deter Gill — playing only his second Test match — as the youngster kept scoring boundaries and impressed many with his shots and went on to score his maiden fifty.
However, just after reaching the milestone, he was caught at slips by Cameron Green off the bowling of Pat Cummins.
Stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara saw through the rest of the day without much trouble, despite Australia trying their best with a surge in determination from the bowlers late on the day.
Pujara was not out at nine runs after playing 53 deliveries, while Rahane held the other end with five off 40 balls.
Earlier, Australia’s premier batsman Steve Smith found his form back as he scored a brilliant hundred on Friday. His innings of 131 runs took Australia’s total to 338 runs before they were bundled in the second session
Apart from Smith, who unfortunately got run out to bring an end to Australia’s first innings, Marnus Labuschagne made a significant contribution of 91 before falling short of his fifth Test ton. The duo was also a part of more than hundred runs partnership.
Debutant opener Will Pucovski had also scored 62 on the rain-hit first day of the Test match.
For India, left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers as he returned with figures of 4/62 in his 18 overs.
Pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Navdeep Saini picked two wickets each while Mohammed Siraj scalped one. Ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, however, went wicket-less in the 24 overs he bowled and conceded 74 runs.
Brief scores: India 96/2 at Stumps on Day 2 (Shubman Gill 50, Rohit Sharma 26; Pat Cummins 1/19) Australia 338 all out (Steve Smith 131, Marnus Labuschagne 91; Ravindra Jajeja 4/62)
With IANS inputs