BRISBANE, Dec 19:
India were pushed on to the backfoot after a big rearguard action by the Australian tail generated a 97-run first innings lead of which the visitors knocked off 71 for the loss of one wicket by the close of the third day’s play of the second cricket Test here today. The Australians were struggling at 247 for six before staging an amazing comeback to pile up an imposing 505 in the first innings riding on Steve Smith’s second successive century and useful contributions from the tailenders. Smith (133) became the ninth Australian to score a century on his captaincy debut as the hosts wriggled out with Mitchell Johnson (88) and Mitchell Starc (52) adding valuable runs down the order at the Gabba. By the end of third day’s play, India reduced the deficit to 26 runs with Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara batting on 26 and 15 respectively. They were 71 for one at stumps on what turned out to be a rather disappointing day for the visitors. The last four Australian wickets added 258 runs to virtually take the game from India, who looked like taking the first-innings lead at one stage. Resuming the day on overnight 221 for four with Smith unbeaten on 65, Australia lost Mitchell Marsh for the addition of just 11 runs to Ishant Sharma (3/117) before Varun Aaron (2/145) had Brad Haddin caught at short leg. But the Indian bowlers struggled thereafter as the duo of Smith and Johnson quickly went on to share a 148-run stand for the seventh wicket, a record at this venue. The runs came off just 26 overs, giving ample indication of the way they punished the visiting side bowlers. This was Smith’s second consecutive hundred in the series, having reached the three-figure mark in the opener in Adelaide. With the two batsmen going strong, Australia went to lunch at 351 for six, and consolidated their position thereafter to be sitting pretty at 503 for nine at the tea break. However, the Indians wrapped up the innings soon after tea with last man Starc being bowled by Ravichandran Ashwin (2/128), bringing some relief to the visitors who toiled in the first two sessions. When India’s turn to bat came again, first-innings centurion Murali Vijay (27) was snared by Starc after the batsman had hit a few boundaries. Dhawan and Pujara then saw off the last few overs without any further casualty.(PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel