ADELAIDE: Top-order batters Nathan McSweeney and Marnus Labuschagne strengthened Australia’s command with an unbeaten 42-run partnership after Mitchel Starc ran through India’s batting lineup on the opening day of the second Test here at Adelaide Oval on Friday.
At the stumps, the home side were 86/1, trailing by 94 runs, with McSweeney (38) and Labuschagne (20) set in the middle.
The duo batted sensibly in the dying minutes of an eventful opening day to recover Australia from 20/1 as left-handed opener Usman Khawaja fell victim to Jasprit Bumrah for a cautious 13.
Earlier in the day, India’s returning captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first.
His decision, however, backfired as the touring side were booked for a modest 180, thanks to Starc’s six-wicket haul.
The experienced pacer scripted a dream start for Australia as he dismissed young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (0) on the very first delivery of the match.
Following the early hiccup, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill put together an anchoring second-wicket partnership, which yielded 69 runs.
The duo appeared to have settled down until Starc struck again to remove Rahul, who scored 37 off 64 balls, hitting six boundaries.
Rahul’s dismissal sparked a middle-order collapse, which saw India losing half of their side with just 87 runs on the board.
Coming out to bat at number seven, Nitish Kumar Reddy took the reins of India’s batting expedition and waged a lone battle against a determined Australian bowling attack.
Reddy was involved in two crucial partnerships with Rishabh Pant (21) and Ravichandran Ashwin (22) amid his fighting knock, which culminated in the 45th over against Starc.
The right-handed batter remained the top-scorer for India with a gutsy 42 off 54 balls, laced with three fours and as many sixes.
Starc was the standout bowler for Australia, courtesy of his brilliant figures of 6/48, while skipper Pat Cummins and Scott Boland contributed with two wickets each.
- Mitchell Starc
