2nd Test, Day 1: Shami, Ashwin, Jadeja take a wicket each as Australia make 199/6 at tea Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja took a wicket each for India as Australia made 199/6 in 56 overs at tea on day one of the second Test at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday.
It was a session where a good crowd in the stadium was treated to engrossing cricket between the two teams. Usman Khawaja carried on to make 81, with Peter Handscomb and captain Pat Cummins unbeaten on 36 and 23 respectively.
Travis Head began the session by slashing Shami through gully for a boundary. He was patient against Ashwin, and when the off-spinner flighted a delivery in the 31st over, Head was quick to dance down the pitch to slam a six down the ground.
But in the very next over, Head flashed hard off Shami on seeing some width. But he perfectly nicked to second slip, who took the catch above his shoulder. Handscomb got going by punching and driving off Shami to collect back-to-back boundaries.
When Jadeja arrived, Handscomb was really quick in punching him through cover for boundary, followed by cutting past point for the same result. Khawaja, on the other hand, brought out reverse sweep and ramp against Jadeja for back-to-back boundaries.
When Axar Patel pitched it slower down leg, Khawaja was quick to tickle through fine leg. He then brought out the reverse sweep again off Jadeja. But the left-arm spinner had the last laugh as Khawaja shaped himself for a reverse sweep, only to see KL Rahul diving full length to his right to take a stunning one-handed catch. It gave Jadeja his 250th Test wicket while Khawaja was left stunned and down on his knees.
In the next over, Ashwin struck from round the wicket angle, fetching turn and bounce to take the shoulder edge of Alex Carey’s bat to slip. But Cummins decided to counterattack, slamming a brace of slog-sweeped sixes off Ashwin over deep mid-wicket stand. He would then glance and flick off Siraj for back-to-back boundaries to take Australia safely to tea.
Earlier, Khawaja had hit an unbeaten fifty at lunch, though he lost David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith. While Warner was taken out by Shami, Labuschagne and Smith were outclassed by Ashwin.
Brief Scores: Australia 199/6 in 56 overs (Usman Khawaja 81, Peter Handscomb 36 not out; Ravichandran Ashwin 3/57, Mohammed Shami 2/41) against India
