Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: After a fast-moving opening day where 17 wickets fell in 76.4 overs, many expected for day two of the first Test to follow the same route. But with the pitch flattening out, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul led India’s stunning turnaround to end day two with a 218-run lead at Perth on November 23.
With the heavy roller used before the play began and once after Australia’s first innings ended on 104, as India grabbed a handy 46-run lead, it meant the pitch eased out under the baking sun. That made life easy for Jaiswal and Rahul, who ended Day 2 not out on 90 and 62 respectively, as the duo have now put India into a potential winning position, with their second innings score standing at 172/0 in 57 overs.
Jaiswal, playing his first Test in Australia, came off a duck in the first innings, but showed balanced composure and aggression to be in complete control of hitting seven fours and two sixes. On the other hand, Rahul was calmness and solidity personified to hit four boundaries as he and Jaiswal batted two whole sessions unscathed for India to dominate day two’s play, where just three wickets fell in 81.2 overs.
In the final session, Australia grew tiresome – Pat Cummins resorted to a brief short-ball ploy, while Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood beat the bat relentlessly and bowled some unplayable deliveries. Some overs were given to Nathan Lyon, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh and Marnus Labuschagne, but none could separate Jaiswal and Rahul, who amassed 22 runs in the first 17 overs of the session.
There was luck on India’s side – Jaiswal hit a drive away from his body off Starc, but Usman Khawaja couldn’t get low enough in time to take the chance at first slip. In the next over, Rahul was sent back by Jaiswal after coming halfway down the pitch, and was back to his crease in time, thus avoiding a run-out.
Amidst this, Jaiswal got to his ninth fifteen Test half century with a drive to sweeper cover off Lyon, and then proceeded to hammer Marsh through point for four and flick Starc for a beautifully-timed six. Rahul drove Starc’s half-volley through point for four, before raising his bat for a solid fifty in 124 balls.
After scything Cummins through the gap between second and third slip for four, Jaiswal danced down the pitch to dispatch Lyon for a massive six over long-on, which became his 34th maximum hit by him in Tests in 2024, surpassing Brendon McCullum’s record for 33 sixes in 2014 to become the batter with most sixes in a calender year in the format. He and Rahul ensured India ended the day in a commanding position, while Australia have their backs against a defiant duo and would need more than anything special to make a comeback on Day 3.
