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Only 184 balls were bowled on the second day of the Test match between Australia and India, but it didn’t stop the Aussies from piling on the misery on and they will now go into day three knowing there is probably only one team that can lose the game from here on.
Join The Roar for live scores of the third day of the first Test from the Adelaide Oval starting 10:30am (AEDT).
>>FOLLOW THE LIVE BLOG OF DAY FIVE
Just when one thought the Indian bowlers could bring them back into the game after toiling manfully for most part of yesterday, Michael Clarke and Steven Smith flattened them completely with their respective centuries.
Although the first day had almost fully belonged to Australia, those last few minutes before close had allowed India to make a comeback into the game. Three for 345 had become six for 354 and with Clarke’s back playing up and the chances of him batting again looking remote, they even had a chance to bowl them out for 400.
Alas, good times have seldom lasted for the Indian Test team outside Asia and it was no different on the second day.
Clarke did come out to bat and India played obedient guests by making some startling offerings. Ishant Sharma began without pace but more vitally he offered enough width to allow Smith to smack him for a four first ball. Clarke joined in the fun off the first full over that Mohammad Shami sent down and hit him for a four first up too.
And once the introductions were out of the way, things only went downhill for the Indian bowlers on what was arguably a very flat pitch.
What was interesting to see was that despite the numerous breaks for rains, the Australian batsmen’s concentration did not flag and they went from strength to strength – both got to their respective centuries and then Smith went on to get to his highest Test score before going past the 150-run mark.
India did find success late in the day – that was in the 30th over – when Clarke swept one straight down square-leg’s throat but by then more than 500 had been scored and it was a mentally shot bowling attack on the field. Four balls later, the day was called off because of bad light.
163 runs came from the 184 balls that were bowled and it wasn’t till very late in the day that the first real chance went down.
A declaration isn’t too far off now, to give Australia a chance with the new ball in a hope that the early morning moisture will help their bowlers with swing more than they did for India.
With a batting line-up that’s quite inexperienced, India is probably looking to overcome the issues they faced in the last three overseas Tests they played earlier this year. In those games, they survived the following number of overs in completed innings – 61.1, 29.2, 46.4, 43, 106.1, 66.4.
Against a bowling attack that has Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris and at least five others providing support, life will be tough for the Indians. What they will hope is that the pitch remains as placid as it was when the Aussies bat, but how they handle the extra bounce will make for an interesting watch.
Join me for the third day of this first Test between Australia and India on Thursday. You can follow the live score of this game from 10:30am (AEDT) and post your comments in the section below.
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