India has never won a Test match at the Gabba and Australia has not lost one there against anybody since 1988. But both those streaks may come to an end in a few days’ time.
Galvanised by their effort with the bat at Adelaide the tourists again made it tough for Australia’s bowlers – some of whom failed to make it through to stumps.
AUSTRALIA VS INDIA: DAY TWO LIVE SCORES
The Australian team has always prided itself on its preparation, whether that be physically or mentally, but at various times on Day 1 at Brisbane the team looked spent in both areas.
The Gabba was supposed to be uncomfortable for the men from the sub-continent with the pace and bounce a far cry from the dusty pitches of home. The perceived discomfort did not eventuate as the Indians, led by Murali Vijay’s 144, romped to stumps at 4-311.
Australia entered the second Test with a very different looking attack. Ryan Harris was left out following a thigh strain while Peter Siddle was left out after failing to have done enough in recent matches.
In their place, Josh Hazlewood made his debut and Mitchell Starc was recalled for the seventh time even though the Test was only his 14th.
When MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat, newly anointed Australian skipper Steve Smith was asked whether it was perhaps a good toss to lose, to which he concurred.
Australia had to wait until the 14th over to separate the opening pair of Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan who presented Mitch Marsh with his maiden Test scalp. Vijay made light of the demise of his partner as he continued to blossom, showing that his innings of 53 and 99 at Adelaide were far from aberrations.
He was aided in his pursuit of a big score by Shaun Marsh, who ‘celebrated’ his recall by shelling two chances offered by Vijay at 36 and 102.
At tea the tourists were 3-151.
In the final session they added a further 160 for the loss of Vijay’s wicket. Their progression through the last two sessions was made easier by the fact that Australia’s pace battery was falling apart at the seams.
Mitch Marsh was the first to go when he pulled up lame after bowling the last ball of his first over after lunch, his sixth of the game. He clutched at the back of his right leg as yet another hamstring injury interrupted his career.
Like Michael Clarke recently, Marsh has now had issues with both hamstrings in the past few months. It was his left one that ruled him out of the ODIs against Pakistan in the UAE in October, and it was that same hamstring that saw him miss considerable cricket two years earlier following surgery.
Team physio Alex Kountouris has labelled the latest injury as a “mild low-grade strain”. Mild it may be but he will not send down another delivery in the match.
Starc was an absentee during the middle session as he struggled with back and rib pain along with the effects of the Brisbane heat and humidity. Right from his first delivery he appeared to lack vigour and looked anything like a man who was keen to cherish a recall.
Hazlewood’s inaugural day of Test cricket was a mixed one. He claimed the scalps of Cheteshwar Pujara (18) and Virat Kohli (19) but was also troubled by leg cramps. He managed to overcome them in the middle session but when they flared up two balls into a new spell with the second new ball he was forced to leave the ground and did not reappear.
At times late in the day even Mitchell Johnson seemed to have his concerns as he repeatedly rubbed and prodded his lower right back. Barring anything untoward all bar Mitch Marsh will be able to continue with the ball on Day 2.
The loss of Marsh will need to be carefully balanced by Smith. There will be a temptation to throw the ball more often to Shane Watson but his long and storied history with injury should make that option a last call.
India far and away made the running on the opening day. Australia’s problems in the field may well be compounded by the personnel changes made by India between matches.
With Dhoni at seven and Ravi Ashwin at eight coming back into the side the long tail from Adelaide has been significantly trimmed. However, before the Australians can confront that pair they have to dislodge Ajinkya Rahane (75no) and Rohit Sharma (26no).
The match is not beyond Australia, yet a failure to strike repeatedly in the first session of Day 2 may see a continuation of the 26-year unbeaten run at the Gabba in jeopardy.
England's tour of India has ended in abject fashion as the tourists were hammered by an innings and 64 runs inside three days, with…
India have bowled England out for a below-par 218 and cruised to 1-135 in reply to seize early control of the fifth and final…
India have accomplished a nervy run-chase to secure a five-wicket victory against England in the fourth cricket Test in Ranchi. Chasing a modest 192…
In the build up to the India vs England Test series, there were reasonable predictions that India would be the ultimate challenge for Bazball.…
Until quite recently, you would look through an Indian Test XI and see experience everywhere: Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja with the…
Ben Stokes feels England were let down by technology at a crucial moment as they slipped to a series-levelling Test defeat against India -…
