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On a flat Sydney pitch, India‘s lacklustre bowling attack failed to test Australia and the hosts ran away to an imposing first innings score on the opening day of the Sydney Test. You can follow the live scores of the second day of the fourth Test from the SCG starting at 10:30am (AEDT).
India would have come into the Test under their new captain Virat Kohli, hoping to stand up to the Aussies despite having already lost the series. Unfortunately for them, right from the time Kohli lost the toss, his bowlers were put to sword by the Aussie top four.
LIVE SCORES OF DAY FIVE BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND INDA
Add to the below-par Indian bowling performance and the placid Sydney track, the visitors weren’t helped by their butter fingers as two catches went down at crucial times.
Australia were none for 46 when Chris Rogers nicked one from Mohammad Shami to KL Rahul at the second slip position and he let go of a sitter. Rogers and his opening partner David Warner went on to score 200 for the first wicket.
Then, at the fag end of the day’s play, Shane Watson’s poke at a delivery outside the off-stump flew to the first slip’s left. R Ashwin, who had earlier been the best Indian bowler on the day, failed to grab on to it.
These two lapses rubbed salts on the Indian bowling wounds which seemed to have widened as the series has progressed.
With Ishant Sharma ruled out because of a knee problem, India decided to bring in Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the first time in the series, preferring him over the way quicker but more erratic bowler, Varun Aaron.
Bhuvneshwar seemed to be showing side-effects of being away from the game for a long time as his pace rarely touched the 130 km/hr mark. In fact in one of his last spells, he began with sub-120 km/hr levels and was easily seen through.
What worsened it for India was that Umesh Yadav had a off-day. His 16 overs brought him no wickets and despite that last dropped catch off his bowling, he had already conceded 97 runs by then.
At the other end of the spectrum was the Aussie top four which battered the Indian bowling through the day.
Warner mostly motors along in just the fifth gear but when Rogers starts to bat positively as well, things get really difficult for the opposition.
That’s what happened as the pair got off to a quick start at the top of the innings as Rogers got himself to 18 from just 16 balls. The dropped catch obviously pegged Rogers back a little but at the other end, Warner showed no sign of abating, and got to his half-century from only 45 deliveries.
Rogers followed up with his own fifty at the stroke of lunch to carry the side to none for 123 at that stage.
77 runs came from less than 17 overs after the break before the opening stand was finally broken. By that time Australia had already gotten themselves to 200.
While the hosts lost two wickets in as many overs, with Rogers missing out on a well-deserved ton as well, there was no real respite for India after that.
Steven Smith joined Shane Watson and built a slow, but steady partnership. The rate did not achieve the heights of the Warner-Rogers stand but that mostly because of Watson’s lack of form and hence a cautious approach to his innings.
By close, Smith was only 18 short of his fourth successive Test century of the series while Watson had ridden his luck to end the day unbeaten on 61.
A score of 600 looks most likely from here on as Australia will hope to bat India out of the game on a very easy surface. The track is also supposed to start turning and behaving disconcertingly as the game moves on which should bring someone like Nathan Lyon in the game from late on the third day.
Does India have the wherewithal to make a comeback into this game or is the match already headed away from them?
You can follow the live score of the second day of this fourth Australia v India Test from 10:30am local time on Wednesday and post your comments in the section below.
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