Ravindra Jadeja was the star for the Indian cricket team with two wickets in the first session while Steve Smith showed his class with a composed knock on his home turf as Australia reached 249/5 on day 2 of the Sydney Test against India on Friday. The first session was once again affected by two rain breaks and it seemed to have harmed Australia more than India. In the first 11 overs of the match on day 2 which began 30 minutes early to make up for the rain delay on day 1, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne made steady progress and the scoring rate was hardly over 2. When the first rain delay took place, Labuschagne grew in confidence.
The right-hander struck boundaries at will and he entered the 90s. Marnus Labuschagne was looking good for a century but on 91, Ravindra Jadeja got a ball to bounce a tad extra and the batsman could only edge it to Ajinkya Rahane at first slip. The wicket not just broke the 100-run stand, but it also exposed the fragile lower-middle order of the Australian team.
Smith solid, Jadeja chips away
Steve Smith grew in confidence after he went past his fifty with a straight drive off Ravichandran Ashwin. Smith tackled the spin twins really well as he made smooth progress. Matthew Wade struck a couple of good boundaries but in the quest for extra aggression, Wade got a leading edge to a flick which was taken at cover by Jasprit Bumrah. That brought in Cameron Green and the second new ball was immediately taken.
The second day once again highlighted the pro-activeness of Ajinkya Rahane's captaincy. When the old ball was employed, Rahane urged his players to bowl straight at the stumps and pack the leg side field. With the new ball, he packed the off side field and the scorng rate in the first four overs of the second new ball dried up. The lack of runs increased the pressure and Cameron Green was trapped plumb LBW for a 21-ball duck just before lunch.
India would be hoping to restrict Australia to under 300 as they look to run through the tail. However, Steve Smith is looking in good touch and if India can dismiss him early in the second session, then they will consolidate their hold on the Test match.
