IND vs AUS WTC Final: Bowlers Extend Australia’s Dominance

IND vs AUS WTC Final, Day 2: Australia continued to dominate the WTC final against India after putting in yet another solid show on day 2 of the Test match at Oval Cricket Ground.

Steve Smith and Travis Head walked out to bat to start off the day and M Siraj gifted Smith two fuller deliveries around the middle and leg to make it easy for Smith to reach his ton pretty quickly in the day. The duo continued the onslaught by fetching regular boundaries until Siraj finally had the wicket of Head in the 92nd over.

The southpaw got out after playing a sensational knock of 163 runs in 174 balls, including 25 fours and 1 six. Shami then had Green edged behind to help India gain some confidence.

Shardul Thakur, the man with the golden arm, came into the attack in the 99th over and had Steve Smith chopped onto his stumps on the very first delivery of his spell. The Australian batter played yet another outstanding Test cricket knock of 163 runs in 174 balls.

Australia’s tail departed in single digits but Alex Carey fought hard in the middle and blazed his way to a fine knock of 48 off 69 balls before Jadeja had him leg-before.

Thanks to his knock, Australia ended up posting a gigantic score of 469 runs on the board. Siraj was the pick of the bowlers for India as he claimed 4 for 108 runs in 28.3 overs.

Indian openers, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill started off well and smashed a few good-looking boundaries. However, Cummins soon had the Indian captain leg-before in the 6th over to keep India on the back foot.

India’s Top-Order Batting Collapsed Like Cradles

Boland then bowled a good length delivery which Gill opted to leave but it crashed onto his stumps. India, as a result, lost both their openers for just 30 on the board.

Cheteshwar Pujara (14), surprisingly, left a delivery which nipped back in after pitching and it rattled his stumps as well. Mitchell Starc then surprised Kohli (14) with a bouncer which the latter had no answer to.

The top four was back to the hut for just 71 on the board and India desperately needed a partnership to stay alive in the contest. Jadeja was sent in at number 5 and he shifted the momentum by playing a quick-fire knock of 48 off 51.

Jadeja and Rahane forged a 71-run stand for the 5th wicket before Lyon sent the former back to the hut. Rahane, however, is still out there, looking solid for his unbeaten knock of 29 off 71. S Bharat is at the other end, scoring 5 off 14.

At stumps on day 2, India managed to score 151 for 5 and still trailing by a whopping 318 runs.

IND vs AUS WTC Final Day 2 Highlights: