India Tour of Australia - 1st Test Match, Adelaide, Day 2 Review

Flat pitch, poor bowling & aggressive batting.. A perfect recipe for a batting mayhem!

 It was day 2 of the series and the Sun had taken an absence leave from Adelaide and it seemed like a typical evening on a rainy day at Manchester. It was Australia though and the stage was set for an Indian comeback and the Indian contingent present at the Adelaide Oval was expecting Mitchell Johnson to join Steve Smith at the start of the day's play. But to everyone's surprise, it was the down and out Captain Clarke who came out and caught the Indians off guard. It was clear that the Aussies were not going to give up in their own backyard and that the opposition would have to struggle for every inch to gain a firm hold on the test match.
 Ishant Sharma began the bowling and it was a wide half tracker which was beautifully timed for a boundary and this, more or less, set the tone for the day to unfold. India were erratic and the woes of bowling on a placid pitch didn't help either. Ishant, Shami and Aaron sprayed the ball to all angles and the Aussies were off to a flyer. There were stoppages throughout and amidst those, Smith and Clarke managed to reach their centuries which certainly shut doors on India's comeback to even attempt to win. After scoring a century, Smith found ways to communicate to his little mate and was soon near the '408' figure marked on the ground. Clarke though, was quite sedate in his celebrations and was able to hide his emotions from the cameras.

The story of Adelaide Oval on Day 2

Clarke being emotional after his century

Smith's century celebration near the "408" on ground

 It was a day when the Rain Gods had decided to play hide n seek and the Indian pacers had left their best behind. though Clarke's wicket in the last over of the day came as a respite, by then the horse had bolted. Australia went in the dressing room quietly confident that it was now a game where they couldn't lose. Kohli seemed to be frustrated and must have soon realized the pressures of test match captaincy. The only thing that surprised everybody was the decision taken by the Australians to not declare and allow their quicks to have a crack at the Indians before the end of play. Many believed that 475 was a par score and that picking up 20 wickets on this flat pitch would require lot of overs. They are yet to declare at 517/7 and can at the most afford to declare in the first half hour of the session on Day 3 or else, it would be too late. To end it on a lighter note, the innings has seen 6 centurions so far - Warner 145, Clarke 128, Smith 162* and Shami 120, Aaron 136, Karn Sharma 143....The first three centuries for good and the next three in bowling, to India's dismay.
 The key for India remains their batting performance in their 1st innings and that they will have to come close to the Australian first innings total in order to save this test match. Hope and only hope, if you are an Indian fan and be optimistic that the Indian batsmen are able to get the monkey off their back this time down under.

Key on Day 3: Johnson & Harris v/s Dhawan, Kohli & Rahane

(Photo courtesy: ESPNcricinfo)

Day 3 review will be posted after 4 pm tomorrow.. Stay updated.. See you then..