India`s Top Order Fails Again In Front Of Mighty Australians As Rishabh Pant Tried To Save The Collapse
As reports suggested earlier, Jasprit Bumrah came out for the toss today as Rohit decided to opts himself for this test. Bumrah after winning the toss chose to bat first under this overcast conditions
But his decision to bat first didn`t aged well as again the top order struggled badly and Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kl Rahul, Shubman Gill went out cheaply. Shubman Gill who came in place of Rohit dosen`t add much as he fell out cheaply for 20 runs in 64 balls he faced. Further the openers too didn`t survive much as both of Rahul and Jaiswal went out for for 17-2. Rahul flicked Mitchell Starc’s legstump half-volley straight into the hands of square leg, putting India behind. His partner, Yashasvi Jaiswal, attempted to offset Scott Boland’s unrelenting lines and lengths by going towards the bowler, but instead nicked one slanted over into the hands of rookie Beau Webster in the slip cordon.
Boland almost had an encore when Virat Kohli nicked the first ball he faced to the right of Steve Smith, who got fingers underneath and pushed it to Webster to his right. However, replays appeared to reveal that the ball may have touched the ground as Smith performed his acrobatic effort, and third umpire Joel Wilson ruled in Kohli’s favour. With that stroke of luck, the out-of-form senior batsman continued with much of the discipline he demonstrated in the first innings in Melbourne. Pat Cummins utilized his four frontline pace options in short spells, and each of them asked challenging questions, leaving Kohli and Shubman Gill with minimal scoring alternatives.
As things proceeded, on the other hand there is no letting up down under. Rishabh Pant continues to take a battering from the Australian pacers and perseveres, swallowing up a bouncer off Mitchell Starc straight to the side of his face as India battles for the crease.
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A dismal start to the innings has put India in complete disarray, with the top order collapsing yet again, leaving India on a precarious 72/4.
Following the dismissals of Kohli, Gill, Jasiwal, and Rahul, Rishabh Pant was once again called upon to weather the storm and stabilize the Indian innings.
However, it has proven to be a difficult task for Pant, who has taken a number of bodyshots from the blistering deliveries of Scott Boland and Mitchell Starc, leaving the Indian wicketkeeper clearly injured.
But it all came down to one moment, when Starc bowled a peach of a searing bouncer that caught Pant off guard, giving him no time to react and causing him to take it onto the side of his helmet grill.
However, shortly after tea, Boland baited Rishabh Pant with a short ball, and the Indian wicketkeeper fell for it. Pat Cummins caught him at mid-on. Boland caught Nitish Kumar Reddy behind off Steve Smith’s following delivery, resulting in India’s sixth wicket loss. Boland was close to completing his hat-trick! Simply beat Sundar’s outside edge. Boland has been the star bowler for Australia thus far, taking four wickets.
