After Day 2 of the IND vs AUS Test at Nagpur, India stood a strong chance of winning. The home team has a 144-run lead with three wickets remaining in their first innings and two firmly set batters at the crease. Rohit Sharma was the team’s driving force, scoring his ninth Test century and expanding upon his remarkable success at home. He was backed up by the all-rounder pair of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel after the Australians made some progress with the second new ball. India played well on day two, but they made several silly mistakes they will want to avoid in the future.
1. Mistake: Suryakumar Yadav acted hastily without waiting to see what Nathan Lyon might provide
When India lost Virat Kohli for 151, Suryakumar Yadav came into bat. India wasn’t trailing behind by a considerable margin, so he may have mistakenly assumed he had permission to take chances. Without giving Nathan Lyon a second glance, he played a reckless shot. Lyon was starting a new spell. Lyon prompted Suryakumar to play a loose drive, keeping his distance from the ball and allowing it to pitch and turn in sharply to strike off-stump. Suryakumar was dismissed for only eight runs in his first Test innings, four of which came off a slog-swept boundary. Before taking such a risky shot, he should have settled for a few balls from Lyon. He found out the hard way on Day 2 of the IND vs AUS Test 1, that striking a balance between being cautious and aggressive is challenging.
2. Mistake: India lost two wickets due to balls pitched outside the leg stump
Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli, two of India’s most prominent Test batsmen of the past decade, were both dismissed on Day 2 shamefully. They were eliminated by a delivery that pitched outside the leg stump and spun further away. This time, Pujara was the one to go first. Against Todd Murphy, he went for a sweep, a shot he hardly plays. At short fine leg, Scott Boland could catch the ball after it bounced up off the top edge.
Meanwhile, Kohli was out when he nicked one down the leg side off the young off-spinner. Alex Carey took the catch. Scoring runs in Nagpur is easier than Australia made it look, but it isn’t a walk in the park, either. Pujara and Kohli both needed to get their claws into the ball but were instead sent back by uncomplicated deliveries.
India has to avoid losing wickets like those in their subsequent encounters.
3. Masterstroke: Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel showed confidence through their defence
India’s skipper Rohit Sharma and wicketkeeper KS Bharat departed quickly. As soon as the Australians took the second new ball, the centurion was trapped by Pat Cummins, and Bharat was dismissed in front by Todd Murphy. Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel might have easily panicked and tried to score some quick runs when they came in. Despite playing up against two off-spinners, the pair relied on their defence and scored only on the most evident possibilities. Jadeja played 170 balls and made 66 runs. Even when the ball missed his bat, Jadeja maintained his composure and continued to play. Axar played with more aggression, finishing the day with 52 runs off 102 balls and remaining unbeaten.
