Full of life and energy, Virat Kohli looked his usual self as he grabbed some fine catches in the slips on Day 2 of the third Test between India and Australia. It was Jasprit Bumrah who set the tone in the first session on Sunday, bagging the wickets of Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney, before Nitish Reddy sent Marnus Labuschagne packing. Labuschagne ended up putting the ball into Kohli’s hands after trying to drive an 8th stump delivery. The India star’s celebration said the rest.
The spectators at the Gabba have been quite noisy, targeting Indian players at different intervals. Mohammed Siraj was booed when he walked out on the field, while a few others were also on the target list.
Kohli, seeing what has been going around the boundary ropes, decided to give it back to the fans with ‘finger-on-your-lips’ gesture as he caught Labuschagne on the delivery of Reddy.
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Resuming at 28 for no loss, Australia lost Usman Khawaja (21 off 54) in the fourth over of the day when Bumrah had him caught behind with a ball that straightened slightly to take a faint outside edge. It was the third time Bumrah had got rid of the left-handed opener in the series.
In the following over, Bumrah sent back Nathan McSweeney (9 off 49) for the fourth time in three Tests, drawing a thick outside edge from an angle that travelled fast to Virat Kohli at second slip.
India were able to maintain pressure after the early breakthroughs with under pressure Steve Smith (25 batting off 68 balls) and Marnus Labuschagne (12 off 55) looking to occupy the crease.
Smith, batting with a different stance for the third time in as many games with the return of his trademark exaggerated shuffle, was tested by the Indian pacers repeatedly as they tried to target his stumps. Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj did a pose a few questions to both Smith and Labuschagne but could not get the desired results.
Reddy, who got the ball to swing, ended Labuschagne’s vigil in the 34th over of the innings. The India all-rounder drew the Australian number three to drive off a full ball and Labuschagne took the bait only to be caught by Kohli at second slip, leaving Australia at 75 for three.
Two overs later, there was a major scare in the Indian camp as Siraj walked off the field after feeling discomfort in his left leg in the middle of his over. He was seen holding his left knee but returned to the field much to India’s relief.
The injury scare came after Siraj and Labuschagne shared a light moment as the Indian pacer walked towards the batter to swap the bails only for them to be swapped back.
Runs started flowing with in-form Travis Head (20 batting off 35) joining Smith in the middle. His cover drive off Bumrah was easily the shot of the morning.
With PTI Inputs
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