Latest Updates on the Test Series: India vs Australia
The two team are involved in an epic battle at the MCG as the two sides square off in the fourth test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024 25. After winning the second test match, the series now stands at 1-1 and fans are expecting to witness an exciting series decider.
First 2 Days : Australia’s Perspective on How They Fought Back in the Series
Australia Batting: A Performance to Remember.
Australia made a strategic decision when they called heads. Their plans for their batting side paid dividends for them and they managed to score a total of 474 runs. Smith was the savior for his team and he was able to score 140 runs in the innings. It was Smith’s 34th Test Century and his 11th against India. Considering the Indian side is notoriously difficult to get centuries against, this inning was very special for him. For Australia, an innings comprised of both aggressive stokes and technical supremacy did the job.
Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne both made efforts by scoring 45 and 67 runs that added security to Australia’s lead. With Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav managing to pick up crucial wickets and three others taken by Ravichandran Ashwin for 85 runs, the Indian bowlers were able to dismiss the Australians at regular intervals.
India’s Reaction
It began off slowly and were shocked when KL Rahul was out for 24 runs at the end of the 2nd day’s short tea break due to Cummins. Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s combinations did not let India get sunk after the loss of this wicket leaving them stranded with the score at 87/2. Jaiswal was a strong pillar by imposing himself to score 78 runs not out at the end of the second day of play. This fortitude coupled with the calmness against the Australian pace attack has been crucial in the victory for India in this game.
By the end of day two, their captain and one of the best test batsmen in the world, Virat Kohli remained not out at 35 runs. This is important for India as Kohli is critical in the middle order when chasing down a tough target that requires depth in the innings.
Australia’s Greatest Risk – The Bowling Attack and the Indian Response
The Australian captain, Pat Cummins has spearheaded the bowling attack effectively. However, there was some resistance from the Indian top order. In the days ahead, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon will be crucial besides Cummins. Akshar Patel, who shared the new ball with Cummins, may be useful as well. Starc and Wright would be have been most crucial for Australia looking for quick wickets especially in case the pitch does start offering something to the bowlers more than it did.
But for the injury time the Indian team yet is not out of the game as Jaiswal and Kohli kept the Bangladeshi attack at bay. Regardless of Australia’s aim of getting India out cheaply, reserved aggression would be the key in the upcoming days for India as well to guard the innings if required while doing a fair bit of damage as well.
India must now pass this challenge
This is the fourth Test for and against both the teams and is crucial bearing in mind that this series is level with one all. There is only one more Test match left for India. So, a win would give them a sufficient cushion. Australia on the other hand, given their strong bowling attack and lineup must be seeking the win to reclaim the upper hand in the series.
It is very much necessary for India that Jaiswal and Kohli’s partnership lasts and the middle order including Shubman Gill, Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja come to the party in order to help the team post a challenging score. Indian players are known to fight for each other and with key batsmen like Ashwin and Shami in the list, they can still muster a decent score if they step up their game.
Conclusion
By the end of Day 2, Australia have scored 474 runs and India started to counter attack quite nicely. The game seems to be equally poised at this point in time. With Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal out there, India is right up there but India’s target will be to work hard to overcome Australia’s maintainable lead. On the other side, Australian bowlers will come in fierce looking to cut off this partnership and take the game away.
In this crucial Test both the teams have stakes, so the stakes are very high. So how the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 goes will be interesting for the days to come. All the fans of the game will keep an eye out for this change of tempo. As this series stands out 1 all, this gripping contest will be full of fireworks to the end.
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