WTC Final 2023: Indian top-order fails to fire as Australia tighten grip after posting 469 on Day 2

Australia ended another day in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final at The Oval firmly on top, restricting India to 151/5 at close of play after posting 469 on the board. Senior India batter and comeback man Ajinkya Rahane was batting on 29 after facing 71 deliveries at stumps along with wicketkeeper-batter Srikar Bharat (5 not out in 14 balls), with the Indians trailing Australia’s first innings total by 318 runs with just five wickets in hand. This was after Mohammed Siraj led a spirited fightback from the Indian bowling unit after Australia resumed from their overnight score of 327/3. While Steve Smith brought up his 31st Test hundred in the very first over and Travis Head crossed 150 soon after, Australia could add just 142 to their overnight score while losing seven wickets, failing to go past 500. India began their innings on a confident note with both openers, skipper Rohit Sharma and IPL 2023 hero Shubman Gill, opening their accounts with boundaries and taking India to 30 for no loss inside six overs. The India captain, however, was the first to depart, getting trapped leg-before by his Aussie counterpart Pat Cummins after getting off to a promising start. Gill and No 3 batter Cheteshwar Pujara were next to depart, both getting dismissed in near-identical fashion — attempting to leave deliveries that would ultimately jag back in and hit the off stump. While Scott Boland accounted for Gill’s dismissal to collect his first wicket on English soil, all-rounder Cameron Green got rid of Pujara, who had been roaring form while captaining Sussex in the County Championship in the build-up to the WTC Final.

And by the time Virat Kohli was dismissed, nicking a rising delivery from Mitchell Starc with Steve Smith taking a fine, leaping catch at second slip, India were in serious trouble, staring at the prospect of getting shot out for 200 or less. Rahane, though, weathered the storm in the company of Ravindra Jadeja, who walked out to bat ahead of wicketkeeper-batter Srikar Bharat. Jadeja took a while to get used to the surface before launching a counter-attack, the kind that Travis Head had produced on the opening day to turn the game on its head. The southpaw was the only one among the Indians who batted with a sense of freedom against the rampaging Australian seamers, collecting seven fours besides flicking Boland for a six over deep square leg. He stitched a handy 71-run partnership with Rahane that revived India’s hopes of getting close to the Aussie total, but fell minutes before stumps after edging to Smith at slip off Nathan Lyon’s bowling. Rahane took risks early in his innings, but was later happy to let Jadeja play the role of the aggressor and adopted a cautious approach. India fight back with the ball Earlier in the day, Steve Smith brought up his 31st Test hundred with back-to-back fours off Mohammed Siraj in the very first over of Day 2. Siraj, who drew first blood on the opening day by dismissing opener Usman Khawaja for a duck, was punished for bowling consecutive half-vollies. Travis Head, unbeaten on 146 overnight, went past 150 for the fourth time in his Test career with a four, producing a firm cut off Mohammed Shami’s bowling. Head, though, would depart soon after and miss out on his maiden Test double ton after getting cramped down the leg side by Siraj, getting caught-behind for 163 as a result. That opened the doors for the Indian bowlers to mount a fight back, with new batter Green departing shortly after, nicking the ball to Gill at second slip off Shami’s bowling. Smith would continue to attack for a while, dispatching Siraj for consecutive fours for a second time in the morning, but would depart right after the drinks interval, chopping the ball onto the stumps to give all-rounder Shardul Thakur his second wicket. [caption id=“attachment_12711232” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Mohammed Siraj finished the pick of the Indian bowlers with 4/108 as Australia were bundled out for 469 after being invited to bat in the ICC World Test Championship Final at The Oval. AP[/caption] Axar Patel too contributed to the Indian fightback even if he wasn’t named in the XI, running Starc out at the non-striker’s end with a superb direct hit from mid off after being brought on to the field as a substitute. Wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey though, stood up for his team after the dismissals of the set overnight batters with his attacking knock of 48 off 69 balls, collecting seven fours and a six and stitching a 51-run partnership with Cummins. Carey, however, was undone while attempting to reverse-sweep Jadeja, getting trapped leg-before. India then grabbed the last two wickets without much fuss to ensure Australia fell short of the 500-mark in the end. Brief scores: India 151/5 in 38 overs (Ravindra Jadeja 48, Ajinkya Rahane 29*; Scott Boland 1/29; Cameron Green 1/22; Nathan Lyon 1/4) trail Australia 469 in 121.3 overs (Travis Head 163, Steve Smith 121; Mohammed Siraj 4/108) by 318 runs. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.