ADELAIDE, Australia – Marnus Labuschagne ended a difficult phase of his performance with a solid contribution of 64 runs as Australia took a narrow lead against India at lunch on Day 2 of the second Test match on Saturday.
Travis Head also made his mark with a brisk half-century, remaining unbeaten on 53 runs from 67 balls, helping Australia reach 191-4 by lunch, giving them an 11-run advantage in the day-night fixture taking place at Adelaide Oval.
On the first day, Australia bowler Mitchell Starc achieved his career-best Test figures with 6-48, effectively dismissing India for a total of 180 runs, after Australia won the toss.
In the series opener at Perth, India secured a significant victory over Australia by 295 runs.
Resuming their innings at 86-1 on Saturday, Australia encountered notable improvement from the Indian pace attack. Jasprit Bumrah maintained his usual precision, while Mohammed Siraj demonstrated better length and consistently probed the Australian batters.
This strategy resulted in two early wickets within the first 40 minutes. Opener Nathan McSweeney, who scored 39 runs, was caught behind, ending a 67-run partnership with Labuschagne for the second wicket before Bumrah claimed the breakthrough.
Bumrah soon struck again, securing the second wicket as Steve Smith was caught behind, contributing just two runs to the scoreboard.
Labuschagne’s performance was noteworthy as he reached his second half-century in 11 innings, accomplishing this milestone off 114 balls.
Despite Siraj’s persistent efforts and pressure on both batters, it was Nitish Reddy who ultimately ended the quick-scoring partnership, as Labuschagne was surprisingly caught at gully by Yashasvi Jaiswal, marking India’s third wicket in the morning session.
Bumrah concluded the session with impressive bowling statistics of 3-23 in 15 overs.
Looking ahead, the teams are set to compete in the third Test starting December 14 in Brisbane, followed by encounters in Melbourne beginning December 26 and concluding in Sydney on January 3.
