4th Test
Day-5 Afternoon Session Highlights:
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant has kept the Australia team wicketless during the second session
At The Tea of Day-5:
India scored 369 (1st Innings) & 112/3 (2nd Innings), where as Australia scored 474 (1st Innings) & 234 (2nd Innings).
So, finally India trail by 228 runs.
Yashasvi Jaiswal scored his 14th Test fifty, his second of the match, and batted through a session alongside Rishabh Pant to keep India’s hopes of a draw alive at the MCG.
The pair guided India to Tea at 112/3, still 228 runs away from the target.
More importantly, they managed to reduce the number of overs remaining in the Test, with 38 left to play in the final session.
After struggling against Mitchell Starc with the new ball, Jaiswal found some relief in the post-Lunch period, as the pitch offered little assistance to the bowlers.
The left-hander took advantage, playing his shots when the opportunity arose.
He engaged in some banter with Starc, prompting Pant to calm his partner, a composure Pant carried into his own batting.
The wicketkeeper resisted the urge to take on Nathan Lyon, a bowler he’s had success against in the past.
Jaiswal’s second fifty of the game came off 127 balls, his slowest in Test cricket.
Together with Pant, he did what India’s top three—Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli—could not: survive the new-ball spells from Pat Cummins and Starc.
Jaiswal was particularly tested by Starc, playing and missing several outswingers, but he made it to Lunch unscathed.
However, Cummins struck early in the second session, removing Rohit Sharma after his cautious start and then getting KL Rahul to edge a back-of-length delivery.
Virat Kohli, after showing signs of discipline, fell in the final over before Lunch, edging one to Usman Khawaja at slips.
Australia entered the second session hoping to add more wickets but faced resistance from Jaiswal and Pant.
Pant, who had been criticized for an aggressive shot in the first innings, showed a more measured approach this time.
He defended or let go of most deliveries, resisting the temptation to attack when Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne were brought on.
Pant went into Tea with 28 off 93 balls, anchoring the innings alongside Jaiswal.
Leave a Reply