Shubman Gill has given a fluent start to India in the second Test after a setback down under. The match was a pink ball day-night encounter at Adelaide; got off to the start with Mitchell Starc getting rid of Yashasvi Jaiswal on the very first delivery of the game. This opening success seemed to have all the indications of a match-making that would end up being an exciting one in the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
There was tension when KL Rahul was nearly caught when he was 28, let alone another tense occasion when the Indian star escaped a dismissal in the same session. When standing in front of Scott Boland’s first delivery, Rahul just edged one to the wicketkeeper, but It was a no-ball from the fast bowler that saved him. He was given another lifeline later in the day when he was dropped off on the fifth delivery. Nevertheless, in the face of Cummins’ aggressive bowling, Shubman Gill settled the Indian ship by playing fluent cricket shots and gave the team definite hope of a good first-inning score.
Earlier, Indian captain Rohit Sharma decided to bat first after winning the toss and hoping for a powerful start against mighty Aussies. India also made a few changes to their playing eleven, with Ravichandran Ashwin coming back into the team in place of Washington Sundar. Rohit and Gill were also back in the playing eleven; Jurel and Padikkal missed out as anticipated.
Australia, however, has a unique record of having lost no pink-ball Tests ever, especially at the Adelaide ground, where they haven’t been beaten at all. India, in particular, has had a variable record in day-night tests, which has emerged victorious in three such games but has also tasted a disastrous defeat in pink-ball at the hands of Australians.
As India seeks to conquer past devils and Australia wants to assert its dominance, this second Test continues to look set as a clash between two cricketing titans.
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