The Gabba, Brisbane, hosted the third Test match with it being the second day of the series between India and Australia. During the match, India bowlers, especially, Jasprit Bumrah and Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was making his debut for India, performed exceptionally and, as a result, after the end of the first session, Australia managed to score only 104 runs for the loss of three wickets. During the morning’s session, India were also putting on a spectacle of a show as both teams lit a fire in the competition as the clouds overhead could not put out the spark.
Moving on, Australia started the day 64 for two and were already up against a fierce Indian bowling attack, which frustrated and harassed the Australian batters right from the beginning. Furthermore, the Indian bowlers remained consistent by being spot on with their length and line, coupled with excellent field placements and game plans. But then again, there continues to be resilience from the Australian side that was led by Usman Khawaja and Travis Head at crucial junctures.
The Start of the Bumrah Era
‘Wonders never cease’ was evident as Jasprit Bumrah India’s leading fast bowler made it quite clear how important he was for the team in the hardest of situations. But fear not, as when the Australian batsmen saw Bumrah they knew they were in danger as he was able to swing the ball at ease without any hassles in the head. From the moment he came on to bowl, the batsman started struggling back, as his first order of business was to assist the movement of the ball to mess with the Australian top order, and it worked terrifically as he kept it consistent and followed up on it with execution.
Everything bumped into place for Bumrah as he was finally able to find a breakthrough as he managed to dismiss Khawaja, who only scored 24 runs.
Khawaja, feeling sure of himself, made the error of turning in to a delivery from bumrah which ended up hitting the inside edge of his bat while his wicketkeeper, Rishabh Pant, made the catch. The dismissal was crucial; Khawaja got off to a decent start in the first innings for Australia and the fact that he was out at such a center stage gave India the edge over Australia Bumrah.
Bumrah kept them under pressure and forced all of the other Australian batsmen into a defensive position. There were some sharp balls in his spell that rattled the batters, enough to not allow Bumrah to build partnerships.
Impact Of a Fresh Face Nitish Kumar Reddy.
It was Nitish Kumar Reddy, a rookie Indian bowler, making his first appearance in the Test series, who was able to acclimatize to the circumstances. Reddy, who is known for his prowess in domestic cricket, was given the task of infusing new life in the Indian attack. He undoubtedly rose to the occasion and was able to control and extract bounce on the surface.
His first major contribution was the dismissal of Travis Head for 33 with a ball which was pitched just outside the off stump which swung late. Head was looking set for a big score when in an instant he was flabbergasted by a well thrown ball which knocked down his stumps. Head’s wicket drew many accolades as it consolidated Indian dominance in the session.
Reddy comfortably assisted bumrah in containing the Australian batters by maintaining an accurate line and length.
In light of the fact that he was making his debut in a match of that significance, it is fair to say that his performance was quite commendable and given the circumstances he appeared remarkably composed which bodes well for India’s future bowling talent.
This is his maiden Test match in Australia – Usman Khawaja: An Australian’s Tale – Travis Head: again, Last Stand – Australian’s Tale – more South African-tainted Great Escapes
Usman Khawaja and Travis Head, despite the number of issues that came with this match, began to show tenacity going into the first session, with the support of a few patrons. Their partnerships, although brief, served an important purpose to Australia as they sought to recover from early blows. Following the two dismissals, which were David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne on Day 1, Khawaja was able to be a reassuring figure for Australia, as he guided them through difficult times once again.
Having made his presence felt in the game, Head appeared to threaten dominance over India, but a ball from Reddy saw to that. The Australians on the other hand were at 90/3 following the ejection of Head, and so a rebuilding exercise was needed in the second session – Cameron Green, and Alex Carey were told to lead the way to get the Australians out of this mess.
After the conclusion of lunchtime, it was clear that India was in charge of the match. From the beginning of the match, once India managed to put Australia to 104/3, there seemed to be no chance where the Indians could have expressed the need for more, especially looking at the relentless work put in by Bumrah as well as the influence of debutant Reddy.
History has shown that, for batsmen at the Gabba especially, the track is not the best suit. As a result, the Indian bowlers made full use of the assistance available from the deck with the height of the ball remaining low and the seamers getting a good amount of help.
Since they had Cameron Green and Alex Carey at the crease, Australia still had the chance to build their innings and also begin a fight back during the lunch break. However, Although, India’s bowlers were doing very well and as now both the sides went for the break it looked like the second session was going to be equally entertaining as both sides were putting in efforts to gain the upper hand in the contest.
Fan’s Expectation Of The Continuing War
Along with the collapse of Venetia Theresa moving toward the second session Australia clearly required a fighting performance from Southern Cross Stars Green and Southern Cross Stars Girl Bonnie. Otherwise, India will try to make the most of the smokescreen created by the first session and keep attacking. The conditions were also favorable to both the fast bowlers and spinners which resulted in a very well contested game, with both sides on the lookout that atleast a couple of important wickets could turn the game in their favor.
The performance of Bumrah and Reddy meant that India’s dominance in the first session which came as a surprise was for a reason. But despite that, Australia had experienced Middle and lower order who were not going to lose without a fight.
While the two squads prepared for the start of the second half Australia’s middle-order batsmen‚ were caught in a battle of sorts against the Indian bowlers which promised to persistently engage the viewers during the match. This struggle in itself was in no way casual or unbearding. While one Australia’s middle-order batsmen were well set, India’s bowlers in a span of a few overs easily stripped Australia to chasing a score of 104 runs with 3 of their players already out.
Conclusion: Oprtune Interruption at an Interesting Turning Point.
On day two of the third test match, India’s seamers, namely Bumrah and Reddy did their job well with the ball. Bumrah alongside Reddy now has Australia requiring 155 to secure a vital position throughout the game. The changing sheds are only minutes away and Australia will concede to spite and go in aiming to push the match closer during the second break. Australia are not allowing themselves to retreat as the Indian bowlers began the new session with making a noticeable impact on the game. With the batting providing the desired strength, foreshadowing remains the central theme for the second session.
If you are interested for more: Live Score: India vs Australia 3rd Test Day 2 Jasprit Bumrah and Nitish Kumar Reddy excel as Australia reaches 104/3 at lunch. “Chittorgarh: A Century of Heritage, Valor and Contemporary