India continued from where they left off on day two of the first Test in Perth. Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul along with a decent contribution from Devdutt Padikkal helped India drive forward and take further control of this game.
Starting the day on 172/0, Jaiswal and Rahul got a flurry of runs in the first hour of the day. The duo stretched their partnership beyond 200. Both batters got a boundary each in the second over of the day before an uppercut helped Jaiswal get to his 4th Test hundred.
The 22-year-old left-hander used Josh Hazlewood’s pace to help it over the keeper for six to bring up his first ton on Australian soil. However, Rahul was dismissed in the following over as Mitchell Starc was rewarded for some consistent bowling. The Australia left-arm fast bowler got one to nip away as Rahul nicked it to the keeper. The 201-run partnership was finally broken.
Jaiswal and Padikkal add 74 runs after India lose KL Rahul for 77
That brought Padikkal to the crease. He was beaten on the edge before he got off the mark. The Karnataka left-hander looked in better touch when compared to the first innings as he rotated strike well and found the gaps on the off-side.
Jaiswal got a touch iffy after getting the milestone as he tried to go after the bowling. He survived a runout at the bowler’s end. There was a thick edge that flew over third man which was 10 yards inside the boundary rope. Another edge flew just over the slip cordon as the young opener survived once again.
With the second new ball only a few overs away, Nathan Lyon, Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head combined to bowl most of the overs in the second hour before Australia took the new ball.
Hazlewood started waywardly with the new cherry as he drifted down leg a couple of times which went for four byes. Jaiswal and Padikkal struck a couple of boundaries as India went into lunch at 275/1. Another session went their way as they added 103 runs in 26 overs.
Jaiswal quickly went on to 141 and has already played 264 balls. Meanwhile, Padikkal has given him good company and is unbeaten on 25 off 70 balls. The partnership is already 74 and they’re looking good.
With the lead 321, India are in an excellent position and are calling the shots at the moment. Australia need to strike early with the second new ball only four overs old. They will need to trigger a collapse as India seem to be running away with the game.
