4th Test: Late India batting collapse puts Australia into commanding position at the MCG

Melbourne, Dec 27 Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli shared a 102-run stand for the third wicket, before the duo fell quickly in a sensational late collapse as India ended day two’s play at 164/5 in 46 overs and trail Australia by 310 runs in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

At one point, the possibility of Jaiswal, who mixed caution and aggression judiciously, and Kohli, who presented a secure look at the crease, remaining unbeaten till stumps arrived was more than certain.

But then Jaiswal fell for 82 in a run out caused by an awful mix-up, and was soon followed into the dressing room by Kohli and nightwatcher Akash Deep. India went from 151/2 to 159/5, which blew the game wide open.

With Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja unbeaten on six and four respectively, India’s immediate task will be to get 111 runs more on Saturday to avoid the follow-on, after the last hour madness put Australia in a commanding position yet again.

The final session began with Jaiswal continuing his impressive show by ramping and pulling Pat Cummins for boundaries, while Kohli unfurled the cover drive against him for four more. Jaiswal was impressive in his front-foot play, driving Scott Boland past mid-on and getting a four off Starc through a thick edge before reaching his fifty.

On the other hand, Kohli was patience personified, as seen in him leaving 41% of the deliveries outside the off-stump. That meant Starc strayed down the wrong line and Kohli effortlessly flicked and glanced off him for boundaries.

Australia tried to rattle Kohli with a short-ball ploy, but the batter kept his calm by ducking deliveries and played a controlled pull off Cummins for four. On the other hand, Jaiswal switched gears by whipping Starc for four, dancing down the pitch to whip Lyon for a boundary, and edging plus smashing Mitchell Marsh for a six and four respectively.

After Jaiswal cut Boland for four, it did seem that India would end the day on a high. But destiny had other plans. On the last ball of the 41st over, Jaiswal flicked it to mid-on and called Kohli for a single. But Kohli was ball-watching and was not keen on the run, as Jaiswal charged down the pitch.

It meant both batters were at the non-striker's end, and Jaiswal was run out just 18 runs short of another hundred on the tour. Soon, Kohli was out for 36 as he played at one off Boland in the outside off-stump channel and edged behind.

Boland came back to extract the inside edge off Deep's bat and was caught by diving leg gully. Though Jadeja ended the day with a flick off Starc going for four, the late collapse meant India squandered the momentum they had, putting Australia in a tremendous position to clinch a big lead.

Brief Scores: Australia 474 in 122.4 overs (Steve Smith 140, Marnus Labuschagne 72; Jasprit Bumrah 4-99, Ravindra Jadeja 3-78) lead India 164/5 in 46 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 82, Virat Kohli 36; Scott Boland 2-24, Pat Cummins 2-57) by 310 runs

Source: IANS