Australia staged a comeback in Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Thursday, winning the second Test match vs India, at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. Winning the match on Day 3, the Aussies made it 1-2 and will be aiming to level the series in the final Test match.
Chasing a target of 76 runs, Australia raced to 78/1, with Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne remaining unbeaten. Head played an unbeaten knock of 49 runs off 53 balls, packed with six fours and a six. Meanwhile, Labuschagne slammed an unbeaten knock of 28 runs off 58 deliveries, including six fours.
The match saw Australia finally find their footing in this series and Nathan Lyon received the Man of the Match award for taking 11 wickets, including a brilliant eight-wicket haul which sent the hosts packing for 163 in the second innings, despite a brave half-century by Cheteshwar Pujara. Matthew Kuhnemann was also in good form, taking six wickets, including a five-wicket haul in the first innings, which bowled out India for 109.
Usman Khawaja was in good batting form in the first innings, smacking 60 runs off 147 balls to help Australia post 197 in response to India's 109. But the batter was dismissed for a two-ball duck in the second innings.
{{/usCountry}}Usman Khawaja was in good batting form in the first innings, smacking 60 runs off 147 balls to help Australia post 197 in response to India's 109. But the batter was dismissed for a two-ball duck in the second innings.
{{/usCountry}}Speaking on Star Sports, former player Sanjay Manjrekar credited the defeat to India's overconfidence. "I got the impression that India was carrying the hangover of the dominance that they had in the series so far. They won the toss and batted first for the first time", he said.
"So immediately the onus was on them to call the shots in the game and I thought they were just trying to dominate a bit too early and didn't suss the pitch out. So too many attacking shots under the assumption that they knew the pitch and that is where I guess where India faltered", he further added.
India won the first Test match by an innings and 132 runs. The match saw Rohit Sharma register a ton and Ravindra Jadeja take seven wickets, including a five-wicket haul. Meanwhile, the hosts won the second fixture by six wickets and Jadeja was once again the star performer with 10 wickets, including a seven-wicket haul. India will be aiming to grab a series-clinching victory in the final Test, scheduled to begin from March 9 in Ahmedabad.