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Watch: Ashwin stuns Labuschagne, leaves Smith distraught within 3 balls to trigger exceptional turnaround in 2nd Test
Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith within an over to turn the first session on its head during Day 1 of the second Test.
Team India's star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin gave Australia a massive setback in the first innings of the second Test, as he picked the wickets of Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith within a space of three deliveries. Ashwin trapped Labuschagne in front of stumps, and induced an outside edge off Steve Smith to send him back to the pavilion a delivery later. The quick wickets meant Australia returned at Lunch with three batters down, putting 94 on the board in 25 overs so far.
Labuschagne had made a positive start to his innings, racing to 18 off 24 deliveries when Ashwin struck the crucial breakthrough for the side. Coming from around the wicket, Ashwin got the ball to straighten and even as the umpire ruled it not out, the spinner nudged captain Rohit Sharma to take the review, eventually resulting in his first wicket of the match.
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Incidentally, this was also his 700th First-Class wicket.
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The onus was now on Steve Smith to steer a rebuild for the Australian team but he could only survive two balls. On the final delivery of the over, Smith found an outside-edge carried to wicketkeeper KS Bharat, who made no mistake in clinging on to the ball, despite it staying relatively lower.
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Earlier, Australia captain Pat Cummins had won the toss and opted to bat in Delhi. The Test marked a 100th appearance for Cheteshwar Pujara in the longest format of the game for India, as he was felicitated by Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar ahead of the game. As the players took the field, Pujara was also given a guard of honour by the Indian team members, as well as Australia openers Usman Khawaja and David Warner.
Australia lost their first wicket on 50 when Mohammed Shami struck the breakthrough, inducing an outside edge off David Warner for an easy catch for Bharat. Warner fell on 15.
India are leading the four-match series 1-0.
