Australian spinners created a lot of chaos in the first two sessions on Day 2 of the second Test which is being played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. No Indian batter could stay at the crease for long. Wickets kept falling one after the other. The condition was pathetic as the score was 139 for 7.
However, later, allrounder Axar Patel along with Ravichandran Ashwin handled the innings and started attacking the spinners. Due to this attacking game, Axar also completed his third and second consecutive half-century of his Test career with a beautiful six in the 75 over of the innings.
Axar’s fifty, which came in 94 balls, saw 6 fours and 2 sixes. He also stitched a brilliant 114-run partnership which came off 177 balls with Ashwin, when India needed the most at tha time. He didn’t just play big shots but played very responsibly. He pulled out great cut shots. He may be batting in the lower order, but the ability with which he was batting was top-class. Coming at number eight, this type of batting becomes icing on the cake for any team.
Nathan Lyon created havoc with his bowling
Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon took five wickets in the first innings. Lyon took a fifer for the 22nd time in Test cricket. Virat Kohli (44 off 84 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (26 off 74 balls) added 59 runs for the fifth wicket in the post-lunch session to stabilize the Indian innings, but both were dismissed in quick succession.
Wicketkeeper KS Bharat once again disappointed with the bat. Earlier in the day’s opening session, KL Rahul (17) continued his poor form while Cheteshwar Pujara (0) could not make his 100th Test match memorable as he was dismissed for a two-ball duck. Skipper Rohit Sharma (32) looked in good touch but was soon cleaned up by Lyon. Returning from injury, Shreyas Iyer (4) looked comfortable at the crease but his backfoot flick was caught by Peter Handscomb at the short leg. India ended up on 262 runs in their first innings.
Here’s how fans reacted:
Axar this knock >>>>>> bkl rahul popa whole career
— đ I AM NOT A CRICKET BOOKIEđ (@lode_ka_bookie) February 18, 2023
He should open instead of Klol
— Praneeth (@fantasy_d11) February 18, 2023
Bapu thari batting bhi kmaal chhe!
— Rishav Dev (@RishavD94158804) February 18, 2023
Indian batting order today pic.twitter.com/kh64G1atwH
— ICT FAN (@CoronaOp4) February 18, 2023
This axar patel performance is better than anything I have seen from Virat Kohli
— R. (@CV7lliPxcked) February 18, 2023
Right Now Axar + Jaddu + Aswin >> BKL, Pujara , Kohli ,
— Raktim Ranjan Goswami (@raktim_goswami) February 18, 2023
He's making his best friend proud pic.twitter.com/gXeDLjpu33
— Halseyđ«đź #SackIyer (@meandmyself017) February 18, 2023
Ashwin-Akshar on Day 2 đ pic.twitter.com/g4IGO8FFgg
— Women's Premier League (WPL) #WPL2023 (@wpl2023) February 18, 2023
