After a one-sided victory over Australia in the first Test of the four-match Test series by an inning and 132 runs in Nagpur, the Men in Blue are back in action for the second Test that kicked off at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Friday, February 17. Australia opted to bat first after winning the toss.
Meanwhile, the Australians, who were looking to finally take control of things after the horrible middle-order collapse, lost opener Usman Khwaja, who was playing brilliantly but departed after scoring 81 runs. KL Rahul took a stunning one-handed catch in point. Ravindra Jadeja bowled a tossed-up delivery just outside off and Khawaja went for his most used shot, reverse-sweep, and even middled the ball but found Rahul in its way.
The kangaroos had a brilliant start as openers David Warner and Khawaja stitched a brilliant 50-run partnership for the first wicket. However, Warner couldn’t hold the one end safe and continued his poor form as he was dismissed by Mohammed Shami after scoring just 15 runs. The no.1 ranked Test batter in the world, Marnus Labuschagne joined Khawaja and looked pretty well as usual.
Brilliant bowling display by R Ashwin
Just before lunch, India’s star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin gave the Australians a massive setback as he picked up the wickets of Labuschagne and former Australia captain Steve Smith within a space of three deliveries. Labuschagne was pressing forward on the defensive push but got beaten and it hit his pads.
Smith was brilliantly caught by wicketkeeper KS Bharat behind the wickets as Ashwin bowled a slider and it kept going with the angle, he played for the turn but got beaten and it struck the outside edge as the ball went straight. He got out for a two-ball duck. These two big wickets can prove to be a game-changer for Team India.
Meanwhile, India now need to win two more matches in the series against Australia to clinch a spot in the WTC final which is set to take place in June at The Oval in London, for the second successive time. Australia have already qualified for the finals while India are in second place.
Here’s how the fans reacted:
Knew it…
Once khawaja gets out then it's done for aus 😪— Saurabh 🤍 (@Cricket_Gyaani_) February 17, 2023
Imagine letting Khawaja scoring these many already, yuck! #INDvsAUS
— Psy (@PsyfeR888) February 17, 2023
Australia ki shaan tu,
pakistan ka dulhara,
khawaja mere khawaja— parth (@parth_1800) February 17, 2023
Ye khawaja ka visa cancel kar jaldi..#INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/ENWFAk3xlj
— Ritik (@Ritik568) February 17, 2023
@Uz_Khawaja you absolutely stunning 💓, amazing to watch out.#INDvsAUS
— Sk kajla 🇮🇳 (sunil kajla) (@Skkajla2) February 17, 2023
Sad For Siraj And Shami Bhaijaan😥
Usman Khawaja Bhai bas karo ab 😭🙏 pic.twitter.com/BWb7dtryjj— Siddhartha Patel 🔥 (@Siddhu__94) February 17, 2023
#BGT2023 #INDvAUS #bkl #klrahul
Awesome catch 🫴🙌🔥 pic.twitter.com/7kZlxAbdlO— Suraj Karkera 🇮🇳 (@suraj_karkera3) February 17, 2023
Catch of the match well done Rahul
— దేవర #NBK108 #NTR30 (@balayya_vamsi) February 17, 2023
