Australia responded to the defeat at Adelaide Oval last week with a strong all-round performance in Perth to draw itself level in the four-match series. Having reduced India to 112 for five on Day 4, the Australian bowlers, led by Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon, needed a little more than an hour on the final day to bowl the home team to an emphatic 146-run win.
Hanuma Vihari and Rishabh Pant resumed India's chase of 287 on the final day, with Tim Paine starting with Starc and Lyon. Starc removed Vihari with a length ball that got the inside edge and ballooned up in the air off the pad to Marcus Harris at short mid-wicket. Pant resisted playing a big shot for a while and added 18 runs for the seventh wicket with Umesh Yadav. But a tossed-up delivery from Lyon lured the wicketkeeper-batsman into playing a big shot. The miscue was pouched by Peter Handscomb at mid-wicket.
India's lower-order batsmen didn't offer any resistance and the last three wickets — Umesh, Ishant Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah — fell for the addition of just three more runs.
In the post-match interview, Virat Kohli said, "Australia played better cricket than us and they deserved to win."
The third Test begins on December 26 at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Comments
SHARE