The second Test of the four-match series between India and Australia began at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Friday, February 17. Australia skipper Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bat first.
The Aussies made two changes in their playing XI, with Travis Head replacing Matt Renshaw while debutant Michael Kuhnemann came in for Scott Boland. On the other hand, India included Shreyas Iyer in place of Suryakumar Yadav.
Batting first, Australia once again lost David Warner cheaply. He was sent back for 15 by fast bowler Mohammed Shami. The inform batters, Marnus Labuschagne (18) and Steve Smith (0), got out on the bowling of veteran India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the same over.
Meanwhile, Usman Khawaja – who was marching towards his 14th century in Test century – paid the price of his reverse sweep against last match’s hero Ravindra Jadeja.
In the 46th over of the first innings, Khawaja attempted a reverse sweep to fetch four runs, but KL Rahul, fielding on the leg side, anticipated the shot and timed his jump to perfection to pull off a one-handed stunner.
Fans and experts of the game applauded Rahul’s effort to get rid of the well-settled Khawaja.
Here’s the video:
ICYMI – WHAT. A. CATCH 😯😯
WOW. A one-handed stunner from @klrahul to end Usman Khawaja’s enterprising stay!#INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/ODnHQ2BPIK
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 17, 2023
Khawaja (81) and Peter Handscomb (72 not out) were the only half-centurions for Australia, as the hosts could manage just 263 in their first innings. For India, Shami took 4/60, while Ashwin and Jadeja picked three wickets each.
In reply, India, too, had a shaky start as they lost four wickets in the morning session of Day 2. Off-spinner Nathan Lyon removed Rahul (17), Rohit Sharma (32), Cheteshwar Pujara (0) and Shreyas Iyer (4) in his second spell of the match. India were struggling at 88-4 at lunch, with Virat Kohli batting on 14 and all-rounder Jadeja on 15.
