The Ajinkya Rahane-led India were 36 for one in their first innings in reply to Australia’s total of 195 at stumps on the opening day of the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Saturday.
Debutant Shubman Gill was unbeaten on 28 with Cheteshwar Pujara on 7. Mayank Agarwal (0) was the lone wicket which India lost in the very first over. The visitors still trail the Aussies by 159 runs.
Earlier, an inspired Indian bowling unit, led by paceman Jasprit Bumrah (4/56) and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (3/35), bundled out Australia for a paltry 195.
The other debutant, Mohammed Siraj (2/40) also shined with the ball, picking up the crucial wicket of well-settled Marnus Labuschagne (48) and young all-rounder Cameron Green (12).
Here’s how Twitter reacted:
Top day 1 for us. Great display from the bowlers and a solid finish too. 🇮🇳👏
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) December 26, 2020
Outstanding bowling changes and really smart fielding placements from Rahane.
And the bowlers delivered . Ashwin, Bumrah,Siraj were absolutely brilliant. Great effort to get Australia all out for 195 on the first day. Now for the batters to get a good first innings lead #AUSvIND— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) December 26, 2020
Top bowling by team https://t.co/58zxJTz5Fm come on batters… #AUSvIND
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) December 26, 2020
Superb bowling display @ashwinravi99 @Jaspritbumrah93 #mohammadsiraj backing our boys to get 300 runs on board .. Go well team India @BCCI
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) December 26, 2020
Who would have thought an off spinner would have so much success on the first day of the #BoxingDay Test 😉 @ashwinravi99 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) December 26, 2020
Cricket lovely cricket #AUSvIND 😍😍 #Bumrah you beauty
— Sheldon Cotterell (@SaluteCotterell) December 26, 2020
The joy of a maiden Test wicket 😄 #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/U9DigYleey
— ICC (@ICC) December 26, 2020
Today at the MCG…
in 2003: Virender Sehwag 195 in 233 balls; 5s, 25f
in 2020: Australia 195 in 435 balls; 1s, 18f#AusvInd#IndvAus— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) December 26, 2020
Terrific bowling by @Jaspritbumrah93 & @ashwinravi99 to restrict the aussies to 190 odd! Time for the batsman to step up and put the runs on the board! #BoxingDayTest #INDvAUS
— Kris Srikkanth (@KrisSrikkanth) December 26, 2020
We need to make our first innings with the bat count . Our first innings is gonna be really really crucial . So far , we have been brilliant in this test . #BorderGavaskartrophy #indaus #cricket #bcci
— Rohan Gavaskar (@rohangava9) December 26, 2020
Phenomenal bowling performance from India along with sharp, aggressive, smart captaincy.
Not the start we wanted with the bat. This Aussie bowling line up looks lethal. Just hope we get through the day without losing more wickets.#AUSvIND #BoxingDayTest— Saiyami Kher (@SaiyamiKher) December 26, 2020
What a terrific day of cricket at the MCG today. Congrats to the ground staff on preparing the best wicket at the MCG for a long time. More of these type of pitches please ! The Indian bowlers were outstanding too & very well lead by @ajinkyarahane88 ! Can India bat all day ?
— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) December 26, 2020
Mood at the MCG right now 🇮🇳#TeamIndia #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/jLjAizcI61
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 26, 2020
