India in charge after 2 sessions of 2nd test vs Australia

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — After choosing to bat first, Australia was on the brink of collapse at 136-5 at tea on day one of the Boxing Day cricket test against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Leading the four-test series 1-0, the home side was struggling at lunch at 65-3 and lost the key wickets of Travis Head (38) and Marnus Labuschagne (48) in the second session of play.

Skipper Tim Paine (yet to score) and second-gamer Cameron Green (six not out) face a tough situation to lead Australia to a competitive first-innings score on a slow-paced pitch, with only the tail to follow.

Spinner Ravi Ashwin (2-25) and pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah (2-24) have led the bowling for India.

Bumrah removed opener Joe Burns caught behind for a duck. Ashwin then claimed two important breakthroughs, dismissing Matthew Wade, who was caught at mid-on for 30, and Steve Smith, who was caught at leg slip for a duck at 38-3.

India showed on Saturday it was determined to rebound strongly from a disastrous eight-wicket loss in the first test in Adelaide, where India was bowled out for its lowest test score of 36.

Crucially, India has continued its dominance of test cricket’s top-ranked batsman Smith, who has scored 1, 1 not out, and 0 in the series.

Labuschagne was given out LBW to Ashwin shortly before lunch on 26 but survived after a video review indicated that the ball was going over the stumps.

Pace spearhead Bumrah claimed the first breakthrough after lunch when Head was caught at gully after adding 86 for the fourth wicket with Labuschagne.

Labuschagne followed only 10 runs later at 134-5, after offering a catch to backward square as Mohammed Siraj grabbed his first test wicket.

Missing skipper Virat Kohli for personal reasons, India made four changes to its side.

India included spinner Ravindra Jadeja, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, and debutants Shubman Gill and Siraj, who replaces injured pace bowler Mohammed Shami.

Kohli returned home to be with his wife for the birth of their first child. Ajinkya Rahane will be India’s stand-in skipper for the rest of the series in Kohli’s absence.

Australia named an unchanged team, with opener David Warner still unavailable because of a groin strain.

Up to 30,000 spectators will be allowed to attend a day’s play, which is only one-third of the stadium’s capacity, due to COVID-19 restrictions.

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