Australia vs India, 2nd Test, India tour of Australia, 2018-19 - CommentaryAUS vs IND, 2nd Test, India tour of Australia, 2018-19 - Commentary

Harsha Bhogle: I think Australia won this Test match with old fashioned stubbornness and grit on the 4th morning from Khawaja and Paine. It's been a good match in all respects for Paine

Harsha Bhogle: Very disappointing morning for India. They have been outplayed in this test match and the high of Adelaide is over.

Raijo Philip: Now, if India can reduce the margin of defeat to less than 100, it would be great achievement. Nonetheless, a great opportunity for Pant to prove his mettle.

Prinak: Watching the ball from the hand till the end, patience and focusing on one ball at a time will be the key to India to get through here

Harsha Bhogle: Too long to go in this game and not much left on the batting order. Disappointing after Adelaide

Akash W: I know there's no pressure on Vihari, but he's looking far more composed and solid than putting Vijay, Rahul and Rohit together...

Arpit Nath: Vihari seems to have a cool head on his shoulders. Both batsmen now showing how to bat on this tricky surface.

Vishal Bulbule: To me Hanuma Vihari has a good technique. His height is a natural advantage and he looks solid. And more importantly he plays as per merit, shows determination to just hang in there.

Sharath: It's all about winning the toss. When the pitches are bowler friendly, cannot expect any team to chase down a target on 5th day. More chances would have been there for us if we bat first. Common story of low scoring Test match these days!!

Azar: All India can do now is, consider this as a challenge and learn a lot. Rahane, Vihari and Pant should try to bat as long as possible.

Harsha Bhogle: One word pitch report. Capricious. "fickle, inconstant, changeable, variable, unstable, mercurial, volatile, erratic, vacillating, irregular, inconsistent, fitful, arbitrary"

Krishna jangid: This pitch seems good to bat now, Vijay should take most of this crucial time to cement its position. Who knows the pitch might behave fierce in few overs from now!

Manjitsingh: As Indian cricket fan, its really disheartening to see the entire onus on just one batsman, most of the times.

pradeep: Good opportunity for Vijay to cement his spot ahead of Rahul for next match.

Dipak: Probably this is the last chance for Murali Vijay.

Srikanth: "That should be Rahul's Test career." -- Harsh!

James: "What is the purpose of using a heavy roller? What effect does it have on the pitch?" -- Meant to settle down the demons on the deck. Clearly Rahul had demons in his head.

Harsha Bhogle: 287. Very tough. Will be an unforgettable win if India get these!

Sriram: "Open the batting with Pant. Let him bat normal. Put pressure on Aussies. INDIA WINS. Simple." -- My colleague Kumar agrees!

Daksh: "Finally Indians have figured out a way to dismiss Lyon."

Naveen: "This sudden fall of wickets looks like a blessing in disguise for the Aussies. The final target would be small enough to entice India to go for an aggressive approach. Yet, big enough for the bowlers to feel confident in defending and taking ten wickets in remaining overs!"

Mkt: "Going by your commentary, the Cummins wicket might worry the Indian batsmen more than it excited the bowlers..!!"

Harsha Bhogle: Maybe the effect of the roller wearing off? But this track is now seriously up and down.

Sumeet: "I want the same lunch what Indian bowlers had today !"

Harsha Bhogle: Shami is opening this game up. Might be "Second Innings Shami" but he is delivering wickets. Looking like a wicket every ball ...

Yash Jain (@Smaky1008): "Being an Indian, it's very heartening to see the Oz batsman jumping around facing the new Indian pace attack."

Sanjay Deshwalee: "Shami and second innings love affair continues. He deserves a five fer now." -- And, he gets it!

Utkarsh Masand (@crickey_Ut21): "India and the tail again.."

Bala (@H_0sni): "I fancy India chasing anything less than 250. India should run through Australia's 'tail' if they want any chances. Hoping and praying the openers get a 50 stand like last test."

PratikSB: This has been the story of the Test. India failing to get a wicket in the opening hour and then trying hard to make inroads.

Rohan: Missing a spinner terribly here. Could have changed things up a bit.

Raghav: I have a gut feeling that Umesh will produce a fiery spell and will justify his selection.

Harsha Bhogle: Not the start India wanted. Australia may not have scored too many but they are playing out spells when the bowlers are at their freshest.

Jayesh Jadhav: This lead is enough for Aus to win this test.

Mack: "What is status of Finch's injury?" -- He is padded up.

Dhruv: Looks like India will be chasing anything between 250 and 275.

Harsha Bhogle: That Head dismissal makes this game 50-50. The result of the most sustained high pressure fast bowling I have seen for a long time from India.

Manish: "Just an action replay of what happened in the 1st innings with Head! Just the position of bowler and fielder changed."

Vijit Mahaur (@Vijit_Mahaur): "Interesting to note that our concern has shifted from our bowlers not bowling well overseas a few years back to our bowlers not batting well."

salman: "India must try H. Vihari" -- Here he is!

Divya Karthick: "The scoreboard stood at 251-6 for both teams and its the Aussie tail which made difference for the lead.. Considering India's out of form opening pair and a weaker tail, anything above 250 is a definite uphill task in the fourth innings."

Prashant: "Second innings and Shami...seems like a never ending love story."

Ananthanarayanan Potti: "Fierce bowling from Bumrah, reminds me of the Wahab Riaz spell during the world cup."

Hrishi A: Yadav & Shami leaking too many runs. Time to get a spinner on or bring back Bumrah.

Suprith Divakar: Australian openers have survived a roller coaster ride of the first 10 overs.. Indian seamers have failed to knock off a wicket even after hitting the right spots repeatedly.

Kishore Thota: The difference between the two teams are the openers.

Abdul Rahman: Time to introduce Hanuma Vihari!

Vanitha: Indian pacers have started off with more intent compared to the first innings.

Ram: Not the tail, but the openers contribution will decide the match. 120:2.

Pradeep Reddy: Who is missing Bhuvi here?

Sachin Bansal: Batting contribution of lower order may well decide the outcome of this match!

upam deka (@upamdeka17260): "Hanuma Vihari has such a calming presence, so much grit & composure."

@Sam_sumeet: Let bat do the Talking ! That's what Kohli said in that gesture ! This innings has been a sheer example of masterpiece!

vikashardia: "Should appreciate the effort by Lyon for his consistency of bowling on good length and not giving any freebies"

Keshav Yadav @keshav_yadav01): "This has been the problem with Rahane, not converting 50s to big one."

Surya: "The rate at which Williamson is striking in the adjoining tab ...we may see two of the fab 4 get a century at the same time ...."

rajarock (@rajaroc87195104): "After having six tiring days at the office switched on the TV on Sunday morning to witness India dominating Australia but only witnessed Rahane's wicket....oh my god....tough week continues"

Harsha Bhogle: I wonder if the selectors will be tempted to call up Hardik Pandya given he has bowled enough and taken five wickets on a batting pitch in the Ranji Trophy

Bishnu: "Was the ball which got Rahane off the crack?" -- No, just went straight

Sameer: "It's -5 degrees and 3:30 in the Netherlands, but both can't stop me from waking up for a Kohli century!"

Harsha Bhogle: If you love test cricket, you would have loved what you saw today. If you don't, you might say hardly anything happened!!

Harsha Bhogle: Excellent cricket and batsmanship of the highest quality from Kohli and Rahane. Australia never flagged and that added to the intensity

Kartikeya Bajaj: With the way the great king kohli is playing, chances of australia to come back into the match seems blurred. The more time he stays , the more chances of India getting a grip onto this match. Rahane has always been an underestimated player but he always plays part in every test match.

Maulik: What it the status of Prithvi Shaw Recovery?, Can he play the next match. Really like to see double P (Prithvi and Parthiv) opening in next match. -- Regarding Shaw's injury. He's recovering well. Could well play the next game because there's a gap for Christmas.

Apk: Time for Kohli and Rahane to build a partnership like the one they did 4 years ago in Melbourne.

Pranshu Gautam: Pujara is to Batsmanship as a Saint is to Sufism. Such Dedicated and Determined batting.

Kirti: Aussie bowlers are justifying what Paine said in the Press conference the other day. Kohli is battling hard for every run.

Amey Panse: "Has the pitch changed from day 1?" --- This session has not seen too many balls misbehaving. If you apply yourself, still pretty good for batting.

Madhusudhan: "Interesting to see how the Indian batsmen will face Lyon."

Gowtam Reddy P: "Virat clearly showing why he is world number one, such confidence and such class. Just superb to watch."

Pratik: "Kohli and Pujara are practically India's new opening pair."

Shubham Gupta (@ImSom_30): "Regular failure of Indian openers has reinstated the need to have an extra batsman in the XI, especially someone who could chip in with a few overs too. Its a very tricky call, with 4 bowlers you look short on bowling and with this kind of top order, you can't afford 5."

Harsha Bhogle: I often used to say that on overseas tours, especially early on, that Tendulkar was India's 10-2 man. Well, it might be Kohli now but the line is valid!

Manan Dayalani: "Really feeling bad for Murali Vijay. Few years back he was the go-to man when ever India toured to SENA countries. Now he is struggling to keep his spot in the playing XI."

Jatin Chawla: "The real test for Indian openers starts!! Fingers crossed."

Ahmad Danish: "Ishant did a Shami here. Almost like 1st Test."

john britto (@johnbri_20): "And Lyon remains not out again..."

Pratik: "Tim Paine playing a low-profile yet match defining innings."

kiran patro (@kiranpatro2): "If Indian batsmen do their job perfectly than no need of tail to do something special it's all about performing your role."

Sandeep: "India shouldn't lose patience on this pitch. Every run is very crucial from here. Two good length deliveries followed by a one on pads will not work. They should consistently hit the good length area and wait for the edge. These two are as good as the top order batsmen."

Soham Kundu (@SohamKu84158317): "Why don't they bowl yorkers to the tail-enders?"

Md Ubaidullah: India should focus on dot balls to put pressure.

Harsha Bhogle: Lower order hanging on again. Thought Bumrah might have been a greater threat.

Sarthak Sethi: "@Prasant, it is not just the Aussies, every non-subcontinental team has great tail-enders at their home against INDIA. South Africa had Philander and Rabada, England had Sam Curran and Adil Rashid, now Aussies have Cummins, Starc and Lyon."

Mayank: "All the talk about tail-enders. Remember India did pretty well too in the home series against England. Jayant Yadav got a maiden ton. Tail-enders are usually good in their backyards. I feel we don't give India enough credit just because they manage to achieve those feats on their home soil."

Prasant: "Aussies have some handy tail-enders, so it's not easy to remove them quickly. Need four super balls from the Indian pacers."

Sai: "The first session of day 2 literally defines the match result; anything over 320 Aus will fancy their chances to win this Test."

Smruti: The difference between India and Australia will be how much Australia score from here, since the tail-enders for India are not that effective with the bat, compared to the Aussies

Azar: Now the tail-enders are in, they will not end easily. India should bowl meticulously from now, two more wickets to breathe.

DJ: We must appreciate the fitness levels, skill and patience of Indian bowlers! Typical situation where India have made decent comeback but Australia are still on top...

Gautam: If AUS can get to 350.. they can put Ind under severe pressure. considering that Ind have to bat 4th in the Test

Divyesh: "Can Vihari be India's Moeen???"

Kirti: "Against the run of play, this may be a game-changing partnership and India are leaking runs here."

Shetty Suneeth: "Good fightback by the Aussies.. See-saw continues from first match.. Good for Test match viewership."

Sanjay Deshwalee: "Ominous signs for India as they've dropped Marsh, who was the best batsman in the 2nd innings of the first Test and is well set now."

upam deka: "Still believe India were much better had they picked Jadeja in place of Umesh. Would have given much more stability to this fragile lower order. Also, Lyon took 7 wickets in the last Sheffield game played here. So spinners do play a role here."

Agam Jain: "I feel like all the chit chat happening about playing XI since morning was too early to discuss."

Sarthak: "Umesh Yadav vs Shaun Marsh - remember 2011-12 series!"

Harsha Bhogle: So Kohli does to Handscomb as Khawaja did to him

Srikanth: "It does look like a difficult pitch to get accustomed to! By plugging the flow of runs, batsmen can be made to feel uneasy. Lion-hearted effort from the bowlers after the lunch break."

Vanitha: Indians would not want to imagine what Lyon can do on day 5!

Nishant Vaswani: VK himself should bowl a few and confuse the batsmen.

Varun: @Kiran: With that logic Jadeja should not have been picked for this tour!

Kiran Patro: I feel Jadeja was left out as Aussies have 6 left-handers in their lineup. So no harm clearly.

Kumar: India is missing Ashwin. In hindsight, Jadeja could have replaced Umesh.

Ankit KC (@AnkitKC19): "As they say, you shouldn't judge a pitch until the both sides have batted."

Shikhar: "Generally one would expect Finch to be the superstar, but his Victorian teammate is stealing the show here. Class batting from the southpaw."

Jatin Chawla: "The decision to play 4 seamers is correct or not - we can't say just in 1 session, but I feel spinner is must in a team just to change the proceedings of the game. If things are not going your way with fast bowlers, Jaddu would have been a good option in Ash's absence just to slow down the things!!"

Vijit Mahaur (@Vijit_Mahaur): India should not worry much, they lost the first session in the Adelaide test as well.

Gunit Narula (@NarulaGunit): "Spinner would have provided a cushion for all the quicks and even if the pitch is not much suited to spinners, spinner would have done the holding job !"

Saket: "I don't think there is any fault in team selection. Four pacer-attack has actually won us a game vs South Africa. We need to be patient and probably appreciate Australian openers who are batting well here."

Kumar: "@prabhakarancp its not cos of team combination. Virat never shows face of the mistake in the field!!!. I still believe team is strong, Only worry is keeping the energy."

Ankit KC (@AnkitKC19): "This has happened far too often going into a Perth test where there is too much talk before the game but what follows is not mind-boggling."

prabhakarancp: "Virat sweating a little and wiping it with shirt sleeves... is it because of hot conditions or because of wrong selection that he has opted for this match!"

Yash: "Looking in good touch , Marcus 'Langer Warner Rogers' Harris"

Yogi (@yogimittal): "Umpires redeeming themselves by giving Aaron Finch not out"

Abhi: "Being a Perth Resident from last 5 years, I would say it's suicidal for fast bowlers to bowl more than 20 overs. It's peak summer here and it is like playing in hot oven and with no spinner, GOD BLESS YOU PACERS"

karan: "The only reason i can think of Umesh playing over Bhuvi is reverse swing!!"

Raja: "An army of coaches, support staff travel with big teams, and they cannot cure bad habits like Ishant Sharma's no-balls. Maybe we need a NO-No-ball Bowling Coach?"

Akshay Alok (@akshayalok4): "If green top was a deceit, Jadeja would have played. Being Bhuvi is tough. I don't know what else he needs to do to be in the team. I'm sad"

Harsha Bhogle: No alarms in the first half hour......

Sahaj Khandelwal: "At what pace are the pacers bowling on this green pitch?"-- Ishant - around the 130kph mark, Bumrah - around 140ks

Sonath: "With no Bhuvi and Jadeja , India will have a long tail. It will be a mere formality for Australia to take the last four wickets in this lineup. In Johannesburg it was Bhuvi who scored vital runs in both the innings for India .."

Chinmay Dani: "Selection of Umesh Yadav ahead of Bhuvi is an evidence of the fact that the Indian team is aware that this green track is a possible deceit."

Harsha Bhogle: Brave call by India to go in with four quicks. It means there are four tail-end batsmen but Kohli is backing his frontline batsmen to do their job and telling the bowlers to do theirs.

Cricman: This will be the second instance of India playing an all-seam attack after Johannesburg which was an incredible win. This shows you the improvement of Indian pace attack.

Sourin: Ideal pick would be Jaddu and Bhuvi for the fact that they can contribute significantly with tail, which was missing in the first Test. Eagerly waiting for the playing XI.

Commentary not available for this match