NEW DELHI: After the top Australian spinner Nathan Lyon reduced India to 88 for four at lunch on day two of the second Test here on Saturday, K.L. Rahul's rough patch persisted and Cheteshwar Pujara had a disappointing first innings performance in his 100th Test.
The Kotla track had a bit more pace off the track compared to Jamtha and hence Lyon’s deliveries at times hurried the batters.Also, giving a little bit extra air led to hitters' uncertainties.
Rahul (17), who had beaten Australia's two DRS appeals, was caught leg-before when Lyon sent one from around the wicket and managed to get it to veer enough and land on his pads.
The management of the Indian team has come under fire for forcing Shubman Gill to cool his heels in the dugout, continuing the narrative of Rahul's failures. Rohit appeared to pick up where he left off in the first Test, and he was also using the sweep shot effectively. He played over the line, though, to a Lyon line that was straighter, and as a result, he was castled.
Rarely has Pujara walked into bat amid such fanfare and 20,000-plus Kotla crowd chanting his name but his milestone match turned out to be some sort of an anti-climax as he failed to bother the scorers.
In the case of Pujara, it was a second-flighted ball that sufficiently reversed as the traditional Rajkot man attempted to play a half-forward defensive stroke. The umpire only needed to see the turn to raise his feared finger.
Coming back from injury, Shreyas Iyer (4) looked confident in his brief stay at the crease but a stroke of bad luck brought about his downfall.
He moved one of his legs to the leg side, and Peter Handscomb grabbed it with a reflex catch that, nine times out of ten, didn't stick. Even though Handscomb fumbled, Iyer was able to glimpse the ball between his legs.
One of India's top Test hitters in recent years, Ravindra Jadeja (14 batting), was at the crease alongside Virat Kohli at the time of the break (15 batting).
First inning for India: (Overnight 21/0) Rohit Sharma 32 KL Lyon Rahul lbw by Lyon 17. Lyon 0: Cheteshwar Pujara lbw Virat Kohli bats 14 times. Shreyas Iyer b Lyon c Handscomb 4 Batting: 15 Ravindra Jadeja Extras: (B-4,LB-2) 6 Total: (For 4 wickets in 35 overs) 88. Fall of wickets: 1-46, 2-53, 3-54, 4-66.
Bowling: Pat Cummins 7-1-17-0, Matthew Kuhnemann 13-3-35-0, Nathan Lyon 11-1-25-4, Todd Murphy 4-1-5-0
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