Live Cricket Streaming: India vs Australia 2nd Test Day 2 Stream

Australia were lacklustre in the first session, underwent a stunning chameleon- like makeover in the second, and slowly returned to their mediocrity by the end of the day. What made the day’s tale curiously fascinating was the fact that India probably bowled their best, getting the ball to reverse, in that first hour after lunch. 

India vs Australia 2nd Test Match Live Streaming – Link 1

India vs Australia 2nd Test Match Live Streaming – Link 2

And there was a final little intrigue when Michael Clarke, who hit 91 and starred in a 145-run partnership with Matthew Wade, declared at 237 for 9 – the last time someone declared on the first day was way back in 1974 -- to bowl three overs at India who negotiated it without any loss of personnel. 

The pitch is an up-and-down one, as they say, and India would be confident of success if they can get a lead of 100 to 150. The visual moment of the day was a face that seeped despair. 

Wade had surprised many with a responsibly crafted knock that stood out for the coherent plan he had to face the spinners but he fell, cutting Harbhajan Singh to backward point where Bhuvneshwar Kumar took a good tumbling catch. 

Immediately Wade knew, and we knew, that that momentary lapse in shot-execution was going to bring the Indians back into the game. He threw his head back in disappointment, his eyes shut and he trudged back. 

Not too surprisingly, the Indians regrouped after that to run through Australia’s bottom half. Australia will look back at that first session with regret. 

The pitch hadn’t settled yet and threw up some variable bounce and some deliveries seamed a bit but the Australians didn’t show much application. The criticism isn’t about their dismissals but the way they approached that phase in general. 

David Warner was perhaps surprised by the delivery that straightened off the pitch a touch – Bhuvneshwar later said he had just tried to keep it on the stumps and it “came off the wicket” – and dragged it on to his stumps. 

Ed Cowan scratched around for a while before falling over and getting lbw though the ball seemed to have pitched just outside the leg stump.
 
Watson shaped for a pull but was done in by the lack of bounce, something that shouldn’t have surprised him on this track and Phil Hughes edged a cut off Ashwin to Dhoni, who recovered well with a lunge to grab the ball that had popped out of his gloves. 

As one wondered whether the Australians will fold up tamely, Clarke found some good support from Wade. The hour after lunch was riveting. Ishant bowled the best he has done in the recent times, getting the ball to reverse and Bhuvneshwar too bowled well. Both batsmen were beaten a few times but managed to hang in there and slowly, the momentum shifted. 

Clarke’s play against spinners wasn’t a surprise but Wade’s was. He shuffled to the off stump to get outside the line of the turning delivery from Jadeja, he used the crease well against Ashwin and played Harbhajan straighter and was looking good when he fell for 62. Henriques’ dismissal was interesting. 

The ball, from Jadeja, landed around leg and took out the middle but only because Henrqiues played an iffy shot across the line on this track. To come from a man, who had hit two assured fifties in the first Test, it was surprising but perhaps he was playing the bowler and not the ball. 

Glen Maxwell, the one with all that IPL moolah, was almost cute in his approach, almost desperately bravely trying to get forward to the spinners but his dismissal, off an edged cut, didn’t really come as a shock. And finally Clarke fell, trying to sweep Jadeja, and suddenly, Australia declared.