AUS vs IND 2024/25, Australia vs India 4th Test, Day 2, Melbourne Match Report, December 26 – 30, 2024

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Stumps India 164 for 5 (Jaiswal 82, Kohli 36, Pant 6*, Jadeja 4*, Boland 2-24, Cummins 2-57) trail Australia 474 (Smith 140, Labuschagne 72, Konstas 60, Khawaja 57, Cummins 49, Bumrah 4-99, Jadeja 3-78, Akash Deep 2-94) by 310 runs

Local hero Scott Boland was part of a late surge by Australia on the second day in Melbourne as they took control of the fourth Test after Steven Smith set up an imposing total with his second hundred in consecutive matches. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli had responded with a century stand but both fell in a dramatic final half-an-hour to leave India with a mountain to climb.
Jaiswal had moved into the 80s when he drove firmly to mid-on and set off for a run to which Kohli didn’t respond and there was no way to beat Pat Cummins’ throw. Two overs later, Boland found Kohli’s outside edge to send the MCG into raptures and, all of a sudden, hope of anything close to parity on first innings looked a long way off.

To cap off Australia’s day, Boland had nightwatcher Akash Deep taken at leg gully with minutes remaining as India lost 3 for 6.

It was a day that started and ended badly for India. They were insipid in the field during the morning as Australia ransacked 143 runs off 27 overs with Smith, who went to his 34th Test century to be within 51 of reaching 10,000 Test runs, and Cummins combining to add 112 for the seventh wicket.

Cummins then struck in his first over of India’s reply when Rohit Sharma, who had returned to the top of the order, spooned a short ball into the hands of mid-on to leave him with scores of 3, 6, 10 and 3 in the series and 155 runs at 11.07 in his last 14 innings. The talk of whether his Test career extends beyond Sydney is unlikely to abate. India were 51 for 2 at tea when Cummins added to his hall-of-fame wickets with a wonderful delivery to castle KL Rahul.

But Jaiswal, who had yet to contribute in a first innings of this series having had problems against Mitchell Starc, provided encouragement for the masses of Indian support among a record second-day crowd of 85,147, while Kohli attempted to channel the form revival that has been shown by Smith in recent weeks.

As he had during the 161 in Perth, Jaiswal wasn’t afraid to take on the short ball with ramps over the slips and also drove handsomely down the ground. He launched Mitchell Marsh’s medium pace over long-on for six, and then cut Boland for a boundary to bring up the half-century and have sights on a hundred when his innings was brought to an abrupt end. It was Jaiswal’s call, but always looked a very tight run. Kohli barely moved from his crease. Cummins calmly threw the ball on the bounce to Carey, who was celebrating before he broke the stumps.

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