Australia were bowled out for 243, setting India a target of 287 on the fourth day of the second Test. The hosts were going strong till lunch but wickets started tumbling at regular intervals and thus only managed to take the 286 run lead.
Usman Khawaja (72) was the highest scorer for the hosts.Towards the end, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood forged 36 runs partnership in 38 balls for the last wicket to help their team to post a challenging score.
For India, Mohammad Shami was the most successful bowlers scalping six wickets while Jasprit Bumrah took three wickets and Ishant one.
Chasing 287, India lost two quick wickets in the form of Lokesh Rahul (0) and Cheteshwar Pujara (6).
It was undoubtedly an ideal start for Australia as India lost its opener in the very first over. The Aussie bowlers managed to dismiss Rahul and Pujara (4) quickly. After a wicketless morning session, both teams witnessed a session where eight wickets fell.
Indian opening batsman KL Rahul walked back to the pavilion for a duck after a stunner from Aussie star seamer Starc hit his bat and deflected back onto the stumps. Starc bowled Rahul out for a wicket-maiden to start the innings, just the way Australia would have wanted.
India was 15/2 at tea on the fourth day, needing 272 runs to win the second Test against Australia. After losing two wickets for just 13-runs, Skipper Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay came at the crease to face the deadly Aussie bowling attack in the last session of Day 4 on a minefield of a pitch.
While the Indian captain played some nice shots and flicked even some good deliveries for fours and quick singles, on the other end of the crease, Vijay ensured that he stays to build a strong partnership with the skipper.
However, very soon it was star spinner Nathan Lyon who struck gold for the hosts. It was in the 20th over when captain Kohli drew forward to play shot expecting some turn but ended up losing his wicket to what turned out to be more of a straight delivery from Lyon.
The Australians celebrated to their fullest as they knew the importance of Indian skipper’s wicket.
Soon after in his very next over, Lyon dismissed Vijay by bowling a beautiful off-spin that made its way through the massive gap between bat and pad to hit Vijay’s stumps.
The last ray of hope for the Indian camp for the day ended with Ajinkya Rahane’s dismissal. The Indian vice captain in an attempt to hit hard Hazlewood’s delivery for maximum runs, ended up giving a catch straight down Head’s throat, fielding at point.
With Rahane’s wicket, India was five down and a win for the visitors seems out of reach. Now, India need 175-runs to win the second Test.
Earlier, the hosts were going strong till lunch, but wickets started tumbling at regular intervals in the post-lunch session and thus the hosts could only manage to take a 286-run lead.