On Thursday, during the last match of the World Test Championship, Australia’s skipper Pat Cummins started India’s collapse, which led to Steve Smith scoring his 31st century in the Test format.
Smith, who was 95 not out overnight, became the second member of Smith’s squad to reach triple digits by scoring 121 in the first inning of a match that took place at The Oval.
Then, in his 50th Test, fast bowler Cummins took out the opposition team’s captain, Rohit Sharma, which kicked off a downward trend for India on the second day.
After India’s score dropped to 71-4, Ajinkya Rahane (29 not out), who had previously delivered some brutal punches on the glove, remained steadfast with Ravindra Jadeja (48).
At the end of the day, India’s score was 151-5, which was a significant deficit of 318 runs.
Cummins got Rohit leg before wicket with a full-length delivery, and he finished with stats of 1-36 off nine overs. Rohit was out for 15.
After another four deliveries, India were reduced to 30-2 when Shubman Gill, who was batting with 13, was bowled by Scott Boland while playing no shot. Gill had been fooled by a quick off-cutter.
Before this match, England’s Stuart Broad said that he hoped Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli would keep Cummins’s men on the field for a long period in preparation for the first Ashes Test, which would take place at Edgbaston the following week. This was an attempt to stir up Australia.
On Thursday, though, both of India’s senior batsmen were out for a score of 14.
Pujara was bowled leaving a delivery by all-rounder Cameron Green, while Kohli was dismissed by a vindictive, raising ball from Mitchell Starc that took the shoulder of the bat. Smith held a wonderful leaping catch over his head at second slip, dismissing Pujara and Starc respectively.
Left-handed batsman Jadeja stunned the Australian team with an aggressive knock of 51 balls that included seven fours and a six.
In the end, he was outwitted by off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who got him to edge a well-flighted and turning delivery onto his wicket. This brought a quiet conclusion to his 71-run partnership with Rahane.
“Amazingly convenient location”
“We are in a really good spot so hopefully we can get a few more wickets in the morning,” Boland said in an interview with Sky Sports. “We are in a really good spot.”
Because the pitch is exhibiting some undulations at the moment, it is anticipated that the India hitters would have a more difficult time hitting the ball on Friday.
While Smith and Head (163) were at the bat, India was up against an Australian first-innings total that had the potential to be very high.
However, their pacemen struck, as Australia went from 361-3 to 402-7 in the space of 41 runs, losing four wickets in the process. This included Head and Smith.
After lunch, India quickly bowled out Australia, with fast bowler Mohammed Siraj capturing four wickets for 108 runs in 28.3 overs.
On Thursday, Smith achieved the three-figure mark in the first over, joining his compatriot Steve Waugh as the only players with seven test hundreds in England.
Only the legendary Australian batsman Don Bradman, who amassed 11 centuries throughout his career, has scored more runs for his team than England.
After scoring a century in his 31st test, Smith moved up to the 12th spot on the all-time list.
Head reached his maiden overseas Test century, which was 150, however he was dismissed by a short ball as he attempted to whip Siraj legside and fumbled a catch to wicketkeeper Srikar Bharat. This led to Head’s downfall in the match.
After coming together with Australia in a precarious position at 76-3, Head and Smith put up an amazing stand of 285 runs until Head was eventually dismissed.
The coveted wicket of Smith, who inside-edged an outswinger into his stumps, was subsequently taken by Shardul Thakur, much to the joy of the strong presence of Indian supporters in the audience of over 23,000 people.
Only the World T20 Championship (WTC) remains unclaimed by Australia as a significant men’s cricket title.
After suffering defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the first World T20 Championship showpiece match, India is competing in their second consecutive WTC final.