AUSTRALIA VS INDIA, 2018-19

Pat Cummins's snorters keep India on their toes

by Cricbuzz Staff • Published on

Pat Cummins picked the two Indian wickets to fall across the first two sessions © Getty

Australia's wickets in the first two sessions came through snorters from Pat Cummins. He got rid of India's makeshift opener, Hanuma Vihari, for 8 came off the 113th ball of the opening session on Boxing Day, and set the template for the lengths to bowl on a slowish drop-in pitch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

But with no other demons in the pitch, India's debutant opener Mayank Agarwal lit up the day with a confident fifty until Cummins, once again troubled him with some extra bounce, and forced him to glove down the legside to the 'keeper for 76.

Earlier in the day, as Australia worked their way towards finding the right lengths to bowl on the pitch, India's two new openers saw off early nerves to put on a confident stand against the new ball. While Vihari remained confident in shot-making, it took him 25 balls to get off the mark with his shots invariably finding the fielders. On the other hand, Agarwal nailed his drives in the gaps and was the dominant partner in the opening stand worth 40.

However, Cummins, pushed to fourth choice after the two pacers and Nathan Lyon by Tim Paine as there seemed no assistance for pace on the surface, showed that he could still extract something worthy. He hit Vihari on the helmet first, following it up by hitting Mayank on the back with quick, well-directed bouncers. Soon after, he had Vihari fending in front of his face and gloving it to the cordon behind to give Australia an opening, and a template.

Mithcell Starc and Josh Hazlewood came in for short spells before lunch, and carried on with the short-ball strategy that kept both batsmen watchful until Lunch, where India walked off at 57/1. Post the break, Cheteshwar Pujara and Mayank continued confidently even as Australia bowled gamely to keep a lid on the run-rate from climbing up.

Mayank got to his fifty with a loft and drive off Lyon, and kept taking the spinner on to put Australia under pressure, with Pujara remaining solid at the other end. The duo added 83 for the second wicket and looked well set to take India through without losing a wicket in the session, until Cummins struck once again to give Australia a boost.

Brief Scores: India 123/2 (Mayank Agarwal 76; Pat Cummins 2-24) vs Australia

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