Talk of contrasts: On day one of the first Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy at the Optus Stadium in Perth, 17 wickets tumbled in course of just over 77 overs. Today, on day two, a total of three wickets -- those of Australian wicket-keeper Alex Carey, and two lower order batsmen Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc -- was all the returns for a day's hard toil in sapping conditions.
The Indian opening pair of K L Rahul and Yashaswi Jaiswal put on 172 runs for the as-yet-unbroken first wicket partnership -- a record for India in Tests Down Under. And they aren't done yet.
India ended the day ahead by 217 runs, with all ten wickets still in hand; what that means for Australia is a day of pain ahead, with day three forecast to be the hottest yet.
To make things worse for the hosts, the sun has baked the grass brown and wicked off the last vestiges of sub-surface moisture. The pace of the wicket is reduced as is the bounce; the exaggerated lateral movement of day one, which threatened both edges and the pads, is absent -- and all of this predicts a day of hard grind, exacerbated by the fact that cracks have still not opened up, thus negating much of off-spinner Nathan Lyon's threat.
It's a remarkable turnaround, really -- from 150 all out in the first innings to total dominance in the second.
And for that, you have to thank Jasprit Bumrah's one-for-the-ages spell with the ball that fetched him a five-for, and the calm, composed opening partnership that has killed Australia's hopes of a fight back.
Here's Prem Panicker's unique take on all the action from the second day of the 2024-2025 Border Gavaskar series.
Rediff Production Team: Hitesh Harisinghani, Rajesh Karkera, Manisha Kotian, Satish Bodas.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani
