WTC Final, Day 2: Australia dominates as India stumbles to 151-5

While Head went on to make a counterattacking 163, Smith notched up his 31st Test hundred before getting dismissed for a solid 121.

That's a wrap up from our side. Australia dominated the proceedings and as it stands, chances of survival looks slim hereon. Rahane and the rest of the batters need to be brave and stand tall if they are to face the tough, tall Australian fast bowlers tomorrow.

• India reached 151 for five at stumps on the second day of the World Test Championship Final against Australia here on Thursday, trailing their opponents by 318 runs in the first innings. The Australians were bowled out for 469 in their first essay, having resumed from overnight 327 for three at The Oval.
• The Indian pacers did well to restrict Australia after struggling against centurions Steve Smith and Travis Head on the first day. While Head went on to make a counterattacking 163, Smith notched up his 31st Test hundred before getting dismissed for a solid 121. Mohammed Siraj was the most successful Indian bowler, finishing with figures of 4/108 in 28.3 overs, while there were two wickets apiece for Mohammed Shami and Shardul Thakur.

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Key stats:

Brief scores:

Australia 1st innings:469 all out in 121.3 overs (Travis Head 163, Steve Smith 121; Mohammed Siraj 2/122, Shardul Thakur 2/83).

India: 151/5 in 38 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 29 batting, Ravindra Jadeja 48; Nathan Lyon 1/4).

• After displaying rare courage that most of the top-order failed to, Jadeja scored a valiant 48, just two shy from his half-century when he was dismissed by Nathan Lyon.
• Cheteshwar Pujara (14) and Ravindra Jadeja (48) are back in the hut. Pujara tried to dig in but was outdone by a delivery that sneaked inside sharply. A replica of how Gill lost his wicket. Green takes the wicket.
• Virat Kohli out! Mitchell Starc gets one with extra bounce away delivery bowled at 88 mph. India in a big trouble.
• Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli digging it out, trying to keep India in the hunt. Pujara has looked solid and Kohli has left the ball well so far. India in a precarious position and only a partnership can save the blushes.

Until Tea:

India found themselves in a difficult situation with the early loss of their openers after Australia posted a commendable 469 in their first innings of the World Test Championship final, here on Thursday. Australia added 142 runs to their overnight total with the loss of seven wickets before being bowled out one hour into the afternoon session. Mohammed Siraj cleaned up the tail and was the pick of India's bowlers with four wickets.

India batted for 10 overs before the tea break and were dealt a twin blow as skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill fell to Pat Cummins and Scott Boland respectively. They were at 37 for two at tea with Virat Kohli (4 batting) and Cheteshwar Pujara (3 batting) in the middle, trailing Australia by 432 runs. Both Rohit (15 off 26) and Gill (13 off 15) looked in good touch before flattering to deceive. Rohit missed a ball from Cummins that was angled in before Gill inexplicably decided to leave a delivery from Boland on length only to see his stumps being uprooted in the following over.

The conditions are good for batting but India have a massive challenge at hand. After the lunch break, Alex Carey pushed Australia past 450 with a 48 off 69 balls. His innings included a six off Ravindra Jadeja but an attempted reverse sweep the following ball led to his downfall, trapping him in front of the stumps. India got themselves back in the game with four wickets in the morning session on day two but Australia maintained their upper hand by reaching 422 for seven at lunch, following Steve Smith's 31st hundred.

Resuming the day at 327 for three, Travis Head (163 off 174) and Steve Smith (121 off 268) walked into the middle under bright sunshine at The Oval. Smith, who was on 95 overnight, got two freebies on the pads from Mohammed Siraj in the first over of the day and he happily put them away for consecutive boundaries to complete his seventh hundred in England and third at the venue.

India were guilty of not using the short ball tactic early enough on the opening day but Siraj went for that from the get on Thursday. Mohammed Shami too tried to mix it up with an odd bouncer but was not able to get the same zip from the surface as much as Siraj did. While Smith was not bothered by India's tactic, Head looked in a bit of discomfort.

Siraj banged one short into his body in the sixth over of the day and Head walked across the stumps to pull it but ended up edging it to wicketkeeper K S Bharat. Cameron Green was the next to go as he went for an expansive drive off a full ball from Shami but ended up being caught at second slip by an alert Shubman Gill.

The prized wicket of Smith came out of nowhere as he dragged an innocuous ball from Shardul Thalur back to his stumps. It was Thakur's first ball of the day, highlight his uncanny ability to provide a breakthrough out of the blue. A brilliant piece of fielding from substitute Axar Patel got India their fourth wicket of the day as his one handed direct hit from mid off left Mitchell Starc well short of his ground. Though the sunny weather has made the pitch easier for batting, there is enough help for the fast bowlers.

India 1st Innings:

Rohit Sharma lbw b Cummins 15

Shubman Gill b Boland 13

Cheteshwar Pujara not out 3

Virat Kohli not out 4

Extras: (LB-1, NB-1) 2

Total: (For 2 wickets in 10 overs) 37

Fall of wickets: 1-30, 2-30

Bowling: Mitchell Starc 2-0-14-0, Pat Cummins 5-2-20-1, Scott Boland

3-2-2-1.

• After accelerating through initially, both Rohit Sharma (15) and Shubman Gill (13) fell, the former adjudged leg before by an incoming delivery from Pat Cummins, the other, misjudging the line of Scott Boland that came sharply inwards to shatter Gill's stumps. Not the start India would have wanted. They are 37-2 at tea.
• Pat Cummins (9) and Nathan Lyon (9) were outdone by Siraj. The latter was cleaned bowled to a fuller that struck the off stump while the former tried going for a biggie, couldn't get enough blade on it to be caught by the comeback man, Ajinkya Rahane. Sun is still shining and the pitch is a batting beauty. All eyes on the Indian openers.

WTC Scoreboard: India vs Australia, Innings, Day 2

Following is the scoreboard at the end of Australia's first innings in the World Test Championship Final against India here on Thursday.

Australia 1st Innings:

David Warner c Bharat b Thakur 43

Usman Khawaja c Bharat b Mohammed Siraj 0

Marnus Labuschagne b Mohammed Shami 26

Steven Smith b Thakur 121

Travis Head c Bharat b Mohammed Siraj 163

Cameron Green c Shubman Gill b Mohammed Shami 6

Alex Carey lbw b Jadeja 48

Mitchell Starc run out (sub Axar Patel) 5

Pat Cummins c Rahane b Mohammed Siraj 9

Nathan Lyon b Mohammed Siraj 9

Scott Boland not out 1

Extras: (B-13, LB-10, NB-7, W-8) 38

Total: (All out in 121.3 overs) 469

Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-71, 3-76, 4-361, 5-376, 6-387, 7-402, 8-453 , 9-468, 10-469

Bowling: Mohammed Shami 29-4-122-2, Mohammed Siraj 28.3-4-108-4, Umesh Yadav 23-5-77-0, Shardul Thakur 23-4-83-2, Ravindra Jadeja

18-2-56-1.

• Alex Carry's 48 has dashed India's hopes of folding Australia early. He departs, lbw by Ravindra Jadeja, after doing enough damage to the Indians and taking Australia to a comfortable position where they will only eye victory from here.
• Play resumes after lunch...
• A reinvigorated India has for the first time showed an outright domination against Australia picking vital wickets of Smith and Head with Green, Starc to follow up. That would be four wickets. Alex Carey (22) and Pat Cummins (2) were at the crease until lunch. India will look to start afresh here and fold the Aussies as soon as they can before they take the crease. Australia at 422-7 are still the favourites to win the Test match, but there's always a turnaround waiting in the corner.

Here's the summary to what has happened until Lunch:

India got themselves back in the game with four wickets in the morning session on day two but Australia maintained their upper hand in the World Test Championship final by reaching 422 for seven at lunch, following Steve Smith's 31st hundred. Resuming the day at 327 for three, Travis Head (163 off 174 balls) and Steve Smith (121 off 268) walked into the middle under bright sunshine at The Oval on Thursday.

Smith, who was on 95 overnight, got two freebies on the pads from Mohammed Siraj in the first over of the day and he happily put them away for consecutive boundaries to complete his seventh hundred in England and third at the venue. India were guilty of not using the short ball tactic early enough on the opening day but Siraj went for that from the get on Thursday. Mohammed Shami too tried to mix it up with an odd bouncer but was not able to get the same zip from the surface as much as Siraj did.

While Smith was not bothered by India's tactic, Head looked in a bit of discomfort. Siraj banged one short into his body in the sixth over of the day and Head walked across the stumps to pull it but ended up edging it to wicketkeeper K S Bharat. Cameron Green was the next to go as he went for an expansive drive off a full ball from Shami and ended up being caught at second slip by an alert Shubman Gill.

The prized wicket of Smith came out of nowhere as he dragged an innocuous ball from Shardul Thalur back on to his stumps. It was Thakur's first ball of the day, highlighting his uncanny ability to provide a breakthrough out of the blue. A brilliant piece of fielding from substitute Axar Patel got India their fourth wicket of the day as his one-handed direct hit from mid off left Mitchell Starc well short of his ground. Though the sunny weather has made the pitch easier for batting, there still is enough help for the fast bowlers.

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Live blogs:

• Well, well, well...! Lapse of concentration and Steve Smith is a gonner. Combine with the next wicket of Mitchell Starc and India is slowly crawling back into the game despite Australia crossing the 400-run mark. The ball took the inside edge of Smith's bat off Shardul Thakur delivery to shatter the stumps. He scored 121 runs for Australia while Starc was run-out, in a magnificent display of fielding by Axar Patel, on 5 runs. Carey and skipper Cummins are at the crease.
• Cameron Green falls! India takes early wickets. Must look to wrap Australia up quickly hereon. Shami takes wicket, caught by Shubman Gill in the slips. He scored 6 runs.
• After repeated blows to Head's body, unsettling him with body bouncer yesterday and today, Siraj finally got the better of Head this time. The dismissal came a little too late and might not look pretty as the ball, pitched on the leg stump rose and brushed Head's glove into Srikar Bharat's pouch. Luck finally favoured Siraj and the wicket might as well bring the first ray of hope in the longest, darkest tunnel that India have trudged through in the past few years. Head scored 163 runs.
• Smith scores ton! He bats, bats and bats....! Two half volleys from Siraj and Smith flicks on the on side to score back to back boundaries to reach his hundred.
• Rise and shine, folks! We are back after yesterday's spectacle that had the amalgamation of action, drama, hits and misses to end the day in spectacular fashion as Australia found themselves in a prime position. There were brief moments of brilliance showed by the Indian bowlers but were not enough to stop Travis Head's carnage with Steve Smith doing what he does best -- bat. Let's brace ourselves for another day of enthralling cricket and hope this would be India's day.

Earlier yesterday:

Australia reached 327 for 3 at stumps on the the opening day of their World Test Championship Final against India here on Wednesday. Travis Head and Steve Smith were batting on 146 and 95 respectively at close of play on Day 1 as Australia added 157 runs in the final session which had 34 overs without losing any wicket. The duo added 251 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket stand.

Earlier, Australia, who were invited to bat, had added 97 runs in the post-lunch session in 28 overs for the loss of one wicket. They were 73 for 2 at lunch after opener David Warner made 43 off 60 balls. Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur took a wicket each on the day.

Brief Scores:

Australia 1st Innings: 327 for 3 in 85 overs (David Warner 43, Travis Head 146 batting, Steve Smith 95 batting; Mohammed Siraj 1/67, Shardul Thakur 1/75, Mohammed Shami 1/77).