On Day 2 of the Nagpur Test, Steve Smith dropped a sitter, saving Ravindra Jadeja.
Nathan Lyon’s second-last ball of the last over surprised the batter and defender. The spinner produced a missile off the outside edge that smacked Smith’s right hand before he could react. Slips fielder missed catch.
Jadeja’s undefeated 66 off 170 balls included nine boundaries.
Rohit Sharma’s century helped India reach 321/7 after 114 overs (120). Hosts led by 144 runs in opening innings.
Australian rookie Todd Murphy took five wickets. Captain Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon each took one wicket.
On Day 1, Ravindra Jadeja’s fifer helped India dismiss Australia for 177 in 63.5 overs. Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, and Ravichandran Ashwin all took three wickets.
Labuschagne (49) led visitors. Smith (37), Alex Carey (36) and Peter Handscomb (31) helped the visitors avoid an early collapse.
Axar Patel on his eighth-wicket partnership with Ravindra Jadeja: “The talk with Jadeja was to not lose focus.”
Axar Patel recounted how the important eighth-wicket stand with Ravindra Jadeja put India in control. An undefeated 81-run partnership rescued the hosts from 240/7.
At Day 2 stumps, the all-rounder told Star Sports:
“When you bat on that pitch, it’s hard, but it gets easier. Jadeja urged attention. The pitch will play nicely until we bat tomorrow, and when we bowl, we’ll find help (laughs).
To pressure the visitors in their second innings, the duo will try to increase the team’s lead to 200.
