India overpower Australia in 2nd Test, retain Border-Gavaskar trophy
India beat Australia by six wickets in the second Test to take a 2-0 lead in the four-match series. Chasing a paltry 115, India lost both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli but prevailed in the contest. Earlier, Australia were bundled out for 113 despite starting Day 3 at 61/1. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja registered his career-best figures to put India in charge. Here's more.
How did the match pan out?
Australia crawled their way to 263. Fifties from Usman Khawaja and Peter Handscomb played an invaluable role in the same. India racked up 262, riding on the heroics of Axar Patel (74) and Ashwin (37). Jadeja and Ashwin bowled out Australia for 113, setting a 115-run target. India suffered a few setbacks but Cheteshwar Pujara got them through.
Jadeja runs riot in Delhi
Jadeja annihilated the visitors with figures of 3/68 and 7/42. The left-arm spinner clipped his 12th five-wicket haul in Test cricket. He has now raced to 259 scalps in 62 matches at 23.82. Versus Australia, he has steered to 80 scalps in 14 matches at 17.23. Earlier, he scored a vital 26 runs with the bat to tally 2,619 runs at 36.88.
Lyon bags his 22nd Test fifer
Lyon ran down India's top and middle order in the first innings. He completed his 22nd five-wicket haul in Test cricket (5/67). He also completed 100 wickets against India in Tests.
Axar and Ashwin attain these numbers
Axar Patel scored his second successive fifty of the series, bashing a clutch 74 off 115 deliveries in the first innings (4s: 9, 6s:3). It was his third fifty, having scored a career-best 84 in Nagpur. Off-spinner Ashwin took figures of 3/57 and 3/59. He has raced to 463 Test scalps at 23.98. He also completed 100 Test wickets versus Australia (103 at 29.09).
A noteworthy feat for Ashwin
Ashwin chimed in a handy 37 runs in the first innings. He became only the fifth Indian to complete a double of 5,000 runs and 700 wickets in First-Class cricket. Vinoo Mankad (11,591 and 782), Srinivas Venkataraghavan (6,617 and 1,390), Kapil Dev (11,356 and 835), and Anil Kumble (5,572 and 1,136) are the others. Meanwhile, Ashwin owns 5,015 FC runs and 705 wickets.
Khawaja and Handscomb script these numbers
Khawaja was a huge plus for the visitors. The southpaw struck a brisk 81 off 125 deliveries (4s: 12, 6s: 1). He was dismissed for a paltry six runs later. Khawaja now has 4,255 runs at 46.75 (50s: 20, 100s: 13). Middle-order batter Handscomb managed 72* and 0. He struck his fifth Test fifty. He now has 1,043 runs at 38.62.
Interesting record for Kuhnemann
Debutant Matthew Kuhnemann trapped Virat Kohli leg before in the first innings to claim his maiden Test wicket. As per Cricbuzz, it's the fifth time a bowler has had Kohli as his maiden Test victim. Kagiso Rabada, Alzarri Joseph, Senuran Muthusamy, and Anrich Nortje are the others. Left-arm spinner Kuhnemann wound up with 2/72 in the first innings.
Kohli's nightmarish run in Tests continue
Kohli scored an 84-ball 44 (4s: 4). The Delhi-born was out LBW in a controversial fashion. UltraEdge showed there was a spike as the ball was sandwiched between the bat and pad. He was dismissed for 20 off 31 deliveries during the chase. He has gone 39 innings without a Test hundred. Kohli now has 8,195 Test runs at 48.49.
Jadeja completes a major milestone
Jadeja completed the double of 2,500-plus runs and 250 wickets in Tests. He is the second-fastest cricketer to attain this feat. He dismissed a set-looking Khawaja (81) on Day 1 to unlock this milestone. Jadeja is now the fastest Indian cricketer to attain this milestone, surpassing Kapil Dev (65). He also stamped his career-best figures in Test cricket (7/42).
Ashwin dismisses Smith for 8th time in Tests
Australia's batting mainstay, Steve Smith, recorded scores of 0 and 9. He was dismissed by Ashwin on both occasions. Notably, Ashwin became the first-ever bowler to dismiss Smith twice for a duck in Tests. Overall, Ashwin has dismissed the latter on eight occasions. Regardless, Smith averages 52.62 versus the spin wizard, with 461 runs in 23 innings.
Fastest to 25,000 runs in international cricket
Kohli has now become the fastest to 25,000 runs in international cricket. As per Kausthub Gudipati, the Run Machine attained the feat in his 549th inning. He beat Sachin Tendulkar (577), Ricky Ponting (588), Jacques Kallis (594), and Kumar Sangakkara (608) in this regard.
Pujara inks this unwanted record in his 100th Test
Pujara was out for a seven-ball duck in the first innings. As per Cricbuzz, he became the eighth batter to register a duck in his 100th Test match. He joined Dilip Vengsarkar, Allan Border, Courtney Walsh, Mark Taylor, Stephen Fleming, Brendon McCullum, and Alastair Cook. Pujara has scored over 7,000 runs in 100 Tests. He debuted in the format in 2010 (vs Australia).
