At stumps, it’s evenly poised at the MCG

It’s in the balance- all that can be said after the end of first day’s play of the third test match between India and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Australia ended the day on 259/5 with captain Steve Smith and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin unbeaten at the crease.

Steve Smith [Image Source: AFP]

Earlier in the day Australia decided to bat first after winning the toss on the Boxing Day at the MCG. It was a horrible start to the innings for Australia as they lost in-form opening batsman David Warner for a duck in the second over. But there was some kind of recovery as Chris Rogers and Shane Watson put up a 115-run partnership for the second wicket. Rogers played some elegant shots on the off-side while Watson made use of the life that he got when Shikhar Dhawan dropped him at slips. But he could not cash in on that miss as he left after the restart of play in the post-lunch session. Mohammad Shami provided the breakthrough by picking up Chris Rogers (57) by getting the edge of his bat. Watson (52) followed him as Ashwin got him plumb in front of off-stump at the same score. Suddenly from 115/1, Australia went down to 115/3. In came Steve Smith. Along with out-of-form Shaun Marsh he steadied the innings and made sure that Australia did not lose any more wickets before the tea break.

Indian Players after Watson’s Wicket [Source: AFP]

India however pressed for a wicket with some tight bowling from both ends. They got the result when Shaun Marsh nicked one while playing a flashy square cut off Mohammad Shami. Yet again Shami provided the breakthrough which India badly needed in order to keep the pressure on the home team. Umesh Yadav then picked up the wicket of debutant Joe Burns as Australia’s score read 215/5. Since then Smith had played a responsible innings partnering Haddin who has been completely out of touch for the last few months.

At the end of day’s play it has to be said that the match is a hardly fought till now as neither team gave away any easy opportunity. It was an exciting first day’s play at the MCG as the attendance counted just 7 heads short of 70000. With the match poised as evenly as this, we can expect some intriguing test match cricket in the coming four days.

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About Argha Ghosh

An ardent follower of sports and die-hard Manchester United fan, Argha's ultimate dream is to watch a Manchester derby from the Stretford End at the Old Trafford.