3 big mistakes India made on Day 2 of 2nd BGT 2024-25 Test in Adelaide
Team India are staring at defeat at the Adelaide Oval after yet another unconvincing day's play in the second Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The visitors are reeling at 128/5 at stumps, still trailing by 29 runs with Australia flexing their pink ball strength to the fullest.
India were already on the backfoot after being bundled out for 180 in the first innings, and allowing the jittery Australian top-order to settle down in a testing phase under the lights. Rohit Sharma and company needed a strong performance to make a comeback in the contest, but what followed was yet another tepid outing that could just allow Australia to roar their way back into the series.
Australia posted 337 in the first innings, courtesy of Travis Head's century, and looked hapless against the pink ball in their second outing as well in two days.
On that note, let us take a look at three big mistakes India made on Day 2 of 2nd BGT 2024-25 Test in Adelaide.
#1 Not peppering Travis Head with short stuff
It was a sad sight to see Travis Head punish the Indian bowlers with the same conviction like in the past. It not only shows the explosive batter's undeniable prowess, but also the Indians' one-trick pony approach against him, which is force him to make a mistake. Such a reactive ploy against being proactive is never productive in the long run.
Head showed shades of what he is capable of in the second innings of the first Test, and translated it into an iconic knock in the comfort of his home turf in the second Test. The left-handed batter's near-misses against Jasprit Bumrah coming around from the wicket was the only phase where he looked vulnerable. India potentially did not have another tactic against him as he dominated the proceedings.
The least India could have done was unsettle Head with some testing bouncers. While not always a guaranteed wicket-yielding delivery, the ploy could have at least kept Head quiet for a while, aiding India's Plan A of forcing him into a mistake eventually.
Instead, it was the same old half volleys that Head accepted gratefully en route to a match-winning hundred. Bumrah needed a gem of a delivery to dismiss the left-handed batter in the first Test, but that cannot possibly be the go-to plan against a batter of such calibre. Resorting to moments of brilliance that may or may not come is exactly why Head arguably scored one of his free-flowing tons.
#2 Persisting with Harshit Rana at a crucial juncture of the innings
One of the major improvements Australians made in their batting approach was to go after India's secondary bowlers. The visitors' over-reliance on Bumrah is well-known, making the other bowlers, and rookie Harshit Rana most of all, a viable target.
Without the sheen of invincibility that a spicy Perth wicket provided, Rana arguably looked toothless, and perhaps had no business bowling 16 overs. His figures were promising at the end of Day 1, but he was not much of a threat to Labuschagne and McSweeney, who were more than happy to just see off the day.
On Day 2, Harshit Rana was not shown any mercy as he was clobbered to all corners of the park. The third seamer has a crucial role in Australian conditions, and usually has the task of taking the baton over from the frontline seamers.
Bumrah and Siraj had begun the day well, keeping things tight, and picking up a couple of wickets. However, Rana failed to ensure that the momentum was continued. He could not make the most of the pink ball, and failed to stick to the ideal bowling areas, which is reflected in his bowling figures of 0-86 in 16 overs.
#3 Failing to absorb pressure
Despite being aided by India's a tad erratic bowling under the lights on Day 1, the pair of Marnus Labushcagne and Nathan McSweeney had shown the perfect template to survive in such conditions. The pair trusted their defense, and held their guard well to absorb the pressure and survive until stumps.
When Australians were bowled out early in the final session of Day 2, the Indians were about to be tested in twilight with the pink ball. Safe to say that the batters were far from armed to face the trial.
The Men in Blue had close to 25 overs to survive, and the biggest priority should have been keeping as much wickets as possible to play under the sun on Day 3, which was Australia's game plan on Day 1.
Instead, India crumbled, with a wicket falling at regular intervals. No batter did showed enough grit to hang in there and see out the testing phase. Yashasvi Jaiswal played out the most deliveries (31), which showcased how India were rattled by the pink ball altogether.