Day 2 of the fourth and final Test between Australia and India at Sydney saw the Australians dictate terms, declaring their innings at 572 for 7, with the Indians managing 71/1 in 25 overs.
The Australians resumed Day 2 on 348/2 with Smith and Watson both well past their half centuries. The Australians had demolished the Indian bowling attack on Day 1 and it seemed that their agenda on Day 2 was pretty similar. By the 100th over, the Australians had raced to 383/2, with skipper Steven Smith reaching another century.
While Ashwin was containing runs on one side, the Indians needed a wicket to fall and fall quickly at that. Just then, Mohammad Shami did what the doctor ordered. Over number 108 saw Watson fall for 81 to Shami, bringing Marsh into the middle.Yadav was introduced into the attack, replacing Shami, in an attempt to scalp a few wickets more. That move paid off as Smith was removed for 117 in 115th over by Yadav. This brought Burns into the middle and with Marsh, he took the Australian score to 420/4 by lunch.
Post lunch, Ashwin and Raina began to bowl in tandem, but the results were disastrous. The Aussie batsmen had walked in with renewed aggression and began thwacking the ball all around. At the end of over number 130, the Australian were at 465/4. The Australians briskly added 66 in 17 overs post lunch, which was very reflective of their intentions. Marsh reached his half century too, settling down quickly, something that the Australians needed.The Australians were playing smart cricket by batting in a very calculated manner, waiting for the pitch to begin showing signs of assisting the quicks before putting India to bat. They were scoring runs too, both in the form of the singles and the boundaries, but they were leaving the few stray good deliveries aside, not pushing their luck way too far.
Marsh finally fell to Shami for 73, bringing Haddin to the middle and he began with a six! By tea, the Aussies were at 538/5. Burns fell soon after tea and this brought Harris into the middle, The Indians would have probably regretted taking Burns’ wicket because Harris walked in and slammed 5 fours before departing to a Mohammad Shami delivery for a quick-fire 25. With this, the Australian captain decided to invite the Indians to bat for the remaining 25 overs, declaring the innings at 572/7.
The Indian first innings could not have asked for a worse beginning. Vijay fell to Starc on the third ball of the innings, bringing Rahul into the middle, quicker than he would have anticipated. The duo — Rahul and Rohit Sharma played very cautiously, in a bid to avoid any more casualties. The Indians were on 24/1 in the first 10 overs. At the end of Day 2, the Indians closed at 71/1, with Rohit Sharma on 40 and Rahul on 31.
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