Team India continued their dominance on the second day of the ongoing Boxing Day Test match against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. One of the major highlights in the Indian innings was the scintillating hundred by India’s stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane, who alongside all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (40*) stitched an unbeaten 104-run partnership for the sixth-wicket and brought a lead of 82-runs by the end of the day’s play due to rain.
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Rahane, with his 12th Test ton, became the 12th Indian captain to recorded a century in the longest format of the game. This was his second hundred at the iconic ground in Melbourne, and with that, he joins former India cricketer Vinoo Mankad with most Test tons at that venue. Meanwhile, he is the fifth Indian skipper to register a Test century in the Australian conditions behind Mohammed Azharuddin, Sahin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and Virat Kohli.
The 32-year-old Mumbai cricketer had a dry run with the last 6 Test innings with scores of 46, 29, 7, 9, 42 and 0, but managed to get the form at just the right juncture and is so far, the only Indian cricketer with a Test hundred in 2020.
Rahane was dropped on 73 by Travis Head in the ongoing Test and it proved a bit costly to the hosts as the Indian skipper capitalized on the same to give the visitors a much-need lead versus Tim Paine’s men.
Earlier in the day, India lost the wickets of a well-set Shubman Gill (45) and Cheteshwar Pujara (17) before the 24th over to Pat Cummins. However, the visitors got the situation in control courtesy of the knock from Rahane, who forged a 52-run partnership with Hanuma Vihari and then later with wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant for 57-runs and set the Aussie attack on the back foot.
The Indian scorecard reads 277/5 in 91.3 overs with the duo of Rahane and Jadeja going pretty solid at the crease.
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Among the Aussie bowlers, pacers Mitchell Starc (2/61) and Pat Cummins (2/71) found success on the second day while Josh Hazlewood, who scalped a match-winning fifer in the last Test, has been wicket-less so far in the innings. All-rounder Chris Green too couldn’t grab wickets to his name. Off-spinner Nathan Lyon got a bit of assist from the conditions and finished with figures of 1/52.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to Ajinkya Rahane’s century in the second Test underway at MCG –
