India has taken an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the four-match Test series against Australia after winning the second Test by six wickets on the third day of play in Delhi. The win was set up by a stunning bowling performance by the Indian team, who bowled out Australia for just 128 runs in their second innings.
Going into the third day’s play, Australia held a slight advantage, having set India a target of 244 runs to win the match. However, the Australian batters played irresponsibly, throwing away their wickets with reckless shot selection.
The self-destruction began when Travis Head was dismissed by Ravichandran Ashwin in the first over of the day. However, the real problem started when Steve Smith, one of the better players of spin in the current Australian batting unit, played an adventurous slog sweep shot to Ashwin and lost his wicket. Smith’s uncharacteristic hoick across the line without even taking his front foot away from the line of the ball set the tone for the rest of the innings.
Despite Smith’s unsuccessful attempt at sweeping out of trouble, the Australian batters continued to play the sweep shot, and the likes of Matthew Renshaw, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, and even No. 11 Matthew Kuhnemann fell to the same shot.
In the end, the Australian innings lasted just 90 minutes, as they were bowled out for 128 runs, leaving India with a relatively easy target of 115 runs to win the match.
India chased down the target comfortably, losing just four wickets in the process, thanks to half-centuries from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
The win means that India has retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and has taken an unassailable lead in the series with two matches still to play. Australia will have to regroup quickly if they are to salvage anything from this series, which has been dominated by India so far.
