Australian batter constantly tries to sweep him, and India’s top all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja delivered a subtle jibe at him by saying that on this type of pitch, playing these shots against him is not a good option. In one inning, as many as six Australian batters were struck out while sweeping or reverse-sweeping. In the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Sunday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, bowlers skittled out the visitors for 113, but Rohit Sharma, Srikar Bharat, and Cheteshwar Pujara held their own to help India secure an impressive 6-wicket victory againstAustralia.
Huge wicket for India as Marnus Labuschagne is dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja.#WTC23 , #INDvAUS , , https://t.co/HS93GIyEwS pic.twitter.com/oqGhUumAlh— ICC (@ICC) February 19, 2023
“Don’t think a sweep is a good option against me on this kind of wicket,” Ravindra Jadeja said in the post-match presentation. Left-arm spinner Jadeja was the tormentor-in-chief with a career-best 7/42 in the second innings while his partner-in-crime Ashwin picked 3/59. Australian batters fell to a mix of bad sweep shots and accurate deliveries which kept low, sliding from 85/2 to 113 all out. India’s spinner dominated the proceedings in the first session, rolling Australia out for 113. The hosts chased down the target with six wickets in hand.
“I think I was enjoying my bowling. These wickets suit me because the odd ball spins and some stay low. I knew they’d play sweeps and reverse sweeps, so my idea was just keeping it simple and straight. I knew they were looking for runs, so the plan was just bowling into the stumps. If they make a mistake, I have a chance,” he said.
Coming to match, India retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by taking a 2-0 lead in the four-match series. Pujara (31*) and Bharat (23*) played till the end to guide their team home. For India, Ravindra Jadeja ripped through Australia with seven for 42. India struggled to chase down 115 at times, but the score was never particularly dangerous because of Pujara’s unbeaten 31, who carried the home team to victory.
Resuming their innings at 14/1, India skipper Rohit Sharma in red-hot form slammed Australian bowlers all around the ground as he gathered 12 runs off Nathan Lyon’s over. However, Rohit’s blistering stint at the crease came to an end as he was run out after scoring 31 runs off 20 deliveries. Virat Kohli then came out to bat at the crease with Cheteshwar Pujara. As Pujara kept piling singles at regular intervals, Kohli holding one end tight became the fastest batsman to score 25,000 international runs.
The former India captain kept slamming boundaries to ease some pressure from the Indian team. Nathan Lyon delivered a short ball but Virat Kohli beautifully played it towards the backward square leg fence for an excellent four in the 16th over of the innings. Todd Murphy then provided his team with a big breakthrough as he removed a dangerous batsman Kohli for 20 runs.
The right-handed batsman Shreyas Iyer then came out to bat and slammed two beautiful big shots before losing his wicket to Lyon for 12 off 10. Iyer’s wicket invited right-handed batsman Srikar Bharat to the crease.
Bharat shifted the gears as he kept piling runs by slamming Australian bowlers for boundaries. After 25 overs, India needed just 10 runs to win. Playing his landmark 100th Test, Pujara slammed an excellent four off Murphy’s delivery to take India home with 6 wickets against Australia in the 2nd Test.