India vs Australia Highlights, 4th Test Day 2: IND 164/5 vs AUS at Stumps in Melbourne

Boland picks up Akash Deep it was a ball aimed at the body at an uncomfortable length which Akash just defended awkwardly and the ball hit the thigh pad and carried to leg-slip. India have now lost three wickets in no time. Ravindra Jadeja is in the middle.

Kohli's wicket too had nothing much about it. It was the usual poking the ball outside the off-stump which could have left been left alone off Scot Boland. He has left the ball supremely well till that point it just seems like lapse of concentration. Just when things were getting in control of India and they were clawing back into this game they shot them in the foot. Apart from Rishabh Pant India is out of specialist batters as well. Nitish and Washington Sundar are the next ones who have to come in sometime tomorrow morning with plenty to do on their plate.

As Kohli walks back, boos ring out in the arena, particularly from the direction where he is heading out…..

That was unnecessary it was a poor judgment from both the players in the middle. Yashasvi Jaiswal hit the ball and ran through and Kohli after taking a couple of steps for some reason looked back and stopped running and went back to his crease meanwhile Jaiswal ran halfway through and was sold down the river. With 20 minutes to go, it is shooting in your foot looks like and this is how teams lose Test matches. Everything was going well before that. And we have another strange decision here with about 30 minutes to go India has decided to send night watchmen in. As we update Virat Kohli departs.

Pratyush Raj: NRMA Insurance Boxing Day Test
Day 2 attendance is 85,147
This is a record Day 2 crowd for any Boxing Day Test at the MCG

Just after the mix-up as Kohli gestures towards the mid-on fielder, as if suggesting there was a man right there, Jaiswal began to walk away, suddenly stopped, turned at Kohli and gestured with fingers pointing to his own chest, ‘my call’!

It was heart-in-mouth stuff for Yashasvi Jaiswal. The ball hit his pads and Marsh went up instinctively the Umpire after a long look decided to not give it out however, Cummins sent it upstairs and there were nervy looks all around but the suspense could not hold on for long as Marsh coming around the wicket to Jaiswal pitched it outside the leg-stump and that is the reason Jaiswal survived. But it did look extremely close on the first look. These are the kind of moments India need to go their way. If that would have been out all the good work done would have been in undone as there is just 30 minutes left and new batter coming in will open up all sorts of possibilities for the Aussies.

It is interesting that Pat Cummins has not used Nathan Lyon much in the series. In the second innings in Gabba whatever Lyon had to bowl was due to manage the overs of Hazlewood than what the pitch and the situation demanded. However, conditions here are conducive to spin but he bowled a few overs and Cummins has decided to take him off. Yes, Jaiswal is an aggressive player who might try and score runs against Lyon but there also lies the opportunity to pick wickets. With 474 runs in the tank, it might be worth the risk. Even Scott Boland did not bowl much in this innings thus far which is a bit strange.

Kohli is settling nicely into his innings here. It has been more of an innings where he mixed caution with aggression and is playing well. However, in the last 15 minutes or so Pat Cummins seems to just get a little top on Kohli. He is mixing things up mixing fields up just creating that constant doubht in the mind of Kohli. As we update Kohli scored a lovely pull for a boundary. It was  surprise delivery from Cummins but Kohli picked length early and that shot once again is indicative of how switched on he is. Important innings this for Kohli and this balance of this game is now hinged so much on him and he responds here.

Pat Cummins is trying different tactics here while it may look good to constantly keep changing the tactics around and try and unsettle the batters it might not also be a bad ploy to use tactics where batters patience is tested. Both Kohli and Jaiswal are players who does not liked to be pressed down for too long sooner or later they will come up with a release shot which might create that opportunity. Also we have to see how much bowling Mitchell Marsh will get in this innings. He has not scored many runs once again and if he wont roll his arm over he will be under serious threat of being dropped.

The game is looking more evenly poised now. Both Kohli and Jaiswal have batted well here. However, their job is not done yet. Given the fragility of the Indian batting order it is important that if not both at least one of these two score a massive ton. A 180-200 sort of ton and hold the innings through out, which we have seen in the past both of these players are very much capable of doing it. But one of the challenges is India very rarely plays games like these. Usually the game in India or generally around the world have involved games were 350 plays 300. But so far this wicket is showing signs that it is going to be a 450 vs 450 game and it might go on for five days.

Yashasvi Jaiswal has scored 50 here. It is a lovely innings and something which was needed to boost his confidence not that he needs any. After that ton in Perth it did seem like he was tappering off and the Australian bowlers have had got his number but today the way he has played it has been a joy to watch. Now it will be interesting to see what other responses Australia have up their sleeve against Jaiswal because the biggest challenge for Australia if Jaiswal keeps going is not only he scores big runs but he will do it extremely quickly which will deflate the Aussie bowling attack.

Mitchell Starc has not been as effective in some of the other games he has been in today as there is not much on offer on the wicket. Cummins has to be a little careful of not overbowling Starc as he might leak a few runs quickly given the nature of this wicket and he also might become the release bowler India is looking at. One more challenge for Cummins in this game is he will have to bowl quite a few overs here and we have seen both Cummins and Starc bowl plenty of overs in Brisbane in the absence of Hazlewood hence from a workload management perspective too it is important he does monitor Starc and his own as well.

Nathan Lyon is brought into the attack here. The off-spinner needs to bowl a good spell here. We have seen a bit of turn early in the morning when both Jadeja and Sundar slowed it up a bit and Lyon might do the same if he is willing to slow it up also from a match-up perspective he has Jasiwal in there who might not have faced Lyon much. He is an orthodox off-spinner but of a different kind. He relies more on top-spin which is something Jaiswal might not have faced much in his career. Usually, the spinners from the subcontinent use side spin to pick their wickets. Different challenge for Jaiswal.

This is the kind of partnership that the doctor ordered for India. In terms of runs, there has been not much to show for so far but both these batters have brought in a sense of calmness at the crease. There have been times in this tour when the Indian batting pairs looked like cats on a hot tin roof. But here both are leaving the ball well and most importantly they are not trying to get into the groove and just keep defending everything. When the opportunity to drive and score runs is presented they are getting that boundary away which is the most important thing to build a big partnership. 

Not to jinx it yet but Kohli has driven one through covers sublimely and it did feel like he is in the rhythm but it is too early to say anything as we have been here with him before he made a habit of playing some crisp shots and then gets himself out in a tame way. But so far so good. Even Yashasvi Jaiswal is increasingly looking in excellent touch if India can manage another 10-12 overs without much damage being done once the ball is softer and the seam becomes insignificant it is next to impossible to pick a wicket on this one at least for now unless a batter himself decided to make a mistake. 

Virat Kohli is facing Scott Boland and he will be tested here as Boland is accurate with his lines and lengths and is a master at operating exactly in the area Kohli has been struggling with. The ball too is still new. However, one thing in favour of Kohli is there is not a lot of seam moment on the surface and if the batter is willing to apply himself and play some defensive leaves early on in his innings he might end up getting himself a score here. However, he has to get through these initial phases. While Boland is a little predictable Pat Cummins is unpredictable and we have seen with Rahul's wicket he can pull that sort of delivery out of no where.

Pat Cummins and Scot Boland are resuming after the Tea break here. Virat Kohli has joined Jaiswal. The former needs runs here especially what has happened in this Test match so far and his counterpart Smith has scored a sublime ton in the first innings. Kohli would have to match it and build a partnership. Jaiswal so far has looked from one end. He was a little itchy which is expected against the new ball but is now looking increasingly comfortable. However, he will need partners to stay with him to help India get out of this deep hole they have got themselves into.

We are in for the final session both Kohli and Jaiswal are in for the final session. The resistance shown by the tourists in this session might decide how long this Test match might last. 

Pratyush Raj: The way I see it that the match review committee deemed it a 'negligent bump'. I don't think you can be negligently bump somebody and walk two pitches over... which is what I saw. The panned out view was quite damning I thought and it looked like Sam Konstas had got under their skin and he was trying to assert his authority and I know Virat Kohli is Konstas' favourite player as well so I think he was the one that was targeting him to try it under his skin. He veered across I love passion I love competition and I love the theatre of that in test cricket but when it gets to physical contact I think there has to be a line drawn and it has to be you know have to be made accountable for that.

20% of his match fee like he's not even know that's gone out of his bank account Virat Kohli. It's not even the most serious fine that you can get or sanction for that charge so the maximum penalty is 50% of your match fee and two demerits so he only got 20% of his match fee fined and and one demerit. I think there has to be greater accountability because there is a flow on effect down the levels in club cricket and in junior cricket people watch test cricket especially in a game of this magnitude you know he's effectively you know being charged one of the minimum offences that you can have for a bump and if it was accidental you know like you're probably not even getting charged but the fact that he got charged there's a there is a level of guilt there they seen that there was a level of guilt there and I think they've got to make a little bit more of an example of it.

I'm not saying he should have been suspended for it but it did seem like a bit of a slap on the on the wrist didn't it? There still needs to be a level of decorum and I think the lines will cross a little bit.

That was a peach of a delivery to get rid of KL Rahul of the final ball before Tea. The ball pitched and seamed away slightly take out Rahul's off-stump. Only Pat Cummins can answer where that delivery has come from. The wicket was offering nothing but he still managed to move the ball of the seam and that has to be skill of the highest class and to get rid of Rahul who is an exceptional form shows class of Cummins. We are now heading into Tea break. If it would have been 51/1 India would be cautiously optimistic but with this wicket Australia has pulled another session back. Virat Kohli will walk after the break to catch us for the evening session. 

We are about five minutes away from Tea break and India did manage this session well after that initial wicket. This is what the doctor ordered if this partnership can go on for another hour or so India would be hoping to get closer to Australia's total.

Mitchell Starc has bowled a long six-over spell here. It is not usual that he bowls these longer spells but in this series we have seen him bowling. He just seems to be in decent rhythm and looks like he has found a second wind in his career. While he will go for runs from time to time in this series he has also managed to pick wickets. The pitches have helped him as well in the series. His actual challenge will be on this pitch where he has nothing to work with. Once the ball gets older it increasingly becomes a game of patience which is not one Starc's strength. 

The wicket is still looking good to bat as Rahul and Jaiswal have shown thus far. It was only the new ball which was swinging for the first couple of overs but now there is no swing and as we have seen yesterday there is no seam moment in the wicket either. However, it is important that Indians do capitalise on it. Jaiswal and KL Rahul who are batting now need to score a big ton and also occupy the crease and take the shine of the ball for the batters to follow. They are chasing a massive 474 runs even if they do not get the lead if they can get to around 80-100 runs that total they will still stay in the game. 

Further to attendance figures released earlier….
Day 1 of the NRMA Insurance Boxing Day Test attracted an average audience of 2.2 million viewers on Seven, Seven-plus, Foxtel and Kayo.
This was the largest audience  for a day of Test cricket since Seven and Foxtel assumed the broadcast rights in 2018/19.
On the same day, an average audience of more than 1.2 million watched Game 1 of the KFC BBL between the Sixers and Stars - more than all matches last year including the final.
Game 2 between the Scorchers and Heat had an average audience of approximately 750,000.

Pratyush Raj: "That's just a lazy, not-switched-on, not-up-for-the-moment type of shot," Ricky Ponting says on Seven.

"If he's going to hit it, hit it Rohit. You're a class player, you should actually take that on," Darren Lehman on ABC Sport.

"Plenty of room in the outfield, take it on."

Pratyush Raj: "That is a really big mistake ... it's a nothing shot," Michael Vaughan said.

"He is just too early in the innings and hasn't got used to the pace and bounce.

"It's a sad state for the Indian captain, averaging 11 in his past 14 Test innings."

The innings for India started quite the opposite of how it started to Australia. While they were also playing and missing when Konstas and Khawaja were batting they did not lose wickets and Konstas unleashed his ramp shots against Bumrah. In India's innings 10 minutes into it Rohit already got himself out playing a nothing shot. India needs to build partnerships here we have seen how Australia just kept building one partnership after the other India needs to do the same to stay in the game. One of either Rahul or Jaiswal need to take the responsibility of the innings and score a big ton like Smith did.

ICC's characterization of Virat Kohli's shoulder-barge incident as "negligent." The author argues that Kohli's actions were deliberate and intended to intimidate the opposing player, not accidental. They believe the ICC's use of "negligently" downplays the seriousness of Kohli's conduct. (Read more from Sandeep Dwivedi)

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma is gone for just three runs! #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/m1fLiqKLO7

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 27, 2024

Rohit has come to open however, his fate has not changed. He tried to play the ball on leg side. It was kind of how Mitchell Marsh got out the extra bounce and did it while Rohit tried to pull the ball from Pat Cummins he got the toe end and the ball flew up in the air and was caught by mid-wicket fielder Boland. Chasing 474 runs this is the worst possible start for India. KL Rahul who is pushed down the order has come in early and once again hast to play the role of an opener here. And do remember folks India have opted to play a batter short hence there is no Shubman Gill for this game.

Mitchell Starc has taken the new ball for India and he is already extracting more than what the Indian seamers did when they bowled with the new ball and no price for guessing what is he doing differently. He has pitched the ball up and allowed to swing the ball and since now he has wobble seam delivery up his armoury he is more lethal than other times India have played Starc before. Yashasvi Jaiswal is looking a little tentative here early on in this inning. After the ton Perth Jaiswal has been in a little bit of a slump. If he does see of this new ball there is an opportunity for him to score some runs. 

Bumrah traps Nathan Lyon in front of the wickets to pick the final one. Lyon did review the decision and the ball was hitting the top of off-bail only marginally according to Hawk-Eye. Nevertheless, it is over. Bumrah has bowled 29 overs and he would be hoping to get a good rest which is possible only if the batters deliver. The pitch is still good for batting and Indian batters at least in theory should enjoy the conditions unless they throw their wickets away like they did in Gabba. Will Rohit open we have to see. Whatever may be the case we have an interesting remaining part of the day coming up which will decide the direction of the game.

Boland is showing a bit of resistance here. He is looking positive with his defence both against spin and pace and there were a couple of times he was given out LBW however, he reviewed the decision against Ravindra Jadeja there was a thick inside edge and against Mohammed Siraj the ball was missing the leg-stump. With the momentum they got in the first 10 minutes of the session, India would have been hoping it would be over by now however, nice knock from Boland here from the Australian perspective it is just adding more overs into the legs of Indian bowlers and further frustration to fielders and openers.

It will be interesting to see who will open for India today and whoever opens need to bat well and have to partner up with others to put on a solid foundation. This wicket is not as spicy as some of the others we have seen in the series hence batting should not be that difficult however, the Indian batters need to apply themselves and ensure the don't play lose shots and drives at least till the ball is new. Once the ball is old given the flatness of the wicket runs will flow, however, getting through that initial passage of play has been the more difficult thing to do for India.

10 minutes India would have dreamed of in the dressing room while munching their lunch. First, it was Ravindra Jadeja who cleaned up Mitchell Starc's off-stump as the left-hander had the slightest bit of lapse in concentration and then it was Steven Smith who charged down the track against Akash Deep to pierce him through covers and got the bottom edge and the ball trickled onto the stumps to bails while the batter was looking at it in dismay after he walked half-way from the stumps. With one more wicket India will come onto bat. Dream start to post-lunch session for India.

Another absorbing session coming and it is fair to say this session will give us an idea of where this Test match is heading. Also, it will give us a fair idea of where India is mentally in this game. Are they willing to fight it out or the dropped shoulders continue to remain low. 

Former India captain Virat Kohli was fined 20% of his match fee by the ICC after bumping shoulders with Australia’s Sam Konstas in a fiery opening Thursday to the fourth test of the five-match series.

The on-field action heated up at the end of the 10th over. Kohli collided shoulder to shoulder as he walked past 19-year-old Konstas, whose risky stroke-play was causing enormous frustration for the fielding side.

Debutant Konstas and 36-year-old Kohli exchanged words after the collision. A visibly angry Kohli started walking back towards Konstas before umpire Michael Gough and Khawaja hurried over to settle things down between the pair.

Later Thursday, the ICC announced the fine and also said Kohli had received one demerit point.

Australia started strong in a Test match against India, reaching 237-2 thanks to solid batting, including a memorable debut by Konstas. However, after a break, they lost momentum and wickets, finishing the day at 311-6. This reflects a series trend of both teams' batting lineups being inconsistent. While not in a terrible position, Australia missed a chance to dominate, giving India an opening. (Read more from Sriram Veera)

We have reached lunch break and it has been Australia's session through and through. There is nothing positive about India's play apart from Pat Cummins' making an error and losing his wicket. Plenty has to be done by India in the noon session and most importantly they have to bat out of their skins whenever they come to bat. They are a batter short they have opted to go with an all-rounder and that batting order will now be stretched to its full length. However, first things first India has to ensure they do bundle out Australia before 500. Do join us we will be right back after the lunch break.

We are getting closer to lunch here and India still has to pick three wickets with a set batter at the other end. The conditions are still good for batting however, Australian seamers by the evidence we have seen in the seamers would have devised a more convincing plan.

Spinners have been brought into the attack and when the ball is delivered a bit slow there seems to be a bit of turn and grip in the surface. Once again it has been not your usual Australian wicket where there is a bounce and lateral moment. It has been flat for the most part of it with a little seam moment and a bit of low bounce from time to time. However, the bounce seems to be more even now and the lateral moment too has completely dried down. But with odd ball gripping it is indicative that it is not your traditional Australian wicket and requires a different skill set and different bowling. 

Mohammed Siraj has gotten increasingly worse in the series. He did bowl well in Perth but as the tournament went on his pace is suffering and so is his accuracy. Usually having the reputation of keeping things tight even not picking wickets he has taken a pasting today. Usually, he has been able to manage to pick a few wickets by this time in his spells in the previous games though they have come a tad bit late but in this innings, he is looking completely off-colour. It is a difficult choice to make but India might consider Harshit Rana or another pace option for the next game in Sydney.

There is the wicket that India was looking for and it was Pat Cummins who tried to slog the ball and was caught at boundary by Nitish Kumar Reddy. Ravindra Jadeja is brought into the attack and gets the breakthrough. A much-needed from the India perspective, however, the damage has been done though as Australia have 100 more runs to last night's score and is at a significant advantage in this game. Mitchell Starc has walked into the middle and he too can use his long handle. India might consider bringing in Washington Sundar from the other end as well.

Steven Smith has brought up his 34th Test ton here with a shot through the covers and a roar. He is looking at it now and things are looking ominous as runs are coming quick and fast for the Aussies. The Aussie talisman is looking like his older self he did look a little out of sorts in the first two Tests but in Brisbane he grinded it out and in this Test match it was vintage Smith. The strike-rotation was there and shots through the covers were there and the tempo was there. When there was a ball to score he did get it away and when there was a good ball to be defended he did play it well.

We have reached the first break of the morning and the hour belonged to Australia. The Indian body language once again looked and seemed like were waiting for mistakes to come instead of them making use of the new ball which has let the game drift away. Steven Smith who has found his form in the last game is now good for another ton here and has looked more fluent in this innings. Pat Cummins too compared to last evening has played well this morning. Indian bowlers too just have not been able to find that ideal length this morning.

We have a double change now Siraj and Nitish have come into the attack. India has not been able to contain the Aussie batters in this first hour. After all the tactical brilliance shown last evening slowly everything is getting undone today morning. Especially Cummins definitely has been a thorn in the flesh of the Indian side. Not only is he scoring but he is scoring at a healthy clip meanwhile Smith who is used to batting with the tail is continuing to play his normal game and as we have seen before when push comes to shove and the situation demands Smith can get through the gears pretty quickly as well.

We got a invader in the ground. A fan jumped over the fence from say deep fine-leg region and rushed towards the slip cordon. Rohit backpeddaled to evade him. Kohli moved away to the front but the fan followed him, put his hands over Kohli’s shoulder. And as he spooted the security guards rush over towards him, he did the famous Kohli dance-step - the hands waved from one side to the other with the legs jiving. He was dragged out of the arena. Shortly after, in the smae over, Steve Smith pulls Bumrah for a six over fine-leg.

A 50-run partnership between Cummins and Smith comes up. There was plenty of talk last evening about India bundling out Australia under 350. However, quite the opposite has happened today morning Australian players have come both guns blazing especially Cummins who is playing some shots early in the piece here. Of course, he was helped by some poor bowling from Indians as well. The lengths have been pretty ordinary from the Indian bowlers. The fuller ones have been half-volleys and the shorter ones were not good enough to trouble the batters. Though Bumrah is doing his job, Akash is giving away few easy runs.

One thing which is different in this tour from India compared to the previous tours is the pace of the bowlers. In 2018/19 and 2020/21 they had bowlers who could come to any point in time and deliver 140 KPH spells consistently but this attack with all the skills they possess they are not as quick as those previous attacks. Both the likes of Akash and Siraj are mid-130s to start with and when they do come back to their later spells their average pace tends to fall to around the 130-mark. To make an impact in Australia with the old ball that pace would be nowhere good enough.

The partnership between Smith and Cummins is brewing nicely here. The Australian skipper breezed into 20s here in no time India has to be careful here time and again in this series when they had to come out attacking have found themselves caught napping and once again this morning there seems to be that reactiveness creeping into body language and tactics rather than being proactive and push for those wickets. Surprisingly there has been not much of a seam moment from the wicket as well despite the ball being new. The oddball which is being pushed up is driven with comfort from both batters.

And as we predicted it was about Bumrah changing his end. He did come from the other end and started to bowl. There is a dark cloud hovering around one side of the ground which might help the fast bowlers a bit more today. However, for that to happen India needs to bowl the right lengths which has not happened. They also have been a bit sloppy with their fielding so far letting ones become twos which Australia have gleefully accepted. These are the moments India needs to be careful of here is when they would strike in their previous tours to get back into the game and have to do the same here and now.

Pratyush Raj: Indian players are wearing a black armband in memory former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who passed away on Thursday.

Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep have taken the ball for India here first up. Is it about changing ends for Bumrah or will we see both Siraj and Akash bowl a spell is something to be seen? The Ideal thing would be to give the new ball to Jasprit Bumrah this morning as the ball is still new however, he did bowl 21 overs last evening and Rohit somewhere subconsciously worried about the workload of his main bowler who also did a lot of work in Brisbane. From an Australian perspective, Steven Smith looked at a million dollars yesterday and today he will be looking to make it a three-digit mark.

Good morning folks! It is all about India picking the remaining four wickets with this new ball and from an Australian perspective it is all about getting to around the 400 mark and stamping their authority on the game. It is going to be a fascinating morning hour to stay with us.

Resuming on 68*, he's going to be eyeing off his 34th Test century, but he's also within sight of another major milestone - 10,000 Test runs. 

Smith needs another 55 to reach that. In other words, if he reaches 123 today, he will become just the fourth Australian, and the 15th of all time, to reach the 10,000 figure. 

Only Ricky Ponting, Allan Border and Steve Waugh are in that club for Australia. 

Mark Waugh says today will be "the best day for batting in the Test" at his morning inspection of the MCG pitch for Fox Cricket. 

Today's conditions are much more comfortable than yesterday. The temperature has dropped to 22C, there's a gentle breeze, and surface has held up really well. 

Virat Kohli has escaped major sanctions for his bump on Australia debutant Sam Konstas after the International Cricket Council announced he had accepted a fine worth 20 per cent of his match fee.

While Konstas played down the incident after play on Thursday, the revered India star was widely condemned for bumping into the teenager in the opening session of the Boxing Day Test. 

"It is all about bringing in that energy and bringing intensity to our game. It is just about restricting them to 350-360, which should do well for us.

(Virat Kohli) He very often uses the right words, that is what we like about him.

We have seen a lot of videos of him, when he (Marnus Labuschagne) stepped out, I had my plans and it worked. 

It was a dream for me. It will be exciting to see what happens when we come up against him next time around. We will look to get him as early as possible. 

The wicket was a little sticky to start, Konstas didn't believe it. Looks like it will play well for the next two days. Sun did not come out at all yesterday, so I feel, this surface should play well."