Virat Kohli Leads as Captain, Guides Rohit Sharma, Sets Field in 2nd Test vs Australia

Photo : PTI

Indian cricket player Virat Kohli took charge as captain for a short time during the first day of the second Test match against Australia in Adelaide. Kohli, full of energy as always, helped Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain, by guiding him and changing the field placements. He wanted to break the partnership between Australian players Marnus Labuschagne and Nathan McSweeney.

This happened during the 17th over of the Australian innings. Kohli had a long discussion with Rohit Sharma about the field positions. After that, he moved the fielders to new places. He also ran from his spot in the slips to speak with bowler Mohammed Siraj. Kohli talked to Siraj about the strategy and told him where the fielders should stand. Kohli’s actions showed how much he cared about the team and how he was trying hard to help India get a wicket.

Earlier in the day, India had a tough time. After choosing to bat first, they were bowled out for just 180 runs. Mitchell Starc, the Australian fast bowler, played brilliantly and took six wickets for just 48 runs. This was his best performance in a Test match. Starc started strongly, getting Yashasvi Jaiswal out with the very first ball of the match.

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When it was Australia’s turn to bat, they did well. By the end of the day, Australia had scored 86 runs for the loss of just one wicket. Nathan McSweeney was batting on 38 runs after facing 97 balls, and Marnus Labuschagne was not out on 20.

India got one wicket during the evening. Jasprit Bumrah bowled a good delivery to dismiss Usman Khawaja, who scored 13 runs. Bumrah’s ball hit the edge of Khawaja’s bat, and Rohit Sharma caught it safely at slip.

Nathan McSweeney had a slow start. It took him 17 balls to score his first run. He was also lucky when Rishabh Pant, the Indian wicketkeeper, dropped his catch when he had scored only three runs. But after that, McSweeney stayed calm and batted steadily. Marnus Labuschagne also looked nervous at the start but slowly got comfortable. He will be looking to score a big number after not doing well in recent matches.

The main hero of the day was Mitchell Starc. He bowled with great speed and skill, making it very hard for the Indian batters. His six wickets caused a lot of trouble for India. Getting Yashasvi Jaiswal out on the very first ball of the match gave Australia a perfect start. Starc also used the pink ball under the lights very effectively.

Day 1 clearly belonged to Australia, and India now has a lot of work to do to get back into the game. Australia will aim to score more runs and take full control of the match on Day 2.