23 November,2024 07:57 AM IST | Perth | R Kaushik
India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal (right) and KL Rahul run between the wickets v Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Saturday. Pic/Getty Images
Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul were opening the batting for the first time in Test cricket but watching them at work at the Optus Stadium on Saturday, one wouldn't necessarily have thought so.
Sure, there was the occasional breakdown in communication when it came to running between the wickets, but beyond the odd hiccup, they complemented each other beautifully to drive Australia to frustration on Day Two of the second Test.
After skipper Jasprit Bumrah's 11th five-wicket Test haul had given India a handsome lead of 46 despite their modest first-innings 150, the young Mumbaikar and the more seasoned Bengalurean saw off the last four and half hours to stumps, flourishing in each other's company and hauling their team to 172 without being separated. India are 218 ahead with all ten second-innings wickets standing, well positioned to make a strong pitch for victory over the next three days.
When play started on Saturday, India's first mission was to ensure that Australia didn't add too many to their overnight 67 for seven. Alex Carey, the feisty wicketkeeper-batter, loomed as the biggest stumbling block but Bumrah packed him off with his first ball of the day, caught behind, to earn a merited five-wicket bag.
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The end appeared nigh when Harshit Rana extracted lift and inward movement to have Nathan Lyon caught off his glove, but last pair Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood defied the visitors for nearly an hour and a half while adding 25, Australia's highest partnership. Debutant Rana finally ended Starc's 127-minute resistance with the hosts bowled out for 104.
There wasn't as much help for the quicker bowlers on Saturday as 24 hours earlier, but the still-to-widen cracks did make their presence felt from time to time with more than the odd ball staying down. Jaiswal, out attempting an expansive stroke too early in his innings on the first morning, embraced discipline without becoming scoreless while Rahul relished his reinstatement at the top of the order, his organised defence and meticulous footwork - both of which had manifested themselves even on day one - standing him in good stead.
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Occasional moments of mild alarm notwithstanding, Jaiswal and Rahul marched along, not always consumed by the need to keep the score board ticking. Occupation of the crease was the foremost objective in the knowledge that time spent in the middle would eventually reflect in the runs' column. By not going looking for the ball, they forced Australia into straighter lines and picked off the ones and twos regularly while also punishing the loose offerings, which weren't numerous even though Australia's disciplines deserted them to a certain degree. They bowled far too short far too often, but Jaiswal and Rahul weren't complaining, bringing up individual mini-milestones and touching three figures in only their second attempt as a Test opening pair. It was the third time Rahul had added at least a hundred for the first wicket outside the subcontinent, each time with a different partner (Rohit at Lord's and Mayank Agarwal in Centurion, both in 2021).
Brief scores
India 150 & 172-0 (Y Jaiswal 90', KL Rahul 62') v Australia 104 (M Starc 26; A Carey 21; J Bumrah 5-30, H Rana 3-48, M Siraj 2-20)
