4th Test: Smith Scores 140, Bumrah Claims 4-99 as India Dismiss Australia for 474
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Melbourne, Dec 27 (NationPress) Steve Smith delivered an outstanding performance with a score of 140, while Jasprit Bumrah recorded impressive figures of 4-99 as India wrapped up Australia for 474 in their first innings during the second day of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Friday.
India was keen to dismiss the Australian innings swiftly, but Smith’s 34th Test century—a smooth innings featuring 13 fours and 3 sixes—along with valuable contributions from Pat Cummins (49) and Mitchell Starc (15) helped the hosts build partnerships of 112 and 44 respectively, leaving the visitors' bowling attack ineffective.
This marked Smith’s fifth century at the MCG, and it was also his second three-figure score in as many matches against India in this series.
After lunch, India found some relief when Ravindra Jadeja bowled out Mitchell Starc, sending his off-stump flying.
Smith's dismissal was peculiar; he ventured down the pitch to hit Akash Deep but ended up bottom-edging the ball, which rolled onto the stumps, dislodging the off-stump bail. After Scott Boland successfully overturned two lbw decisions, Jadeja concluded Australia’s innings in 122.4 overs by trapping Nathan Lyon lbw.
Now, Australia’s bowlers will have an opportunity to exploit a pitch that is still offering some assistance to both seamers and spinners, putting immense pressure on India’s batters to perform after the bowlers faced a tough outing, with Bumrah shining once again.
With Rohit Sharma returning to open the batting and KL Rahul, India’s top run-scorer on the tour, pushed down the order, India faces a significant challenge to save the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
Brief Scores: Australia 474 in 122.4 overs (Steve Smith 140, Marnus Labuschagne 72; Jasprit Bumrah 4-99, Ravindra Jadeja 3-78) against India
