Umesh Yadav celebrates one of his three wickets against Australia on Day 2 of the Brisbane Test.
© AP
Australia finished the second day of the second Test in Brisbane at 221/4, still 187 runs adrift of India's first innings 408. This has prompted Sunil Gavaskar to say the odds are stacked more in favor of the visitors. Umesh Yadav, who replaced Mohammed Shami at the Gabba did the star turn with the ball, picking up three wickets. His scalps also included the well-settled Shaun Marsh, who was dismissed late in the second day, allowing India to go to stumps with a slight advantage. (Scorecard | Day 2 in pics | Day report )
"You can say that the honours are even - perhaps a little more loaded in favour of India with a new batsman at the crease, having taken the wicket of Shaun Marsh towards the last half of the 3rd session. With the bowlers getting overnight rest and being fresh tomorrow (Friday), India need to strike very very early and wrap up the Australian innings before lunch," Gavaskar told NDTV. (Complete coverage of Australia vs India )
Australia will however expect to see Steve Smith (65 not out) reach a hundred on captaincy debut with able support from the explosive Mitchell Marsh, who was unbeaten on 7.
Resuming Day 2 on a strong 311/4, India would have hoped for their overnight batsmen Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma to steer them to a more daunting total. However, Australia took out six wickets for 97 runs this morning, which let the hosts sneak back in the game. Gavaskar said a 450-plus total would have put MS Dhoni's men in a more dominant position because the Gabba pitch is still true for batsmen.
"I was kind of hoping they would be able to post 450 plus because that really gives them a little bit of leeway as well. This is still a good pitch to bat on, there's a little bit of extra bounce but if you play through the line, if you are able to get behind the line of the ball as Steve Smith has shown, then you can get some runs.
"And if you had that cushion of the extra 50-70 runs then even if you dismissed Australia for say something like 300 it still gives you a lead of 150 or 170 and I think that is what you want," said Gavaskar after India did well to keep striking at regular intervals despite some aggressive batting by the hosts. (Related: Ashwin says India in control of Brisbane Test vs Australia )
Gavaskar was optimistic India would learn from some of the errors they made with ball and come back stronger on Day three. Australia's speedsters were all over the place with their line and length but debutant Josh Hazlewood dazzled on the second morning, finishing with a fifer on debut. The former India captain sees no reason why Varun Aaron and Umesh, who have bowled a shade faster than the Aussies, can't strike some crucial blows for India on Friday.
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