Starc snags India's man of the moment
Mitchell Starc reinforced his return to form in the second Test against India with the crucial wicket of India’s most in-form batsman.
Maligned after his performance in the first Test loss in Adelaide, Starc responded with the first wicket of the match when he removed Murali Vijay for a duck.
However, it was his scalp in the final session of day two that was arguably the key to Australia’s hopes of levelling the series.
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Cheteshwar Pujara – man of the match after two superb knocks in the first Test – was looking comfortable at the crease with captain Virat Kohli as the pair threatened a big partnership.
The duo piloted India to 2-70 at tea on day two in a gritty fightback after the Aussies had the tourists 2/8 early on Saturday.
However, shortly after the tea break Starc got his man trying to play a delivery off his pads down the leg side, with Tim Paine taking the catch behind the stumps.
Pujara feathered the shorter-pitched ball straight down the Aussie captain’s throat as he walked back to the pavilion for 24.
The setback did little to stymie Kohli, however, as the Indian captain brought up his 50 a short time later with some power hitting.
A wicketless opening hour helped the hosts, who resumed on Saturday at 6-277, to post a first-innings total of 326 in Perth.
Lunch was called when Mitchell Starc rattled the stumps to dismiss Murali Vijay for a duck, while Josh Hazlewood’s first delivery after the meal break was a beautiful yorker that bowled KL Rahul.
India were in immense trouble at 2-8 but Kohli and Pujara, ranked first and fourth respectively on the International Cricket Council’s Test batting charts, steadied.
Australia, still leading by 256 runs, bowled well to ensure there wasn’t a single boundary in 21 consecutive overs during the post-lunch session but failed to break Kohli and Pujara’s 62-run stand.
Tim Paine’s team did, however, go close on a couple of occasions, with the most notable being Nathan Lyon’s first ball after the drinks break.
Kohli boldly shouldered arms to a delivery that turned sharply and almost kissed the top of off stump.
The captain’s strike rate dipped after he put away a couple of full deliveries from Hazlewood; Australia’s quicks beat his bat semi-regularly while a couple of edges fell short of fielders.
Pujara, who spent 11 hours at he crease in India’s series-opening victory at Adelaide Oval, struggled to score freely and also had his fair share of nervous moments.
Earlier, Paine and Pat Cummins pushed Australia’s Test team past 300 for just the second time since the Cape Town cheating scandal.
Paine led from the front, combining a few well-timed boundaries and cheeky singles in his knock of 38, but the skipper was part of collapse of 4-16 that ended the innings.
Ishant Sharma removed Starc and Hazlewood with consecutive deliveries to finish with 4-41, his best Test haul in Australia.
