Spinner Nathan Lyon returned with best figures by any visiting bowler as Australia bundled out India for 189 on day one of the second Test at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
His tally of 8/50 is also the fifth-best for any bowler in India, and the best in Bangalore.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, India began gingerly as opener Abhinav Mukund who replaced an injured Murali Vijay, was sent back to the pavillion for zero by pacer Mitchell Starc. His partner KL Rahul and Chesteshwar Pujara shared a 61-run stand to give India a stable start. However, the momentum soon shifted as Nathan Lyon was joined the attack.
He dismissed Pujara on 17, before sending back skipper Virat Kohli (12), who was caught in front of the stumps after shouldering his arms. This was the second time in this series that Kohli has perished while trying to leave a delivery.
Lyon next picked up the wicket of struggling Ajinkya Rahane. Stepping out of his crease trying to hit out, the Mumbai batsman was bamboozled by Lyon’s sharp turn. Rahane has now fallen to a spinner 11 times in the past 15 innings at home.
O’Keefe, who bagged 12 wickets in the first Test in Pune, soon joined in the party. The left-arm spinner got the wicket of Karun Nair (26), who was playing his first match since scoring a valiant triple ton against England last month. He, however, did not have much luck on Saturday as he edged one to the keeper after getting a decent start.
Lyon soon cleaned up shop as he ran through India’s lower order, who could not form much resistance on a wicket that assisted spin as the day progressed.
Rahul was India’s only form of resistance. The opening batsman scored a gritty 90, even as wickets kept tumbling around him. It was Lyon who eventually got the better of him, bringing to an end a knock that lasted 205 deliveries and consisted of nine boundaries.
In reply, Australia were 40/0 with David Warner (23*) and Matt Renshaw (15*) at the crease when stumps were drawn.
Brief scores
- India 189 in 71.2 overs (KL Rahul 90, Karun Nair 26; Nathan Lyon 8/50) vs Australia 40/0 in 16 overs (David Warner 23*).
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