Australia vs India, 3rd Test, day 2 as it happened: Pujara, Rahane take India to 96/2 at stumps

STUMPS: End of a long day to make up for the lost overs on day one. Day three will also start early, at 4.30 am IST. Join us tomorrow for what could be a pivotal day in the series.

Watch: Sensational direct hit from Ravindra Jadeja brings Steve Smith’s brilliant knock to an end

STUMPS, DAY 2 INDIA 96/2 (45 overs): A series of short balls from both sides of the wicket by Starc but Pujara not bothered. Finishes the day with 9 off 53 balls. 36 overs in that session for 70 runs and 2 wickets. Slow going, attritional cricket especially after Shubman Gill was dismissed. India should be reasonably happy but Australia have done well to not let them get away.

Starc to bowl the last over of the day...

India 96/2 after 44 overs: Rahane plays out the Lyon over well enough and would look to spend the last over of the day at non-striker’s end.

India 96/2 after 43 overs: From 3 to 6 to 9 in no time. Pujara chips one through midwicket off Lyon, didn’t seem fully in control.

India 93/2 after 41 overs: Pujara plays down the ground to get a move on after a while.

CLOSE CALL! Rahane plays with the bat behind his front pad and Paine just about gets the review in time. The ball is turning in, Rahane deemed to not have played a shot and the ball-tracking show’s umpire call. So, so close to being out. India 89/2

India 88/2 after 39 overs: Starc returns, around the wicket to Pujara and it’s a maiden over.

The ball is showing signs of keeping low from time to time, worth keeping an eye.

India 88/2 after 38 overs: Huzzah, India move away from 86 and do well to skip 87 as well, if you know what we mean. A couple of runs for Rahane with a punch through point off Lyon.

India 86/2 after 37 overs: Eight overs left for stumps and India are going into bit of a shell. This could play into Australia’s hands.

India 86/2 after 36 overs: Australia are reeling off a few maiden overs on the trot with Cummins and Lyon, their best bowlers this series, showing good control.

India 86/2 after 33 overs: Another peach from Cummins to Pujara. He is in the middle of one of those world No 1-esque spells.

WICKET! That’s a shame, for Indian cricket fans. Shubman Gill goes hard at a ball on the fourth stump and the outside edge is taken quite superbly to his left by Cameron Green. Cummins with the wicket, Gill out for 50 off 101.

HALF CENTURY! The first of, hopefully, many for Shubman Gill. Gets to the landmark off the 100th ball he faced.

India 84/1 after 31 overs: Worth noting that Pujara is still waiting for another Test ton after the one he scored last time around at SCG. Gets a peach from Cummins off the last ball of that over. Beaut, that beats the outside edge.

India 84/1 after 30 overs: A three through midwicket for Pujara off Lyon. He’s up and running.

India 81/1 after 29 overs: One of the shots of the day by Gill in that over. Gets beaten too later in the over but was playing inside the line, safe enough.

India 75/1 after 28 overs: Down the track comes Gill and hits another boundary off Lyon. Moves into the 40s again.

WICKET! PARTNERSHIP BROKEN! A soft dismissal, Rohit Sharma would agree. Length ball, driven back on the up, Hazlewood takes a good catch to his left in the followthrough. Rohit out for a 77-ball 26. After the hard work, he’d be disappointed with that.

A rule clarification:

India 62/0 after 25 overs: Good news for Rohit, he won’t be facing Lyon in the next over.

GOOD REVIEW, ROHIT SHARMA: He is given out caught short leg but there is no bat involved. The third umpire has used his common sense (after way too many replays) to make the right decision.

India 61/0 after 23 overs: Shubman Gill has largely been ducking to the bouncers but in that Hazlewood over, he pulls one in front of square with some authority! What a shot. There is another bouncer which goes for four byes.

India 52/0 after 22 overs: And Wade gets one on his body fielding at short leg, that would have made Vihari glad.

India 50/0 after 21 overs: Half an appeal for a caught behind against Gill but they don’t review. Good decision by Reiffel.

India 50/0 after 20 overs: Lyon has bounced back well after that big over.

India 50/0 after 19 overs

FIFTY PARTNERSHIP: First opening 50-run stand for India in this series and it’s come from the new-old pair of Shubman Gill-Rohit Sharma.

India 48/0 after 18 overs: “I think Shubman Gill is fast becoming my favourite player,” says Michael Hussey on air. Quite a compliment that. Maiden over from Lyon to Rohit.

India 48/0 after 17 overs: Not much on the pitch now for the bowlers, Gill plays out a tidy over. Looking compact in his technique.

India 46/0 after 16 overs: Well, well. Rohit has seen enough of Lyon and this pitch it would seem? First, down the track and a six over long on. End of the over, a fine sweep for four. Good batting.

India 34/0 after 15 overs: Gill shows good football skills to prevent the ball from trickling onto the stumps. All-round athlete. Cummins had his hopes up for a second.

India 34/0 after *14 overs: Another maiden over played out by Rohit. Impressive patience. So far.

Nathan Lyon time. Will Rohit Sharma be tempted to go after him?

India 34/0 after 13 overs: A bouncer from Cummins ends up being a short ball more like, Gill ramps it well for four.

India 28/0 after 12 overs: Hazlewood keeping Rohit quiet or Rohit keeping Hazlewood at bay, depending on your loyalties.

This is something else!

India 28/0 after 11 overs: Starc is becoming 1st over and 81st over specialist perhaps? No wonder to see Paine start with Hazlewood and Cummins in this session. India finally move away from 26.

India 26/0 after 10 overs: That’s a solid first over from Hazlewood to Rohit. The commentators think the rolling during session break might make it a bit tricky in the early part of this session. Beaten outside edge, half an LBW appeal. Another maiden over.

Here we are, final session on day 2.

Watch: Sensational direct hit from Ravindra Jadeja brings Steve Smith’s brilliant knock to an end

Session break: India 26/0

Century No 8 against India, fifth-slowest in terms of balls faced: All key Stats from Smith’s 27th Test ton

End of session: India 26/0 after 9 overs. Another maiden over and that will delight Indian fans. 29.5 overs in that sessions, Australia lost 5 wickets. It’s been India’s day so far despite Smith’s superb ton.

India 26/0 after 8 overs: Pant gets excited for a ball that beats Rohit’s outside edge. No one else joined him. That was a peach from Hazlewood though. Extra bounce. Another maiden.

India 26/0 after 7 overs: Pat Cummins, the world No 1, starts with a maiden over as Gill remains watchful.

India 26/0 after 6 overs: IF it’s there to be pulled, Rohit will pull it, as he has said in the past. Short ball from Hazlewood, sent uppishly through square leg for four.

Highlights of Smith’s century and a brilliant direct hit at the end from Jadeja:

India 21/0 after 5 overs: A couple of boundaries for Gill as he takes on Starc when he erred in length. Short on the offside, punched. Bouncer, pulled away.

India 11/0 after 4 overs: First boundary for Rohit as he punches through point. Then plays with soft hands as a outside edge doesn’t carry.

“I’ll tell you after the match”

India 5/0 after 3 overs: Correction, not the last over before tea. The broadcasters keep getting the session details wrong, our apologies too. Gill watchfully leaves the balls go as Starc operates with an angle.

Last over before tea...

India 5/0 after 2 overs: Hazlewood today, not Cummins with the new ball. Watchfully played out by Rohit.

India 5/0 after 1 over: On the pads from Starc to Rohit and it’s a gift he accepts to get off strike promptly. Most batsmen would love to do that in Starc’s first over. And Gill then finishes the over with a lovely off-drive for four. First over from Starc survived. Mini win, really.

Right then, here we go. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill are out in the middle. This should be interesting!

Innings break: Australia bowled for 338 and the Steve Smith show comes to a close. India would actually be happy with that effort. Now, over to the batsmen.

AUSTRALIA 338 all out: WICKET! STEVE SMITH GONE! A world-class piece of fielding from Ravindra Jadeja to end a world-class innings by Steve Smith. That really should count as his fifth wicket! Finishes with 4/62 on the scorecard but make that a five-for, folks. What a bullet throw.

Australia 331/9 after 105 overs: And now Smith gets cheeky against Jadeja. Hazlewood just has to face two balls in that Jadeja over, does so easily.

Australia 326/9 after 104 overs: Smith is swinging hard now as Bumrah comes back. Rookie mistake from Shubman Gill to put in a dive and all, when Ashwin evidently wanted to let that go for four and let Smith be on strike to finish that over. Would have been the smart call too, actually. Hazlewood plays out one dot ball.

WICKET! A yorker from Ravindra Jadeja that Jasprit Bumrah would be proud of. He nails a toe-crusher and Nathan Lyon reviews it as he walks back to the dressing room. Just for the heck of it. Plumb, of course. Australia 310/9.

BCCI inform Cricket Australia that India won’t travel to Brisbane if quarantine not relaxed: Report

WICKET! After a few big swings of the bat, Starc falls. Actually, throws it away. He came out looking to be aggressive but Saini has got him. Did he forget that Smith was at the other end? That was the sort of batting you see when a declaration is on the cards. Australia 310/8.

Australia 301/7 after 101 overs: Incidentally, it was at SCG that Smith scored the last century by an Australian batsman in a home Test against India.

Australia 299/7 after 100 overs: After a series of bouncers from Saini, Starc nails a pull shot for four.

Australia 292/7 after 99 overs: Smith resets. 8th century against India to equal Richards, Sobers and Ponting. Meanwhile, Jadeja has been harshly called for a couple of no balls in this spell.

Take a bow, Steve Smith.

CENTURY! STEVE SMITH! It was going to be a matter of time. Big celebrations too. This one meant a lot to him. Test ton No 27 for ICC’s Test cricketer of the last decade.

The last two Test centuries by an Australian batsman at home against India:

Steve Smith, 8 Jan 2021
Steve Smith, 7 Jan 2015

The last two Test centuries by an Australian batsman against India, home or away:

Steve Smith, 8 Jan 2021
Steve Smith: 25 Mar 2017 

Australia 283/7 after 97 overs: Starc gets a three off Jadeja, streakily. But Smith plays out a dot ball at the end of the over. Still on 99.

Australia 280/7 after 96 overs: Saini tries testing Starc with the short stuff, no result. Smith gets one ball in that over, cannot get that run to move to 100.

Australia 278/7 after 94.4 overs: WICKET! Jadeja sends Cummins back with a full and fast delivery! Yorked him. What an impact he is having today! After the second new ball has been taken almost no batsman other than Smith has scored a run. Cummins b Jadeja 0(13)

Australia 276/6 after 94 overs: Saini giving it his all but at the moment, nothing much happening for him. Smith moves on to 98.

Australia 273/6 after 93 overs: A single off Bumrah for Smith. And four byes for Australia too as the bouncer swerved late to mess up Pant’s take.

Australia 268/6 after 92 overs: Saini into the attack and he bowled one too straight and was punished by Smith, who is now into the 90s.

Australia 263/6 after 91 overs: Smith (89*) carrying on. He is in the zone and while the other batsmen have been unable to score, he still has found ways to do that even against Bumrah.

Australia 255/6 after 88.5 overs: WICKET! Paine played down the last line and Bumrah full delivery was far too good. It crashed into stumps and India have another wicket. That natural angle does the trick everytime. Paine b Bumrah 1(10)

Australia 252/5 after 88 overs: A leave by Paine that thuds into his pads. But perhaps too high. Not reviewed. Good delivery from Siraj.

Australia 249/5 after 87 overs: Steve Smith and Tim Paine batting together in the middle. Rishabh Pant might have some things to say, perhaps? A maiden over from Bumrah to Paine.

Australia 249/5 after 86 overs: Maiden over from Siraj to Smith. Short of the length through that over, perhaps plan to not bowl full to Smith.

Australia 249/5 after 85 overs: Bumrah completes the over with a dot ball to Paine.

Sydney Test, Day 2 lunch report: Smith closes in on century but Jadeja, Bumrah help India stay in hunt

Update from CA: “Play will resume at 1:07pm local, or approximately 9 minutes from now”

Session break: As we take stock at lunch on day 2, it is quite remarkable India have kept Australia to 249/5 (with some help in terms of shot selection). Still think Australia are ahead simply because of the zone Steve Smith seems to be in but credit to India’s bowling.

LUNCH, AUSTRALIA 249/5: You would think India would be delighted to be in this position, given how the pitch has played so far but Steve Smith is still in the middle.

LUNCH, AUSTRALIA 249/5: At this point, this match is essentially India’s bowlers vs Steve Smith. Join us shortly for the second session.

Ashish Magotra: And that is lunch. India’s session. 29.5 overs, 83 runs and 3 big wickets. On a flat track, the visitors have been superb. Australia still have Smith in the middle but the rest of the top order is back in the hut.

LUNCH, Australia 249/5: That Jasprit Bumrah over before lunch was a delight. Beat Cameron Green’s outside edge with one that straightened and then brought back one from a good length to beat the inside edge.

WICKET! JASPRIT BUMRAH! The 2nd new ball does the trick. Cameron Green given out LBW, he does not review. The ball jagged back in after pitching on good length. Initially, looked like it might be high but ball-tracking returns three reds anyway. He’s gone for a 21-ball duck. And that will be lunch too.

Australia 249/4 after 84 overs: Steve Smith is zoned in at the moment. Big runs on the cards in the next couple of sessions, if he gets through this little part.

Australia 247/4 after 83 overs: Bumrah with another tight over. The replay of the last ball of his previous over was really quite something. Smith went “very good ball”.

Australia 246/4 after 82 overs: Siraj searching for the full ball that helped him dismiss Green in MCG. Full, on the stumps. Just a wide in that over.

Australia 245/4 after 81 overs: Oh, a beauty from Bumrah to finish that over. After a serious of balls that shaped away in the fifth-sixth stump channel, he makes Smith play at one that rises from length and beats the edge.

Second new ball taken. Jasprit Bumrah back into the attack. Should be interesting.

Australia 245/4 after 80 overs: Tidy over from Ashwin, but we should be seeing more of the pacers from here.

Australia 244/4 after 79 overs: Another boundary for Smith, cuts away a short ball from Jadeja. He really is in the zone. Might be forcing Rahane’s hand to take the new ball.

Australia 235/4 after 78 overs: Smith batting with some authority against the spinners here.

WICKET! Ravindra Jadeja again! This is a carbon copy of Matthew Wade’s dismissal in the first innings at MCG. Just a different bowler, same result as Wade skies one to Bumrah at mid-on.

Australia 226/3 after 76 overs: A boundary again, this time for Smith off Ashwin.

Australia 222/3 after 75 overs: A lovely cover drive for Wade off Jadeja but there are two blows on the body for Vihari at short leg in that over. Poor fellow. Needed physio attention once, but we go on.

Australia 218/3 after 74 overs: Ashwin might feel more into the game with a left-hander in the middle in Wade. He goes around the wicket for both the batsmen.

Australia 217/3 after 73 overs: A boundary for Smith off Jadeja as play gets underway. Meanwhile, the broadcasters have spotted a little pattern emerging in Australia’s fall of wickets: 6/1 106/2 206/3.

Back underway...a little earlier than 6.10 am.

Play to restart at 6.10 am IST. Scheduled close of play will be extended to 6.00pm local time.

Rain delay: Australia 213/3. If you want to watch what Siraj had to say about day one...

RAIN DELAY: It’s also raining GIFs on Twitter.

RAIN DELAY: Australia 213/3

RAIN DELAY: A bit eventful that little phase in play. Labuschagne seemed set for a ton before he cut one into Rahane’s hands. The slow motion replay of that catch was a delight to watch, a great lesson in slip catching. Then Smith got to his fifty. Then the rain comes on again, and this time fairly heavily it seems.

RAIN STOPS PLAY AT SCG: Part II on day 2.

HALF CENTURY! Steve Smith reaches his first fifty of the series and after a quick acknowledgement, gets back to taking guard. He is in the mood alright. Got to the landmark with a lovely straight drive for four.

WICKET! RAVINDRA JADEJA STRIKES! Oh, India needed that. Marnus Labuschagne was looking good for a century but he’s out for 91. Edges one to Rahane at slip and he doesn’t drop many there. Australia 206/3.

Australia 202/2 after 70 overs: More pace variations on show from Ashwin but there is not enough happening off the pitch to bother these two.

Australia 201/2 after 69 overs: 200 comes up and Smith-Labuschagne run well in that over to pick up six runs.

Australia 195/2 after 68 overs: Ashwin on, SMith and Labuschagne start off with using their feet well. The plan again seems to be to keep him guessing.

Ashwin for the first time today

Australia 192/2 after 67 overs: A boundary after the brief break as Labuschagne gets going with a cut through point off Jadeja. Moves into the 80s.

Just a brief delay, we are back underway at SCG

RAIN STOPS PLAY AT SCG: Again.

Australia 188/2 after 66 overs: A flick past that fielder waiting for a catch behind square. Top shot by Labuschagne as Siraj got excited just for a moment.

Australia 183/2 after 65 overs: Another quick over from Jadeja as Manjrekar wonders why he is on to bowl ahead of Ashwin.

Australia 183/2 after 64 overs: Meanwhile, it’s starting to drizzle at SCG it would seem.

REVIEW LOST: The Indian players started to return to their fielding positions even before ball-tracking. Steve Smith was hit above the pads by Siraj. Quite clearly missing the stumps.

Australia 182/2 after 63 overs: After a tidy start to the day by Bumrah and Siraj, the first bowling change by Rahane is to bring Jadeja on...nice and early today.

Australia 180/2 after 62 overs: Oh, a ball that stayed a tad low on offstump from Siraj! Labuschagne got his bat on it in time.

Australia 178/2 after 61 overs: Another tidy over from Bumrah as India continue with the leg-side heavy field. The ground fielding has been good so far this morning.

Ashish Magotra: Day 2 will be a greater test of Rahane the captain... flat track, two batsmen starting to already look set... will be interesting to see the fields set and the manner in which he uses the bowlers.

Australia 178/2 after 60 overs: The first of those chases from mid-on for the day for Ashwin as Labuschagne threads one through the gap.

Australia 175/2 after 59 overs: Maiden over from Bumrah and there is a second hint of an extra bounce from good length this morning. Just caught Smith a little by surprise.

Australia 175/2 after 58 overs: Ajit Agarkar reckons this is not attacking enough from India. Not sure targetting the stumps on a slowish pitch with protection on either side of the wicket is quite defensive. Sure it’s not conventional Test field, but it is still keeping majority of dismissals in play.

Australia 172/2 after 56 overs: Bumrah starts off with a gift of a half volley to Smith that’s put away for a four through covers. A real dolly to start but recovers well in the over after that. Same line of attack in that over too.

Australia 167/2 after 55 overs: Siraj starts off with a leg-side strong field, and the plan early is to attack the stumps it looks like. A couple of deliveries coming into Smith made him a tad comfortable.

Takeaways from day one of Sydney Test: Pant’s drops, Australia’s intent, Pucovski’s fine debut

It’s an early start, of course, on day 2. Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne are out in the middle. Both look in good touch. India’s bowlers have a task on their hands alright. Siraj is starting off...

04.25 am: The pitch is going to be a bit quicker today but it’s a very good batting track says Glenn McGrath.

04.20 am: First things first, check out the highlights of day 1:

04.10 am: Hello all and welcome to live coverage of day two between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The third Test of the series is bound to be a crucial one in deciding the winner of Border Gavaskar Trophy and it is the hosts who have started on the front foot.

Debutant Will Pucovski and Marnus Labuschagne scored half-centuries as Australia recovered from an early setback to build a promising first innings in the rain-hit third Test against India Thursday.

Following David Warner’s departure for five, the hosts recovered to 166 for two at stumps after more than three hours’ play was lost due to persistent drizzle at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Labuschagne was not out 67 while Steve Smith reached double figures for the first time this series with an attacking unbeaten 31. Pucovski contributed 62 in an impressive maiden Test innings.

Fellow debutant Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Siraj, in only his second Test, shared the wickets in a clash both sides are desperate to win with the four-match series level at 1-1.

After captain Tim Paine won the toss and chose to bat in front of 8,692 socially-distanced fans, just under the quarter of capacity allowed, the rain started falling 35 minutes into the opening session. Eventually, only 55 overs were possible on the day.

(With AFP inputs and statistics courtesy ESPNCricinfo)