WTC Final: Indians down on Day 2 too

Australia players celebrate the wicket of India skipper Rohit Sharma at The Oval yesterday. Pic/Bipin Patel

India found themselves in a difficult situation after Australia posted a commendable 469 on Day Two in their first innings of the World Test Championship final at The Oval here on Thursday.

At the time of going to press, India were 145 for five with Ajinkya Rahane (28 batting) and KS Bharat (two batting) in the middle, trailing Australia by 324 runs.

Earlier, Australia added 142 runs to their overnight total with the loss of seven wickets before being bowled out one hour into the afternoon session. Mohammed Siraj cleaned up the tail and was the pick of India's bowlers with four wickets.

India batted for 10 overs before the tea break and were dealt a twin blow as skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill fell to Pat Cummins and Scott Boland respectively.

Both Rohit (15 off 26) and Gill (13 off 15) looked in good touch before flattering to deceive. Rohit missed a ball from Cummins that was angled in before Gill inexplicably decided to leave a delivery from Boland on length only to see his stumps being uprooted in the following over.

Also Read: WTC Final: Shubman Gill's early dismissal disappoints Hayden

The conditions are good for batting, but India have a massive challenge at hand. After the lunch break, Alex Carey pushed Australia past 450 with 48 off 69 balls.

India got themselves back in the game with four wickets in the morning session, but Australia maintained their upper hand by reaching 422 for seven at lunch, following Steve Smith's 31st hundred.

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