After India conceded a commanding position in the first test at Adelaide and ended up getting bowled out in the second innings for their lowest total in test history, a lot of people concluded that India would get blown away in the four match test series against Australia.
The betting odds on India winning the MCG test was at 4/1 as India were mentally scarred after Adelaide. They were also going to play the MCG test without their captain Virat Kohli and pacer Mohammed Shami.
India Show Immense Character
Australia decided to bat at the MCG and in retrospect will be thinking they made a wrong decision. They should have put India into bat and capitalized on their batting debacle at Adelaide. This time around it was Australia who had a batting collapse and ended up being bowled out for 195.
J Bumrah stepped up with M Shami and Ishant Sharma not in the squad and showcased why he is one of the best bowlers in the world. Bumrah took 4 wickets and was well supported by the debutant M Siraj who took 2 wickets and kept things economical. R Ashwin picked up 3 crucial wickets including that of Steve Smith while his spin partner R Jadeja took 1 wicket.
The selectors made the right decisions for the MCG test and it paid off. They brought in S Gill for P Shaw, R Pant for W Saha, M Siraj for M Shami and R Jadeja for V Kohli. All four players delivered and it made the difference at the MCG. It just goes to show that if the selectors got it right at Adelaide, India could very well be 2-0 in the series right now.
Rahane Leads From The Front
A Rahane is a soft spoken man who has a very different personality and leadership style that V Kohli. Rahane was impressive with both his leadership skills and with the bat. He made a match winning 112 in the first innings and even when R Jadeja ran him out, he displayed such a clam demeanour.
S Gill (45), R Pant (29) and R Jadeja (57) helped India reach a respectable total of 326 and get a lead of 131 which put Australia under immense pressure in the second innings. India suffered a big blow in the second innings when Umesh Yadav injured himself after just 3.3 overs and was ruled out for the rest of the game.
Rahane showed great composure and captaincy skill as he worked with one bowler short and still managed to get Australia out for 200 to give India a total of 70 to chase down. The main destroyers in the second innings were M Siraj who picked up 3 wickets while Bumrah, Ashwin and Jadeja picked up 2 wickets each.
India had a shaky start chasing down 70 runs as they lost M Agarwal and C Pujara early on. However, Rahane once again steadied the ship as S Gill played another impressive innings to take India to victory without any more hiccups.
Will The Third Test Take Place At The SCG?
The third test is scheduled to take place at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Jan 7, 2021. However, there is a possibility that the test will be moved to the MCG due to the COVID-19 concern in Sydney.
If the test is moved to the MCG, it will bode well for India as the MCG is now the ground where India has the most test victories in overseas games. The betting odds for the third test will now once again change dramatically as India has shown yet again that they cannot be written off.
