Australia vs India 2018-19, 4th Test: 4 talking points from Day 2 in Sydney

Pujrara and Pant scored centuries at SCG
Pujrara and Pant scored centuries at SCG

After a terrific showing on the first day, India continued with their brilliant performance today as well, paving the way for a potential series win Down Under - the first in its history. At stumps on Day 2, Australia are at 24/0 while chasing India's first innings score of 622/7 declared.

Earlier, Cheteshwar Pujara added 63 more runs to his overnight score of 130, but fell agonizingly short of a double hundred. He broke several records across his mammoth innings, including the record of Rahul Dravid for most balls faced in a single series. He is also currently the top-scorer in the series, with all the other batsmen several notches below him in terms of runs made.

After Pujara and Hanuma Vihari departed, in came Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja who played on interminably to weather down the already-battered Aussie bowlers. Pant raced his way to 159*, his highest Test score and also his second overseas ton, all in a space of just nine Tests. Meanwhile, Jadeja missed out on a well-deserved hundred, falling prey to Nathan Lyon on 81, which also handed Kohli the cue to declare and expose the Aussie batsmen.

The hosts in turn had a torrid time on the pitch. India are well in control of the game now, and provided the hosts do not respond in miraculous fashion, the series has already been decided in favour of the men in blue.

Here are the key talking points from the day's play at Sydney:

#1 Cheteshwar Pujara finally gets the attention he deserves

The Saurashtra batsman was a well-recognized face in the Indian domestic circuit prior to his entry in the national team. Even in those days, he was being compared to Rahul Dravid in terms of attributes like patience and solidity in front of the wicket.

After Dravid retired, Pujara seemed to gel very easily into the No.3 slot as his replacement. But he had a lot of tough games early on, where he failed to perform well.

Disappointing returns in key overseas Test matches proved to be more forceful blows as the selectors even axed him from the team after a while. Yet Pujara buckled down and worked on his game, and today he is an indispensable part of the side.

In the ongoing game he has scored 193 runs from 373 balls, including 22 fours. The right mix of attacking when necessary coupled with an overall air of patience makes Pujara one of the most ideal batsmen in the format.

He has also officially broken Dravid's record of most balls faced in a single series, having faced 1258 balls already in the ongoing Aussie series. That is 209.4 overs all by himself, or in other words, more than two whole days of Test batting. Masterclass.

#2. India's lower-order woes could soon disappear under Vihari and Pant

Pant and Jadeja added 202 runs for the seventh wicket
Pant and Jadeja added 202 runs for the seventh wicket

The 25-year-old Hanuma Vihari and the 21-year-old Rishabh Pant might seem too young to take over the responsibility of playing Test cricket. But it is noteworthy that not only they have managed to play a continuous number of Tests for the side, they have also managed to make a mark of authority in the format that would put many senior cricketers to shame.

Vihari provided Pujara valuable companionship yesterday, the duo accounting for a 101-run stand for the fifth wicket in the process. After them came Pant, who may have already played the innings of his life.

He and Jadeja added 204 runs for the seventh wicket, in only 39 overs. While Pant remained unbeaten on 159, Jadeja was castled by Lyon's spin at 81 runs.

Pant broke a slew of records during his memorable knock. He became the first Asian wicketkeeper with a Test ton outside the subcontinent, and also made the highest-ever Test score by an Asian wicketkeeper outside his turf.

He missed being the only wicketkeeper to hold Test centuries in both England and Australia in a single calendar year by a whisker, the new year having dawned just four days ago.

In summation, India could literally be an unstoppable Test side anywhere in the world if they are continued to be assisted by similar heroics from their batsmen, along with the lethal bowling strength they posses in the likes of Bumrah, Ishant, Shami, etc.

#3. Not the best of new-year starts for Australian bowlers

Australian bowlers looked below par

You have to feel sorry for the Australian bowlers, especially the speedsters. They have dominated the arena for such a great length of time, and it is disappointing to see them spiraling downwards and downwards - that too, in their own home.

The Indian bowlers have outclassed their Australian counterparts on almost all occasions, and today, the downward spiral reached its lowest low in a year when it took all day to prise out the wickets of a tired Cheteshwar Pujara and two other Indian batsmen.

All together, the Aussie bowlers had to bowl a total of 167.2 overs (1004 balls) to pick up just seven Indian wickets, across the greater part of two days. If things go in favour of the visitors, Australia may not even need to bowl a second time in the game; before which they would have surrendered the game and the series too.

#4. Pitch starting to change its character

India recorded their third 600+ score at SCG
India recorded their third 600+ score at SCG

The green surface that was suitable for batting both yesterday and earlier today, helped the Indians a great deal - as evident from the scorecard itself. However, the pitch started to show a change of character sometime during the middle of Day 2, when Lyon was slowly able to extract more turn from the surface.

The grass top was wearing out, with the scope for spin-bowling increasing, as evident from the middle overs. Virat Kohli even introduced his spin options Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, and made them bowl four out of the 10 overs that were possible late in the day.

That in turn clearly shows the Indian skipper's plans. He will obviously use the spinners more and more in the coming days, and with Bumrah and Shami being the only pace options available, we shouldn't be surprised if Jadeja and Kuldeep claim a majority of their opponents' wickets.

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Edited by Musab Abid