Debutants Shine, as India beat Australia in a Historic Test Match | India vs Australia - 2nd Test Match Review |

 After the horror show, which was at the Adelaide Oval, India needed to fight back in order to stay alive in the series and fight back they did. The 2020 Boxing Day Test Match will always be remembered as a historical win for Team India because it came after a historical loss and in the absence of key players. It was the perfect combination of good leadership, exemplary grit and total domination in all aspects of the game.

Want to know how it all unfolded? Read the full article to know.

Playing XI - Australia were unchanged after their triumphant win in the first test match while India had made 4 changes. Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant were back in the starting XI as debutants Shubman Gill and Mohammad Siraj were given a place in the team in place of Wriddhiman Saha, an injured Mohammad Shami, an unavailable Virat Kohli and Prithvi Shaw.

1st Innings - INDIAN BOWLERS; LED BY BUMRAH, FIRE ON BOXING DAY

The Aussies had a shaky start to their innings after the Indian Skipper, Ajinkya Rahane invited the hosts to bat first by winning the toss. With three wickets down for just 38 and Steve Smith dismissed for a duck by Ashwin,  the Aussies were feeling the heat. Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne tried to inject some life in the innings by putting up a decent partnership of 86 runs, before being dismissed by Bumrah and debutant Mohammad Siraj respectively. The Indian bowlers bowled with great character as wickets were falling galore. India bowled out Australia in the first day itself for a mere total of 195 runs with Jasprit Bumrah finishing with figures of 16-4-54-4. Ashwin, Siraj and Jadeja were amongst the wicket takers as well. At the other end, Labuschagne scored 48 runs along with a few decent cameos from Wade (30) and Travis Head (38). The Indians were hungry for success and it was well reflected by their intent on the field.

2nd Innings - RAHANE CREATES A MODERN DAY MASTERPIECE

One could easily sense the tension in the air when the Indian Batsmen came to bat, which is expected after their horrendous performance  in the last match when they were bowled out for 36. It was showed when Mayank Agarwal was dismissed for a duck in the very first over. Shubman Gill took over after Mayank's dismissal and the 21 year old was oozing confidence when he took to the crease. He batted as if he's been playing in these tough conditions throughout his life. The debutant made a quickfire 45 and missed out on a well deserved half century. Ajinkya Rahane; the stand in skipper, took over the proceedings next, building up decent 50+  partnerships with one Hanuma Vihari and then Rishabh Pant. Rahane batted with pure elegance as he paid respect to the good balls and didn't miss out on any opportunity to latch onto the bad ones. Rahane's innings told the story that "Old School Cricket Never Goes Out Of Fashion". The Mumbai-born built up a 121 run partnership for the 6th wicket with Ravi Jadeja and was a victim of a run out, not before scoring his second test century (112) in Australia. Ravi Jadeja scored a handy 57 runs as this helped India secure a 131 run lead over the Kangaroos, halting India's 1st Innings for a total of 326. At the other end, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc took 3 wickets each as Australia seemed to be in troubled waters. 

3rd Innings - AUSSIE BATTING DISAPPOINTS AGAIN

Trying to make a comeback after trialing by a mammoth margin of 131 runs in the 2nd innings is never easy for a team, however, it becomes next to impossible, if the opposition has bowlers like Bumrah, Ashwin and Jadeja hungry for wickets. The Kangaroos were under pressure. Umesh Yadav dismissed Joe Burns (4) as the seamers kept things tight at the other end, despite Umesh suffering an injury. Marnus Labuschagne and Matthew Wade worked really hard to add in some vital runs to the scoreboard until Marnus was dismissed by India's Ace Spinner, Ravi Ashwin for 28. Steve Smith's miserable test form continued as he was dismissed for just 8 runs by Bumrah. Wickets kept on falling at regular intervals and from 71-2, Australia were on their knees at 99-6, courtesy - the Indian bowlers. However, a young Cameron Green 45 (146) and the Australian Vice-Captain, Patrick Cummins 22 (103) had some fight left in them. The duo helped Australia cross the trial margin and added 57 runs in their partnership. Despite a courageous effort shown by the Aussie tailenders, the hosts were dismissed for just 200 runs, with a lead of just 69 runs. The debutant Mohammad Siraj lead the wicket taker's chart with figures of 21.3-4-37-3 while Bumrah, Jadeja and Ashwin all bagged braces. 

4th Innings - INDIA CRUISE TO VICTORY

With just 70 runs to defend, the Australian bowlers had little to nothing left to bowl for, however they tried to keep things tight even though it was too little too late. Two early wickets in the form of Mayank Agarwal 5 (15) and Cheteshwar Pujara 3 (4) couldn't stop India's momentum as Ajinkya Rahane and young Shubman Gill held their nerves, played proper cricketing shots, took minimal risk, and helped India reach the target with ease. Skipper Ajinkya added 27 runs while Gill batted fearlessly in his innings of 35 runs as India won the 2nd Test Match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with 8 wickets in hand. 

CONCLUSION - After the wounds of Adelaide, India needed a win like this to boost their morale. India was better in all departments of the game than the Aussies and rightfully deserved the W. Kudos to Ajinkya Rahane for standing up for his team and leading by example. The debutants gave a hint of what is to be expected out of them, and they're in it for the long run. With opening issues no longer a concern for India with the inclusion of Rohit Sharma from the next match, India will look forward to take the lead in the series. 

However this may not be the case for the hosts. Australia really did struggle with the bat and their level of fielding was below par as well. They dropped vital catches which could've changed the course of the game. With the status of injured players like David Warner and Will Pucovski still being a huge question mark, the Australians need to bounce back if they want to stay alive in the series. Being outplayed in all aspects of the game certainly doesn't define the merit of the Australian cricketers. We hope they bounce back and we get to see a neck and neck competition between the teams, fighting to get the win in the remaining test matches. 

Here's hoping Umesh Yadav a speedy recovery from his injuries.

Important Notes - 

1. Umesh Yadav is injured and his availability for the third test match is still uncertain.

2. Rohit Sharma will be in the team for the 3rd test match as Mayank Agarwal or Hanuma Vihari may be dropped from the playing XI.