Australia yet again had a good outing in the ongoing ICC WTC Final. They were on the top at the end of Day 2 at The Oval, England. After being asked to bat first, they posted 469 in their first innings and then chipped in with quick wickets with the ball as well. At stumps on Day 2, India was 151 for five and was trailing the opposition by 318 runs.

After a long tiring Day One, India had something to cheer about as their bowlers were right on the money with the ball. Resuming the innings at the overnight score of 327 for three, Australian batters Steve Smith (121: 268b, 19x4) and Travis Head (163: 174b, 25x4, 1x6) managed just a few runs in the first session before taking a long walk back to the pavilion. The duo recorded 285 runs for the fourth wicket, which is highest at The Oval. After their wickets, Indian bowlers provided breakthroughs at regular intervals with Cameron Green and Micthell Starc back on low scores. Alex Carey played a vital hand down the order and scored 48 runs off 69 balls with the help of seven boundaries and one six before India bowled Australia out for 469 runs. Mohammed Siraj was the pick of the bowlers with his figures of four for 108 whereas Mohammad Shami and Shardul Thakur bagged two wickets each along with Ravindra Jadeja, who picked one scalp.

It was a good start for India with the bat as skipper Rohit Sharma (15: 26b, 2x4) and Shubman Gill (13: 15b, 2x4) looked in good touch as they smashed 30 runs for the opening partnership. But after that, they lost wickets in clusters and lost four wickets including Cheteshwar Pujara (14:25b, 2x4) and Virat Kohli (14: 31b, 2x) for just 71 runs. Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja then led the rescue charge and scored 71 runs for the fifth wicket but Nathan Lyon made Jadeja nick the ball to slip. He scored valiant 48 runs off 51 balls with the help of seven boundaries and one six. Rahane remained unbeaten at 29 off 71 balls with the helped of four boundaries along with KS Bharat at the stumps on Day 2 as India ended the day at 151 for five.

Match Summary
Australia (1st Innings): 469 (121.3)
Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Usman Khawaja-3.4 ov), 2-71 (David Warner-21.4 ov), 3-76 (Marnus Labuschagne-24.1 ov), 4-361 (Travis Head-91.1 ov), 5-376 (Cameron Green-94.2 ov), 6-387 (Steven Smith-98.1 ov), 7-402 (Mitchell Starc-103.5 ov), 8-453 (Alex Carey-114.4 ov), 9-468 (Nathan Lyon-119.5 ov), 10-469 (Pat Cummins- 121.3 ov) 

India (1st Innings): 151-5 (38)
Fall of wickets: 1-30 (Rohit Sharma-5.6 ov), 2-30 (Shubman Gill-6.4 ov), 3-50 (Cheteshwar Pujara-13.5 ov), 4-71 (Virat Kohli-18.2 ov), 5-142 (Ravindra Jadeja-34.3)

SCORECARD 

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Srikar Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj

Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wicket-keeper), Pat Cummins (captain), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland

Match Details

Toss: India, elected to field
Venue: Kennington Oval, London
Start time: 0930 hrs GMT
Match officials: Richard Illingworth, Chris Gaffaney (On-field Umpires); Richard Kettleborough (TV Umpire); Kumar Dharmasena (Reserve Umpire); Richie Richardson (Match-referee)