Canberra December 28 : Compared to the First test India would be sitting pretty happy with a 131 run lead but a 32 run, 5 wicket collapse is not acceptable, one time with Rahane at the crease it certainly looked like a 200 lead but his runout of Lyon Bowling brought Australia much-needed break and the mini-collapse for Indian tailenders has started.
Australian bowlers tried everything to dismiss Rahane but in the end, it had to be a run out to remove Rahane, he managed to score 112 off 223 deliveries with 12 boundaries.
India would have definitely looked for a 200 lead but 131 will also look huge in the context of things here at MCG. Now the Australian Cricketers have a serious task in front of them, definitely, they need to score at least 290-310 in their second innings to give India a tough fight. Unless of course, a 36-all out like previous Indian second innings might be enough.
Anyway, Indians still have a decent lead and the key factor is how many wickets can Indian bowlers scalp before Australia erase that deficit. From the hosting team perspective, at least a lead of 150 can keep them firmly in the contest and go up with a 2-0 lead. Let’s see will Indian bowlers dominate or Australian batsmen dominate by the end of Day 3 on this Boxing day test.