After having lost the first Test by 8 wickets to Australia, Team India started their second Test on a positive note to retain the Border-Gavaskar series. While playing without their key players - Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami, the visitors bundled out the Aussies for 195 on Day 1 at the MCG under the captaincy of stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane.

Tim Paine won the toss and elected to bat first with the same eleven from the first test whereas India brought four changes in their playing eleven which included Shubman Gill and Mohammad Siraj – who have made their test debut as well.

However, Australia’s poor show at the opening continued in the absence of David Warner as Joe Burns got out for a duck by none other than pace spearhead of India - Jasprit Bumrah. While another opener Matthew Wade took a bit of aggressive approach, the early introduction of spin helped the visitors. Wade became a victim of a stunner by Ravindra Jadeja who grabbed the catch despite having a collision with Shubman Gill on the field while taking it.

On the other hand, R Ashwin once again showed his calibre as he dismissed Australia’s key batsman Steve Smith, whose poor form continued. The former Aussie captain fell for a duck as Ashwin’s plan of involving a leg slip providing them with the dismissal.

However, Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head resurrected the innings and completed the first session without any more hiccups. Even they got the momentum after the debutant Siraj came in the second session and stitched a partnership of 86 runs for the fourth wicket.

However, this didn’t last long as both Siraj and Ashwin soon struck with the ball and the hosts reduced to 164-8 from 124-3. Meanwhile, Nathan Lyon’s cameo ensured they touched the 200-run mark, but they were bowled out for 195 on the board.

While Bumrah claimed a four-wicket haul, both Siraj and Ashwin collectively picked up 5 wickets.

Meanwhile, India had to come to end an hour of day’s play with the bat as well and Aussies were in no mood to give the visitors’ any room. Mitchell Starc started brilliantly in the first over with the new ball and trapped the opener Mayank Agarwal before the stumps in the final ball of the over.

However, the fellow opener Shubman Gill was also struggled a bit by the Australian pacers initially and was on the verge of getting dismissed but got a life following a dropped catch in the slips. After that, he showed his class and batted beautifully alongside Pujara and finished the day on 36-1 on board.

Ahead of Day 2, India trail by 159 runs with 9 wickets in hand as well.