Rahane's captaincy, bowlers' show get Australia out for 195; India 36/1 on Day 1
Melbourne: Jasprit Bumrah's menace was matched by Ravichandran Ashwin's guile as an inspired India led by Ajinkya Rahane shot out Australia for a sub-par 195 to dominate the opening day of the second Test here on Saturday.
India then lost an out-of-form Mayank Agarwal (0) to Mitchell Starc but debutant Shubman Gill (28 batting) survived a hostile spell to hit some delectable boundaries in the day end score of 36 for 1 in 11 overs.
Giving him company was the seasoned Cheteshwar Pujara (7 batting).
As much as the day belonged to the Indian bowling unit for another fired-up show, new captain Rahane deserved equal credit for marshalling his resources to perfection during the 72.3 overs that Australia batted.
Bumrah (4/56 in 16 overs) and Ashwin (3/35 in 24 overs) were the stars but debutant Mohammed Siraj (2/40 in 15 overs) also did his bit repaying the faith shown in him with wickets of Marnus Labuschagne (48) and Cameron Green (12) with the old ball.
However, the Test series is increasingly looking like Ashwin's paradise as he once again made the opposition's best batsman Steve Smith (0) look ordinary, exploiting the turn and bounce that the first day of the MCG track offered.
It was business as usual for Bumrah as he beat the bat and got those breakthroughs just when it mattered on a pitch that had retained moisture. As it turned out, Rahane didn't lose a bad toss.
The Indian team looked way more galvanised despite being without regular skipper Virat Kohli, who is on paternity leave. Some great catches were taken and the intent was way more visible.
Rahane's first punt was introducing Ashwin inside the first hour of play after Bumrah had forced Joe Burns (0) to nick one to Rishabh Pant.
Ashwin, who varied the pace of his deliveries cleverly, got some turn and bounce straightaway as he drew Matthew Wade into coming down the track and skying one for India's best fielder Ravindra Jadeja to take a well-judged catch running backwards.
After bowling one that jumped and turned beating Smith and Pant, Ashwin kept the next a tad straighter and the former Australian skipper's glance was pouched by Cheteshwar Pujara at leg gully.
All this while, Bumrah was beating the bat at the other hand.
Interestingly, Rahane didn't give the debutant a single over before lunch break as he knew that Siraj's strength is generating pace and movement with semi-new and old ball.
Siraj initially bowled a bit short at Labuschagne and Travis Head (38 off 92 balls) as they added 86 runs for the fourth wicket.
It was Bumrah, who provided the post lunch breakthrough with a delivery that held its line and the left-hander's thick edge was taken by Rahane at gully.
Siraj's maiden wicket was a lucky one as the ball was drifting down the leg-side which Labuschagne tried to whip but Gill, stationed at backward square leg, snapped it inches off the ground.
The Hyderabad pacer's second wicket was a much fuller ball with a hint of inward movement that caught Green plumb in-front.
Skipper Tim Paine (13) couldn't script a rescue act like Adelaide as a classical off-break saw him guide one straight into the hands of Hanuma Vihari at backward square leg.
Bumrah didn't take much time after that as he and Ravindra Jadeja (1/15) polished off the tail in a jiffy.
During the final hour of the day, Gill showed what the Indian cricket can expect of him in the new decade. He disolayed positive intent and some dazzling strokes that would certainly leave fans yearning for more in the coming days.
An off-drive off Pat Cummins, a punch through covers and a flick off Starc were exhilarating.
The cover drive off Nathan Lyon had class written all over it.
India trail 0-1 in the series after going down by eight wickets in the opening day-night Test in Adelaide. The visitors were dismissed for their lowest Test score of 36 during that game.
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Student found dead in hostel room in IIT Kharagpur
Kolkata (PTI): A 22-year-old M Tech student was found dead in his hostel room in the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, the second such incident reported on the campus within a span of 10 days.
The student, identified as Soham Haldar, was found hanging from the ceiling of his hostel room on Tuesday and he was immediately taken to the institute hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead, an IIT Kharagpur official said.
Haldar, a dual-degree student in Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering, was a boarder of the Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya Hall of Residence on the campus.
Police from the Kharagpur Town police station have initiated a probe into the incident as preliminary findings indicated that it could be a case of suicide, though the exact cause of death will be ascertained following the post-mortem examination, the official said.
In a statement, the institute expressed deep grief over the student's death and said a detailed inquiry has been initiated.
The authorities have informed the family and are extending all possible assistance to them, it added.
Director Suman Chakraborty told PTI that the institute will strengthen the mechanism to identify stressed-out and depressed students and take follow-up steps to address their issues.
The grief-stricken parents of the student, who hailed from Barasat in North 24 Parganas district, have come to the campus and the authorities will speak to them, he said.
"Haldar's friends, faculty and staffers also could not gauge any stress or anxiety in him. But we need to enable students suffering from anxiety and extreme stress to open up their minds and do everything needed to prevent such incidents," he said.
Investigators are also scrutinising CCTV footage from the hostel premises to piece together the sequence of events leading to the incident.
The incident comes close on the heels of another student's death reported on April 18, when 21-year-old Jaibir Singh Dodia, a third-year Mechanical Engineering student from Ahmedabad, allegedly died after jumping from the eighth floor of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Hall of Residence. That case is also under investigation.
The back-to-back incidents have once again brought the issue of mental health and student support systems at the institute into focus, especially in view of several such cases reported last year.
