Veteran left-handed opener Usman Khawaja hit his first fifty of the ongoing series while Marnus Labuschagne remained unbeaten on 44 as Australia reached 176/2 in 53 overs at tea on day one of the fourth Test against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday.
It was an Indian bowling session where, from them giving away just 26 runs in the first 13 overs, it was the only success when Khawaja got dismissed for 57 off Jasprit Bumrah; he got dismissed by the pacer for the fifth time in this series.
But Labuschagne remained in his old self, and with Steve Smith accompanying him at 10 not out, Australia would look to score further runs against the old ball. The post-lunch session saw both Labuschagne and Khawaja being cautious, as the first four overs were all maidens.
Khawaja broke the shackles with a fierce pull off Akash Deep going for four. Just as it was the case in Brisbane, Akash troubled both Australian batters, and beat them consistently, but didn’t get any wickets. It meant Khawaja, despite being scratchy, continued to be solid by driving Akash past mid-on, before getting a thick outside edge off him to complete his fifty.
With a leg slip kept in place, Labuschagne had to face some tight bowling from Siraj, who angled the deliveries towards his body and even hit him on the crotch multiple times, though he managed to get two boundaries.
India had something to smile at when Bumrah innocuous short ball led Khawaja toe-ending the pull straight to mid-wicket, while the batter fell for 57 off 121 balls. Labuschagne and Smith took a four each off Jadeja and Washington Sundar to end the session where only 64 runs came for Australia.
Brief Scores: Australia 176/2 in 53 overs (Sam Konstas 60, Usman Khawaja 57; Ravindra Jadeja 1-33, Jasprit Bumrah 1-50) against India
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