An Over on Day Two | Aus v Ind

Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja cash in on the platform set by Cheteshwar Purjara to set a mammoth 7d/622, with Australia surviving a dropped catch and the 10 overs to stumps to be 0/24 in reply. Here is six things we learnt on Day Two of the Fourth Test CHETESHWAR PUJARA THE BEST TEST BATSMAN IN THE WORLD And by Test batsman, we mean the traditional, dour, patient Test batsman much like Boycott, Lawry and more recently Alistair Cook. Pujara who has now faced 1258 balls this series, but also leads the run scoring list with 521 at 74.42. The way that Pujara has put value on his wicket should have Australia's top six taking note, after note, after note. Too often in modern day test cricket we see batsman throw away their innings with a rash shot, much like Virat Kohli on Day One who lacked the patience to let a loose ball from Josh Hazlewood go through to the keeper, or throughout the series playing rash cover drives to be caught behind the wicket. Pujara on the other hand has the mental strength to shrug anything that comes his way. Where most players shadow bat cover drives, Pujara only worries about his defence as he knows the best form of attack, is defence. INDIA UNEARTH WORLD CLASS WICKET-KEEPER BATSMAN

Rishab Pant scored his second Test century on Day Two.

In our recent Test Team of the Year (2018), we named Tim Paine as the gloveman, but noted that we expect Rishabh Pant to take the mantle off him in 2019. Well, that may already have happened. Afforded the luxury of coming to the crease at 5/329, something only his Australian counterpart could dream of right now, Pant smashed 159 of 189 balls, his second test century and his first on Australian soil. Unlike Paine, who worked his way into our Team of the Year on the back of his grit, resolve, and willingness to fight for every run for his team, Pant has been afforded the luxury to play his shots. Being a product of the IPL, there is no part of the field he can't find a boundary, with many captains around the world currently thinking about how they may stop Pant. His form with the bat will surely put pressure on India's selectors come the World Cup this year, with fan favourite MS Dhoni needing to score big runs in the upcoming ODI series to hold off the new comer on the block. AUSSIE SPIRIT ALMOST BROKEN Two gruelling days in the field, and 620 runs off 167.3 overs, is history repeating itself after the recent Melbourne test where India declared with 443 off 169.4 overs. It's no surprise to see slumped shoulders and negative body language amongst the Australian camp. It's been gruelling cricket, with India needing only a draw to claim the series win, so it's no surprise to see Kohli electing to keep Australia in the field for as long as possible rather than push for quick runs and risk an unnecessary loss. It's the old Sheffield Shield final conundrum all over again. Talks about 'aggressive' talks between coaching staff and the bowling unit in the change rooms, Nathan Lyon throwing the ball into the pitch to demonstrate his feelings to poor fielding off his bowling as well as post match press conferences beginning to show the cracks that are appearing in the camp. Bowling coach David Saker didn't miss with his words when speaking to his players after the day’s play, and became animated alongside Justin Langer in voicing his frustration.

“I think the bowlers wanted one thing, Tim (Paine) wanted one thing,” he said.

“Last night we talked quite heavily about the day, more because we thought it was a really disappointing day and we just wanted to get our point across.”

The talk appeared to make no difference on Day Two, when the Australians managed to take just three wickets. Mitchell Starc’s figures blew out to 1-123, and Pat Cummins’ to 0-101. THE GOAT BEARING THE BRUNT OF THE WORKLOAD Nathan Lyon has sent down more deliveries than any other Australian bowler in a four-match series since 1970, currently sending down 1473 balls in the series to date. It's a brutal statistics which highlights the workload Australia's greatest off-spinner has needed take on in a series where Australia, where generally, have been disappointing in all facets of play. Lyon can hold his head high, however, alongside Pat Cummins, with the two still having respectable figures for the series. Lyon has taken 21 wickets, currently the leading wicket-taker in the series, however we assume Bumrah to take two wickets to surpass the GOAT. FAF DU PLESSIS SLY DIG AT AUSTRALIANS SCARILY TRUE The lack of movement that the Australian pace attack have been able to get out of the new or old Kookaburra hasn't gone unnoticed by the South African captain. Speaking in Cape Town earlier in the week, du Plessis was asked whether he was surprised by Australia’s struggles to extract movement with the old ball.

With tongue — and no cough lozenge — planted firmly in cheek, the star batsman replied: “That feels like a trick question! That’s going to be the challenge for them now, how well they do with that old ball. They’re still a good team but, yeah, the old ball isn’t doing that much…” However, though Faf tried to tip toe diplomatically around the question, there is no denying the India has done more with the ball this series, as backed up by statistics CricViz. TIM PAINE BECOMING THE CAPTAIN THE COUNTRY LOVES Tim Paine has quickly won over the Australian public in a difficult summer to date, with Paine's banter behind the stumps has been well received by the Australian public. The constant sledging between Paine and Indian wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant reached new heights, with stump mic picking up Paine asking Pant whether he'd be willing to extend his time down-under and help babysit Paine's children in Hobart. Being a good sport, Paine's wife posted a photo of Pant, herself and their two children captioned 'Best Babysitter'. If this wasn't enough, after two long days in the field, Paine fronted the media amidst speculation of rifts beginning to form within the camp. When a journalists phone rang during the interview, instead of losing his cool, he cool-ly took the call, and passed on a note to the journalist. Just another reason why we love Paine right now.