Indian captain Rohit Sharma left for Australia on Saturday to join his team for the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series.
Rohit’s delayed departure is due to the birth of his second child. He remained in Mumbai, continuing his training while informing the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about his absence for the first Test.
Rohit prioritised spending time with his family and newborn before joining the team.
Watch: Rohit Sharma leaves for Australia post the arrival of his second child
He plans to begin his preparations in Perth and then shifts his focus to the second Test which is a day-night affair scheduled to be held in Adelaide.
The 37-year-old would be participating in the warm-up game in Canberra starting on 30 November.
In Rohit’s absence, Jasprit Bumrah assumed the role of captaincy for the Perth Test.
On the match front, openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul’s unbeaten half-centuries in the second innings propelled India to a commanding 172 for no loss at stumps on day two of the opening Test.
India had earlier dismissed Australia for 104 in 51.2 overs, securing a 46-run first-innings lead.
Jaiswal (90 not out off 193 balls) and Rahul (62 not out off 153 balls) capitalised on the strong position, extending India’s lead to a substantial 218 runs.
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah’s five-wicket haul, his 11th in Test matches, was instrumental in dismissing Australia shortly after they reached the 100-run mark in their innings.
Bumrah finished with impressive figures of 5/30, leading the Indian bowling attack. Mohammed Siraj provided valuable support with 2/20, while debutant Harshit Rana chipped in with 3/48.
Australia’s batting performance was underwhelming, managing to add only 37 runs to their overnight score of 67 for 7.
Tail-ender Mitchell Starc’s 26 runs emerged as the highest score for the Australian side.
