THE Indian cricket team missed a golden opportunity to get rid of the dangerous Travis Head, but Mohammed Siraj’s mistake gave the Australian batsman a lifeline in the second session of Day 2 of the ongoing Day-Night Test at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide.
In the 68th over, Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin bowled a slower ball, tempting Travis Head into a long slog-sweep. However, the shot doesn’t connect cleanly, resulting in a top edge that sails towards the uncomfortable region between mid-on and long-on.
Travis Head survives as Mohammad Siraj drops key catches in Day-Night Test
Mohammed Siraj, wearing a white floppy hat, sprinted backwards and dived forward with outstretched arms. The Indian pacer got both hands on the ball but failed to hang on, letting a crucial catch slip away. The Australian crowd erupted into loud cheers as Travis Head took the lifeline to march towards his century.
Also Read: Watch: Mohamed Siraj sends hard on Travis Head, hit back as Adelaide crowd turns hostile
Well, Team India had another chance to send Head back to the stand, but this time, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant left his team and Harshit Rana disappointed, and the Australian batsman got another lifeline in the ongoing Day match -Night Test, raising questions about their sloppy efforts on the field.
Rishabh Pant fails to dive, Harshit Rana leaves in frustration as Head gets another lifeline in Adelaide Test
In the 69th over, Harshit Rana bowled a length ball outside off and Travis Head cut it hard, getting a thick outside edge. The ball flew towards the slips, where Indian captain Rohit Sharma was slightly wider, but it looked like Rishabh Pant had a better chance of going for the catch.
Rishabh Pant should have dived to his left to catch it but didn’t make the effort. Surprisingly, the Indian keeper avoided diving to his left even though it was close, although it was difficult. His body moved slightly before stopping after tracking the ball. This missed opportunity left Harshit Rana frustrated as the ball raced to the boundary for four runs.
— Kirkit Expert (@expert42983) December 7, 2024
— Kirkit Expert (@expert42983) December 7, 2024
Pant and Siraj’s blunder proved very costly for Team India as Travis Head went on to play a blistering knock of 140 runs off 141 balls studded with a whopping 17 boundaries and four sixes, powering Australia to over 300 runs on the board before eventually fall to the Indian pacemaker.
Also Read: Watch: Jasprit Bumrah suffers serious injury, shocks Indian camp in Adelaide Test
Mohammed Siraj takes three wickets in Adelaide
Siraj was over-excited after Head’s dismissal as he was one of the accused of providing the first lifeline to the Australian batsman, but the damage had already been done by the latter as the hosts have already taken a 150-run lead in the ongoing Day – Night Test match against India.
Notably, Siraj claimed two wickets for India in the second session, including the crucial dismissal of Head, which was followed by a heated dismissal, words exchanged by the Australian batsman and boos from the Adelaide Oval crowd.
The Indian pacer also dismissed Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey for 15 runs off 32 balls and then Mitchell Starc for 18 runs off 15 balls in the ongoing pink-ball Test in Adelaide.
