India Vs Australia, Adelaide Test: India's batting strategy criticised after Kohli & Co restricted to 244

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New Delhi, December 18: It took Australian pacers Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins just 24 minutes on the second day of the opening Pink Ball Test in Adelaide to get India's last four wickets and restrict the tourists to 244 in their first innings on Friday (December 18).

The Indians could only add 11 runs to their overnight total of 233/6 as their last recognised batting pair of R Ashwin and Wriddhiman Saha was dismissed cheaply. Both Ashwin and Saha failed to add any runs to their overnight scores.

Ashwin was removed by Aussie pace spearhead Starc on the third ball of the day's play while Saha was dismissed by Cummins in a similar fashion. Later, Umesh Yadav (6) and Mohammed Shami (0) were also dismissed by the Aussie strike pacers as the entire Indian innings was folded for 244.

The tailenders had no response to the disciplined Aussie pace attack and didn't offer any resistance to prevent the inevitable. With Saha perishing early, India's hopes of touching the 300-run mark were blown.

Earlier on the opening day, Virat Kohli top-scored 74 for the tourists before getting involved in a mix-up to get run out. The Indian skipper was sent back by on-strike batsman Ajinkya Rahane after he covered almost half of the pitch. Kohli's dismissal opened the floodgates for the Australians as the wickets started falling like a castle of sand.

Rahane (42), Hanuma Vihari (16) were also dismissed in quick succession as the tourists lost three crucial wickets in the final session of the day's play and gave the hosts a chance to make a comeback.

Team India's another dependable batsman Cheteshwar Pujara also failed to convert the start he got in the innings as he was caught at leg slip off Nathan Lyon. The openers Prithvi Shaw (0) and Mayank Agarwal (16) were also dismissed early in the innings after captain Kohli elected to bat first.

Here's how fans and experts criticised India's batting against the Aussies in the first innings: