Even as Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur managed to reignite India's hope of making a comeback in the WTC final, Australian bowlers once again showcased their prowess, with skipper Pat Cummins dismissing Rahane at the beginning of the second session.
Australia's star batter Steve Smith has praised pacer Scott Boland for his bowling on the second day of the World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Oval on Thursday
India went to Lunch at 260/6 of 60 overs, with Shardul Thakur and Ajinkya Rahane surviving some anxious moments at the crease to stay unbeaten at the personal scores of 36(83)* and 89(122)* respectively.
While Ponting thought India's tactics were incorrect on the first day, he was impressed with their second-day fightback, as they bundled out Australia for 469.
Australian attack ripped through India's top order to leave Rohit Sharma's lead side five down and still trailing by 318 runs at the time of stumps on Thursday.
Australia have dominated the majority of the opening two days of the 'Ultimate Test' at The Oval on the back of centuries from batters Travis Head and Steve Smith and outstanding bowling performances from their pacers.
Head was the star of the day, slamming the first-ever century in a WTC Final and hitting the first of his six Test tons to come outside of Australia, finishing on 146 unbeaten.
Engineer said, "It does not get bigger than this and that's why I am here to support my beloved country. Although I am wearing an MCC tie, as am their honorary life member, India's decision after winning the toss was a bit surprising. I think they decided to bowl first as they did not want t
India skipper Rohit Sharma's decision of bowling first initially seemed to have paid off. However, Head and Smith's unbeaten partnership of 251 runs put the Australians in the driver's seat at the close of play on Day 1.
From the very first ball, Head looked reading the surface well, judging the movement of the Duke ball as well as picking up the bowlers' lines and lengths.