After declaring their first innings 443, India needed early wickets to gain a decisive advantage in the ongoing Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The pitch was flat and there was not much assistance for the fast bowlers and hence, patience was always going to be a virtue.

Ishant Sharma got cracking at the outset and he along with Bumrah aimed for the stumps at all times. Captain Virat Kohli moved cover to short mid-wicket and asked Ishant to target Aaron Finch's pads. Ishant honed one in full and straight, Finch clipped it uppishly and Mayank Agarwal dived low to his left to grasp an absolute stunning catch.

Mayank Agarwal
Mayank Agarwal exults after taking a stunning catch

India had the early breakthrough and Finch, who believed, that all three results were possible on day 2 had to take the walk back.

Finch said, "This wicket is probably deteriorating more than we thought it would. Even tonight it was skidding through, there were a couple that took off. So it's still game on if we bowl well and put India under pressure (in the second innings).

"I think all three results are still on the table, 100 per cent, India (victory), Australia (victory) and a draw," he added.

Pujara and Kohli led India's charge on day 2. However, former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting was not very convinced with the approach adopted by Pujara.

"Even (since Pujara's dismissal), it just seems like they haven't got a lot of direction about what they're trying to achieve. It looks like they want to bat long enough to only bat once, but just yet they haven't got enough runs to do that," Ponting said.