Boxing Day Test 2024: Australia vs India fourth men’s cricket Test, day two – live updates

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104th over: Australia 411-6 (Smith 116, Starc 0) Jadeja bowls a maiden over, creating impressive spin and bounce, leaving the new batsman, Mitchell Starc, in trouble.

"WICKET! Cummins Out For 49, Australia 411-7"

Cummins is out! Just one run shy of his half-century, he faced a tempting delivery from Jadeja that he couldn't turn down. He hit it hard, but it went high as he sliced it toward deep cover. Nitish made a fantastic catch in the outfield, sprinting and sliding to secure the ball. It was a solid innings from the Australian captain, scoring 49 runs off 63 balls.

104th over: Australia 411-6 (Smith 116, Cummins 48) Virat Kohli is receiving a mixed reaction from the fans at the MCG as he fields near the boundary. Following his clash with Sam Konstas yesterday, he faced jeers every time he got close to the ball. Kohli didn't hold back, responding with blowing kisses and spitting out his gum at the crowd. As a result of his antics, he's been fined 25% of his match fee, although with a fortune exceeding $130 million, it hardly makes a dent.

In a heartbeat, Smith has expertly sent Mohammed Siraj's delivery soaring for SIX over the fine leg boundary, and then quickly followed it up with a powerful FOUR hit through the covers. What a brilliant display of batting!

103rd over: Australia 399-6 (Smith 106, Cummins 48) As runs are coming in quickly, India brings in a spinner. This over doesn't see any boundaries, but Ravi Jadeja concedes five singles, allowing Australia a moment to regroup. The partnership between Smith and Cummins has reached a century, scoring 100 runs off 128 deliveries. This combination is steadily pushing India out of the match.

102nd over: Australia 394-6 (Smith 103, Cummins 46) Siraj, still feeling the sting from Smith’s hundred, starts with a wide delivery that Cummins smacks for FOUR. After a couple of singles, including a leg bye, Cummins strikes again… and it’s even more impressive! Siraj bowls another wide and full delivery, and Cummins effortlessly drives it to the boundary. Australia is on a roll on day two, while India seems to be in disarray.

Century Celebration For Steve Smith!

There you have it! Steve Smith has scored his second Test century in a row and the 34th of his career, with an impressive 11 of those against India. What a fantastic way to equal the legendary Sunil Gavaskar! After Nitish stepped outside off-stump, Smith made his move with a powerful shot through the covers. He reached his hundred in 165 balls, clearly showing that he's back in top form. He lifts his bat towards the Australian dressing room, signaling, "Thanks… but I have plenty more to offer."

100th over: Australia 371-6 (Smith 96, Cummins 36) As India completes their 100th over of the innings, a crowd of 62,000 is here to witness Smith inching towards his century, bringing his score to 99 with a gentle shot to deep square and a light tap to deep point. This is it...

As we take a break for drinks before the 100th over, let’s reflect on a memorable Boxing Day performance that reminded us of Sam Konstas: Kim Hughes’ dazzling century against the formidable West Indies fast bowlers in 1981...

99th over: Australia 371-6 (Smith 96, Cummins 36) Siraj fires a delivery into Smith’s pads right away, prompting a confident appeal to the umpire. However, Sharma quickly signals to the bowler that they won’t be using their last review on that one. It appeared to be an inside edge, and replays confirm it. Smith then skillfully plays a shot past mid-on to reach 95. Cummins gets another delivery on the fourth ball, and Smith nudges a single off the fifth.

99th over: Australia 368-6 (Smith 94, Cummins 35) India has made a double bowling change, bringing in Nitish Kumar Reddy to replace Jasprit Bumrah. It's another success for the home team, having kept Mr. Tick-Tick-Bumh quiet this morning without allowing him to take a wicket. Reddy bowled just five overs yesterday and starts today with figures of 0-10. Smith nudges the ball to square leg for a single, bringing Reddy's total to 0-11, and Cummins adds to the score with a well-placed cut shot over the infield. Smith's single from the last ball puts him just one run away from achieving his 34th Test century.

98th over: Australia 365-6 (Smith 92, Cummins 34) Akash Deep has been sent to the boundary to think about his 15-run over. However, it’s the spirited Mohammed Siraj who returns to bowl. He starts off with four full deliveries, but his fifth one is short, and Cummins decides to let the final ball go, resulting in a maiden over.

97th over: Australia 365-6 (Smith 92, Cummins 34) Smith and Cummins have formed a solid partnership worth 60 runs, contributing 48 runs to the total this morning as Australia looks to surpass 400. They’re getting even closer as Smith skillfully hooks Bumrah's fifth delivery over the fine leg boundary for a six, bringing him into the nineties.

96th over: Australia 359-6 (Smith 86, Cummins 34) The scoring drought has ended! Smith neatly plays a shot off his hip for four runs from the first ball. He follows it up with another two runs by directing the ball through backward point. Now it’s Cummins’ turn to shine as he steps back and slashes over the slips for another FOUR. Take that, Mr. Konstas! The skipper shows his flair with a stylish shot as Deep sends a short delivery, which Smith drives elegantly off the back foot through the covers. That’s a total of fifteen runs from the over!

95th over: Australia 344-6 (Smith 79, Cummins 26) Cummins nudges a single from Bumrah, allowing Smith to face a delivery. Even though Smith is standing nearly a meter outside his crease, he hasn’t managed to get the upper hand against Bumrah so far. He takes a single to ponder his next move, while Cummins has to deal with another bouncer that zips past his chin, forcing Captain Pat to awkwardly jump out of the way.

94th over: Australia 342-6 (Smith 78, Cummins 25) Rowan Sweeney is checking in to see what a competitive score would be on this pitch. Based on Ricky Ponting's enthusiastic commentary about the well-maintained surface and lack of damage, it seems a score of 450 is well within reach. This suggests Australia will need to score over 100 runs with their last four batsmen. It appears scoring has slowed down significantly, as Akash Deep bowls another over without conceding any runs.

93rd over: Australia 342-6 (Smith 78, Cummins 25) At last, a bouncer! Bumrah cranks it up to 138kph, and Cummins appears uncomfortable right away. He flinches again at the next delivery, clearly unsettled. India's captain positions a leg gully to increase the pressure. It's another uneventful over for Bumrah, but this one carried a real threat.

92nd over: Australia 342-6 (Smith 78, Cummins 25) Cummins continues to score easily, first by sending a back-foot shot past gully for two runs. He then adds a single off a no-ball, giving Smith another opportunity. Sunil Gavaskar points out that India hasn’t bowled enough bouncers, and he’s spot on: Australia has been accumulating runs too smoothly this morning. Cummins highlights this by confidently stepping in and hitting Deep beautifully to the boundary.

91st over: Australia 332-6 (Smith 78, Cummins 17) Bumrah tests Smith with the first delivery! That was an impressive ball that got the batsman jumping and brought a bittersweet smile to the bowler's face. Bumrah's smile only grows as he outwits Smith with the last three deliveries. A brilliant over without any runs scored.

90th over: Australia 332-6 (Smith 78, Cummins 17) Cummins keeps picking up simple singles, allowing Smith to take over the batting. The Australian captain has scored over 100 runs in the series at an average close to 20. Meanwhile, Smith’s tally exceeds 200, boosted by his 101 in the third Test. He adds another four runs with a superb drive through the covers. It’s a fantastic shot! This partnership has now contributed 33 runs.

89th over: Australia 324-6 (Smith 74, Cummins 16) The main matchup this morning is between Steve Smith and Jasprit Bumrah. The Indian fast bowler impressed yesterday with figures of 3-75, bringing his total to 21 wickets in the series. Smith positions himself slightly outside the leg stump, preparing to make his signature movement across the crease. He carefully observes the first four deliveries but then reacts nervously to the last one, managing a half-hearted shot that barely reaches the ground, trickling past the slip fielders for four runs.

88th over: Australia 320-6 (Smith 70, Cummins 15) Akash Deep is set to bowl the second over, likely to give Bumrah a chance to bowl from his favorite end. Deep finished yesterday's play with figures of 1-59 from his 19 overs, and he begins today with a maiden over.

87th over: Australia 320-6 (Smith 70, Cummins 15) Australia is off to a strong start. Smith nudges a simple single to ease the tension, while Siraj bowls a loose delivery that Cummins capitalizes on with an aggressive shot that races to the boundary. Cummins then deftly redirects a ball on legside off his hip, and a fielding error—something that plagued India yesterday—gives them three more runs. They’ve scored eight runs in the first half of the over! A single from Smith brings the total to nine runs for the entire over.

Steve Smith is approaching the pitch with 123 runs needed to reach the remarkable milestone of 10,000 Test runs. Notably, the first two players to accomplish this achievement are the very individuals whose names are etched on the trophy contested in this series: the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Smith stands at the crease with his captain, Pat Cummins, positioned at the opposite end, while Mohammed Siraj gets ready, ball in hand. And here we go, everyone...

Fortunately for Victorians facing the risk of bushfires, today's weather in Melbourne is cooler, with a temperature of 18°C expected to rise to 22°C. There’s cloud cover at the MCG, and Ricky Ponting, after assessing the pitch, believes it's an ideal day for batting.

Will Steve Smith and Pat Cummins continue their strong performance this morning? Or will the Indian batting lineup – now without Shubman Gill, who has faced criticism for being left out in favor of bringing in a second spinner, Washington Sundar – manage to take control on the second day?

The athletes are getting ready on the field, and the game is about to begin.

The sudden move by Konsta caught the attention of his cricket idol, Virat Kohli, who quickly crossed three lanes of traffic to come to the young fan's aid.

Even though Kohli attempted to shift the blame onto the teenager and Usman Khawaja stepped in to calm things down, Kohli has been fined 20% of his match fee—a minor consequence for such a dramatic outburst. Konstas, for his part, dismissed the whole episode as simply part of the game…

Check out the Konstas highlight reel while you listen to this soundtrack...

Here's how the local media covered the Konstas Kaos event at the MCG...

If you're just tuning in, let me explain how Geoff Lemon captured the magic of the first day...

Hello cricket enthusiasts! Welcome to the second day of the Boxing Day Test taking place in Melbourne.

Day one was intense. Scorching temperatures throughout Victoria led to wildfires throughout the state, and at the MCG, a 19-year-old opening batsman from Sydney was making his Test debut on cricket's grandest platform. He made a stunning impact, etching his name in history and giving Australia the advantage on the opening day of this important fourth Test.

Sam Konstas, a bold young player with only a few top-level matches under his belt, dazzled the MCG with his explosive batting performance, prompting the legendary Sunil Gavaskar to declare, “we are seeing the future of Test cricket.”

As Jack Snape observed yesterday, it was a victory of unconventional techniques. There were ramp shots, reverse sweeps, paddle shots, aggressive square cuts, and slog sweeps. After swinging and missing on five out of his first six balls in Test cricket, Konstas let loose in a way only youthful exuberance can inspire. This led to a show of frustration from none other than Virat Kohli, who began a confrontation in the middle of the pitch after intentionally bumping into the young Australian.

Slammin' Sam's time at the crease was brief, lasting just about an hour and 65 balls, but he scored an impressive 60 runs that were among the most exciting seen from a player making their debut. Even the formidable Jasprit Bumrah, who had been a key threat for India in this series, was removed from the bowling attack as Konstas dazzled the Indian bowlers, giving Australia a vital early advantage.

Bumrah, who hadn't conceded a six in his last 25 Tests over four years, was surprisingly hit for two sixes in less than an hour by Konstas. However, he made a strong comeback later in the day, dismantling Australia's middle order by taking three crucial wickets, which helped India get back into the game with Australia ending the day at 311 for 6.

Day two promises to be exciting! Action kicks off at 10:30 AM AEST, so get ready and prepare yourself because the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is officially underway.