Australia took control of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) Boxing Day Test with a dominating batting and bowling performance on the second day against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The five-match Test series is currently level at 1-1, with one more match to go.

The hosts began Day 2 with an overnight score of 311/6, with Steve Smith and Pat Cummins at the crease. Smith shepherded his side well with the lower order and notched up his second century in as many games. He helped Australia reach a decent first-innings total of 474 with some assistance from Pat Cummins (49), Mitchell Starc (15), and Nathan Lyon (13). Jasprit Bumrah scalped four wickets for the visitors in the bowling department after bowling 28.4 overs.

Rohit Sharma’s poor series continued as he departed for 3 (5) in the second over after returning to the opening position. KL Rahul (24) looked good for a while, but Pat Cummins cleaned him up with a beauty to reduce India to 51/2 at the stroke of the Tea break.

Yashasvi Jaiswal (82) and Virat Kohli (36) then stitched together a 102-run partnership for the third wicket and ignited hopes of a strong reply from the team. However, both got out in quick succession during the fag end of the day, leaving India in a heap of trouble. Rishabh Pant (6*) and Ravindra Jadeja (4*) remained unbeaten as the visitors reached 164/5 at stumps, still trailing by 310 runs.

Fans were highly disappointed after India’s poor performance on Friday, December 27, on Day 2 of the fourth BGT 2024-25 Test. They reacted by sharing memes on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. One meme read:

“Thank You for your services.”

Here are some of the best memes:

“The bowling was pretty ordinary” – Ravi Shastri on India’s bowling performance in 1st innings of MCG Test vs Australia in BGT 2024-25

Ravi Shastri criticized Team India’s management and their bowlers after a poor performance in the first innings of the Boxing Day Test. He opined that the team ran out of ideas and pointed out that the spinners were not utilized properly.

Speaking to Star Sports, Shastri said (as quoted by Indian Express):

“I thought the bowling was pretty ordinary. They ran out of ideas. Spin wasn’t used as much as it should have. It took a gap of 40 overs before Jadeja was introduced into the attack. It took a long time for Washington Sundar to bowl his first over.

“So when you’re playing two spinners, you have to ask the question, why did you play two spinners? What was the need if you don’t trust them?”

He added:

“India paid the price for it because Steve Smith is relentless. He’s a master batsman. He did the hard yards at the Gabba. And that’s paid off in this innings because he was more like his fluent self in this innings. Just the way he adapts to different conditions, different bowlers, with his footwork. His footwork changes. The movements change to different bowlers. He’s great to watch.”

Do you think India can still make a comeback in the 4th Test? Sound off your opinions in the comments section.