KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal played extremely well: Australia head coach after second day's play in Perth Test
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fter the second day of the Perth Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), Australia head coach Andrew McDonald showered praise on KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal and said that they played "extremely well" on Saturday.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul played a stupendous knock on Saturday. The two openers cemented a 172-run knock and put India in the driver's seat in the Perth Test.
Jaiswal scored 90 runs from 193 balls at a strike rate of 46.63. While Rahul smashed 62 runs from 153 balls at a strike rate of 40.52. Both the batters stayed unbeaten on the crease at the stumps of Day 02.
Speaking at the press conference after the end of the second day's play, McDonald said that the wicket in Perth changed considerably on the second day.
"I think the wicket has changed considerably. If you look at the seam and swing, it was down comparative to yesterday (when) it was difficult work. I thought (India openers) KL (Rahul) and (Yashasvi) Jaiswal played extremely well also. But I think the conditions have changed," McDonald was quoted by cricket.com.au as saying.
He added that the pitch in Perth looked drier on Saturday. He added his side was surprised since there wasn't as much seam movement or swing.
"The surface looked considerably drier today, and it dried out fairly quickly. We thought there may have been a little bit more there so if you want to say it, we were a little bit surprised there wasn't as much seam movement or swing," he added.
The Australia head coach added that Aussies got the balls in the right areas.
"And I think the bowlers were presenting the seam in a similar fashion to what they were yesterday, so the conditions may have had some say in that. You needed to ride your luck a little bit also. Our guys got the balls in the right areas and there were some plays and misses as well," he further added.
The Indian team made a fine comeback in the first Test against Australia after getting bundled out for 150 in the first innings in Perth. The fast bowling unit brought things back on track as the Jasprit Bumrah-led side bowled out the hosts for 104 in their first innings.
While the stand-in captain Bumrah scalped fifer, Harshit Rana who made his Test debut alongside Nitish Kumar Reddy in this match, also showed his skills.
The visitors concluded the second day's proceedings at 172/0, leading by 218 with Yashasvi Jaiswal (90*) and KL Rahul (62*) at the crease.
Australia Playing XI: Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (WK), Pat Cummins (C), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
India Playing XI: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah (C), Mohammed Siraj.
✔️ KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal played extremely well: Australia head coach after second day's play in Perth Test
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