After a promising start for Australia, Head and Labuschagne lose.

 After a promising start for Australia, Head and Labuschagne lose.

Australia’s start to their first innings in the second Test against India was looking promising, until their two top batsmen, Matthew Head and Marnus Labuschagne, fell quickly. Head and Labuschagne were dismissed in the space of three overs, which put Australia in a precarious position. They were both caught behind by India’s wicketkeeper, Wriddhiman Saha, off the bowling of Ravichandran Ashwin. Head had made 15 runs off 40 balls when he was caught, while Labuschagne had scored just 10 runs off 21 balls. Both batsmen had looked relatively comfortable at the crease, but failed to make the most of their starts. The dismissals of the two batsmen meant that Australia were left in a difficult position at 34/2, with their captain Tim Paine and batsman Steven Smith the only two established batsmen in the line-up. It was a disappointing end to what had been a decent start to the Australian innings, with openers David Warner and Joe Burns having put on 24 runs for the first wicket. The Australian team will now be looking to their captain and Smith to steady the ship and help them build a significant first innings total. If they can do this, they will be in with a chance of salvaging something from the match and keeping the series alive.