On Day 2 of the fourth and final Border Gavaskar Trophy Test, Australia assumed complete control of proceedings in Motera. During the morning session, the team managed to avoid any setbacks and increased their score from 255/4 to 347/4 at Lunch, with Usman Khawaja remaining unbeaten on 104 and Cameron Green on 49.
The partnership between the two batsmen reached 177, which was significantly higher than any other partnership in the series. Following the break, Green achieved his first century in red-ball cricket for Australia, effectively securing the victory for his team.
The Indian players, who were competing for a spot in the World Test Championship final, appeared distraught under the hot sun of Ahmedabad, leading to a humiliating incident for them in the 128th over.
On the final delivery of his six-ball set, Ravindra Jadeja delivered the ball and managed to strike Cameron Green’s front pad. This moment provided a glimmer of hope for India, not because the ball was likely to hit the stumps, but because it showed a hint of spin which had been rare on the flat deck until that point.
The ball landed around the fifth stump, prompting Usman Khawaja to kick it away instead of attempting a shot. Surprisingly, Jadeja persuaded captain Rohit Sharma to refer the decision to the third umpire, although this decision turned out to be a desperate plea for help when the replays were shown on the big screen.
The ball missed the stumps by a significant margin in terms of its line and was also high enough not to hit the wickets. Consequently, the partnership between Khawaja and Green remained intact, and it became Australia’s largest partnership in India in more than 50 years.