BGT 2024-25: Announced | How did batting on the Perth pitch become easier on day 2?

India are currently on top in the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) Test after taking a 200-plus run lead in Perth. After amassing 150 points on day 1 in two sessions, India did not lose a single wicket on Saturday, November 23, the second day of the Test.

The field, which saw a total of 17 wickets fall on the first day, eased significantly on the 2nd day, causing only three wickets to fall in the first session that day as well.

Optus Stadium in Perth uses a drip pitch, which is placed in the stadium after being prepared elsewhere, as opposed to the traditional method of preparing the pitch on the ground.

The pitch had approximately 12mm of grass cover, giving it a lush green look on day 1. Since it was predicted to rain in the area leading up to the test, the curator may not have watered the field sufficiently to prevent it from becoming damp and, if it did rain, soft.

But the forecast weather took a U-turn and the sun continued to shine beautifully, which baked the surface and evaporated the moisture off it on Saturday. With the moisture gone, the lateral movement of the ball out of bounds also disappeared.

The sun scorching the field also dried the grass cover, thus the bounce decreased. The same was admitted by Australian head coach Andrew McDonald after the second day’s play.

“The surface looked pretty dry today and it dried pretty quickly,” McDonald said.

The ball, which was already coming nicely onto the bat, stopped moving, making it a little easier for batsmen to play. The same was seen in Australia’s last wicket stand – 25 runs off 108 balls.

While the situation was definitely getting easier to bat, the Indian openers were also excellent and applied themselves against the tight Australian bowling and refused to give up their wickets.

India finished day 2 ahead with a total of 218 runs after openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (90 not out) and KL Rahul (62 not out) added an unbeaten 172 runs on the opening wicket.