Nathan Lyon ended with 8 for 50 as India folded for 189. © BCCI STUMPS: Australia 40 for no loss after India post 189. Lyon spun them to a strong position and after that the openers polished off the day's performance with a good start. KL Rahul fought hard but found little support. But the day belonged to Lyon. He imparted overspin on the ball, got to spit, troubled the batsmen with bounce and ended with best figures from a visiting bowler in India. Third successive batting failure for India should be concern. To add to that, Ashwin bowled too full, giving both Warner and Renshaw good chance to blunt it with ease. Onus on Australia to drive home the advantage. India need to make things happen else the series is going to slip away pretty soon. EXCITING TIMES: Two huge lbw shouts from India with Ashwin pinging Renshaw in front. Both times it was turned down. They don't go for the review. Guess what happens next? Warner's outside edge flies to Rahane at gully and he drops it. Came at a lovely height. Read it and weep. Length ball outside off, turns in sharply, bounces a touch more than expected. Rahul was looking to drive but can only manage to chip it to mid-on. He falls for 90. Lyon take Ishant out the very next ball. India fold for 189. Lyon roars and ends with best figures by a visiting bowler in India. India have just 189 on the board after opting to bat. Tremendous performance from all the bowlers and they reaped rewards for relentless pressure. It'll be interesting to see how the Indian bowlers react now when they don't have the scoreboard pressure to work with. Length ball, goes in straight with the arm, takes the inside edge and gets caught at first slip. Lyon has six now. India 188 for 8. FIVE-WICKET HAUL FOR LYON: Length ball and pushed through a bit. The ball takes the outside edge and as Smith takes it on the second attempt. India 178 for 7. Lyon now has 5 for 45. Ashwin falls for 7. KL Rahul hasn't got any support at all so far. Very unusual for Bangalore. India were reduced to 168 for 5 at Tea on the first day of the second Test against Australia at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday March 4. India lost Virat Kohli 12 , Ajinkya Rahane 17 and Karun Nair in the second session with KL Rahul battling on 79. Lyon assessed the pitch quickly and stuck the good length deliveries to trouble the Indian batsmen. The overspin imparted on the ball, that resulted in sharp turn and bounce, troubled the batsmen as they spent most of the session trying to figure out a way to get him away. The big wickets of the day - the one of Kohli - was partially gifted to the visitors. In Pune, the Indian captain offered no shot and was bowled by Steve O'Keefe. In this Test, he offered no shot to a slider from Lyon and was trapped plumb in front. The misery just didn't end there. India's horror run with the Decision Review System DRS continued as Kohli made another horrific and baffling call to appeal against the lbw decision. With no shot offered, there was no bat involved and replays suggested the ball would have crashed into the middle stump. What made it even bizzare was he walked off the field soon after reviewing it, leaving the team one down in terms of review. With Kohli dismissed, the onus was on Rahane to guide the innings forward with Rahul, who battled hard against some quality bowling and refused to get bogged down. After a scratchy stay, he decided to charge Lyon to ease some pressure. He missed the straight one and was stumped by Matthew Wade after a fumble. As the action unfolded, Rahul got his second reprieve of the innings. The opener swept the ball straight to David Warner at leg slip only the for the chance to be grassed. He was on 61 then. He was earlier dropped at short cover when he was on 30 in the first session. Despite being dropped, Rahul showed application, the resolve to stay in there and offered some stern resistance. Nair looked promising during his short stay and looked at ease despite India being in a precarious situation. However, after a 39-ball stay he came down the track to defend a ball from Steve O'Keefe but was out stumped for 26. With the pitch offering plenty of turn, batting is bound to get tougher as the match progresses. Earlier, India lost Abhinav Mukund and Cheteshwar Pujara in the first session. While the opener was trapped in front by Mitchell Starc after he missed a low full toss, Pujara was undone by some turn and bounce from Lyon in the last over before Lunch. After the early jolt, Pujara and Rahul scored 61 for the second wicket to ease the team to a steady position. However, the wicket of Pujara at the stroke of Lunch and the wicket of Kohli soon after turned the tide in Australia's favour in some quick time. © Cricbuzz KARUN NAIR FALLS: How to throw away a wicket? If you can lay your hands on the Nair dismissal, watch it and see. Tossed up outside off, spins away just a touch. Nair comes down the track to defend it, misses the ball and keeps walking towards the dressing room. There was no intent in that shot. He looked promising during his 39-ball stay but falls for 26. Of Rahul's 21 scoring shots against Lyon and O'Keefe today only four have come against the spin. Runs down the track to Lyon, the ball keeps low and doesn't spin. Rahane doesn't connect, Wade misses the ball but is quick enough to gather it back and knock the stumps down. Rahane knew it too. India are 119 for 4. © Cricbuzz PRESSURE TALKING: Lyon isn't giving anything away. Rahul tries to play the sweep and played it straight to Warner, at leg slip. Warner, probably surprised by that shot, drops a fairly easy one. Second life for Rahul so far and he survives on 61. He was earlier dropped on 30 by Handscomb off the bowling of O'Keefe. India 107 for 3. Sincerely hope India's spinners have taken note of how much overspin Lyon is putting on the ball. An offspinner bowling, the ball turns in and Virat Kohli stands tall and offers no shot. Looked in front, was in front. Crashing into the middle stump. The dressing room looked very disappointed. Another horror review as well. Rahane is the new man in and Lyon has two big wickets now. Nathan Lyon has now dismissed Kohli five times in Tests - the most he has been dismissed by a bowler alongside James Anderson. India 88 for 3. Continuing on the Kohli dismissal. He walked off soon after reviewing it. He asked Rahul if he should go for it and the opener, for reasons known only to them, nodded in affirmative. All this because of the pressure created by the Australians. Bizarre the whole episode. © Cricbuzz TURN AND BOUNCE: Good turn and bounce for the spinners. At least, Lyon is able to extract it. The Indian spinners will look at this closely and would want to exploit that. Meanwhile, KL Rahul gets to his third Test 50 as India are 81 for 2. BIG SESSION COMING UP: A crucial session is coming up for India. Rahul is set and should look to continue while the onus will be on Virat Kohli - the talisman of the Indian batting - to drive the team forward. We all saw what happened in Pune when he got out. These two are crucial in India doing well and a good partnership here will give Ajinkya Rahane, Karun, Ashwin and Saha the additional cushion that they need. © Cricbuzz Lunch: KL Rahul 48 not out and Cheteshwar Pujara 17 took India to 72 for 2 at Lunch before the latter fell in the last over before the break on the first day of the second Test against Australia at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday March 4. The visitors kept probing throughout the session to keep both Rahul and Pujara on their toes, but to their credit, they played the waiting game well to add 61 for the second wicket. With all the talk of pressure being on India after the Pune drubbing - that saw them crumble to a 333-run defeat as quickly as the dying pitch - India responded well. However, things weren't too rosy to begin with. India were dealt with an unkind cut even before they could get on the park. M Vijay was ruled out of the clash after he injured his shoulder in the last Test, paving way for Abhinav Mukund to make a Test comeback since 2011. There was one more change - Karun Nair coming in place of Jayant Yadav - as the think-tank decided to go in with six batsmen to give the top order the additional cushion to begin with. The fact that India lost Mukund - trapped plumb with a low full toss by Mitchell Starc for a eight-ball duck - didn't help either. It took some stern resistance from Pujara and Rahul to ease the nerves in the dressing room. After 10 runs in the first over from Starc, India were able to add just 11 more in the next ten. With the sprinkling of grass on the track, many believed the track will offer good pace and bounce to the bowlers. However, after the first half hour into the day, it became clear that the carry will only be there if the bowlers are willing to use their shoulders. Starc was able to extract some good bounce off the track while Josh Hazlewood made Matthew Wade work extra hard with balls carrying low and often on the bounce. There was a surprising move from Steve Smith when he had Steve O'Keefe bowl in the ninth over. What the Australian captain wanted to do was ruffle some feathers and scratch the wounds from the previous Test. The left-arm spinner, on his part, made a steady start and kept things tight but failed to dislodge either of the two. What stood out from both Rahul and Pujara was intent, not to bash the bowlers out of the attack but to hold their end up and make the bowlers work for their wickets. However, the Australians did have their chance. Rahul survived a reprieve on 30 when he was dropped by Peter Handscomb at short cover off the bowling of O'Keefe. Starc was brought into the attack for a brief spell 20 minutes before Lunch and though he kept troubling Rahul with back of length deliveries, it was the right-hander who walked away unbeaten - denying the visitors they were looking for. It was Nathan Lyon who did the trick with turn and bounce into Pujara as the right-hander got an inside edge into the pads before he was caught by Handscomb at short-leg. Some stern resistance there from these two. Mitch Marsh to bowl now! Not to forget, there's a lot of pressure on him to keep his place in the XI and produce the goods. India have reached 50 for 1 in 19. KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara showed some stern resistance in the first session. © Cricbuzz PUT DOWN: Full and wide outside off, Rahul pushes at that one and plays it to the left of Handscomb, who is stationed very close in at cover. He dives but puts it down. Not a very tough one but can't really call it a straight forward chance. Rahul survives on 30. India 38 for 1. DRINKS: So the first hour of the first day is done. India have lost one wicket but are looking to build a huge first innings score. The pitch at the moment is keeping low at times. O'Keefe showing the Pune match wasn't a one-off and is keeping things really tight. India 29 for 1 in 14 overs. STEADY: Rahul and Pujara are weathering the storm read: continuous pressure from Australia really well. Runs are hard to come by but these two are ready to play the waiting game. India 21 for 1 after 11 overs. SPIN IN: Surprising move from Steve Smith. Steve O'Keefe has been introduced into the attack in the eighth over. Mind games feels Michael Clarke. Steady start from the left-arm spinner in the first over. Pitch talk: Ahead of the Test, the sprinkling of grass made many believe there will be good carry on this track. As things are turning out, for now, is the ball isn't going through if the bowler isn't using his shoulder. Starc has been able to get the ball to jump on the batsman while Hazlewood, who's floating it out, is making Wade work extra time. The 'keeper is collecting them on the bounce. First wickets: Full toss on the stumps, very low, strikes Mukund in front and he's trapped plumb. India 11 for 1 in three overs. Starc gets the wicket. Another Indian opening pair, another low first-wicket score. Same old, same old. The national anthems are done, Rahul and Mukund walk out to open. Starc to open as expected for Australia. And after the first over, India are 10 for no loss. Toss India have won the toss and will bat first. Karun Nair replaces Jayant Yadav. M Vijay ruled out due to injury, Abhinav Mukund comes in place of him. Teams : India: Abhinav Mukund, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli c , Ajinkya Rahane, Karun Nair, Ravichandran Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha w , Ravindra Jadeja, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma. Australia: Matt Renshaw, David Warner, Steven Smith c , Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade w , Mitchell Starc, Steve O'Keefe, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood Head's up: Few things ahead of the toss. Australia have already announced they are going to go in with an unchanged squad. India, on the other hand, can't pick Hardik Pandya as he's not fit. All other 15 players are available for selection. SPIN IT TO WIN IT? We can only be a couple of sessions away from winning. We know we didn't play well and Australia did; that doesn't mean that will happen in every Test match. If you play well every day, every session, then you will win the Test match. We didn't do that. You will not get to see a performance like Pune again; that I can assure you. What do India need to do? Build up: Hello and welcome to the live blog of the first day of the second Test between India and Australia in Bengaluru. After the heat in Pune, which saw India crumble to a 333-run defeat, a slightly better weather welcomes both teams. Make no mistake, the heat is well and truly on India, who need to prove the previous was a one-off. A lot has been written and said about India's performance. Shots have been fired from the visiting team, fans and journalists, who at times have behaved like fans. To be fair, the performance was such it gives them the bragging right. One of the point made, mostly by visiting journalists, is that India have a set template - score big in flat tracks, wear the opposition down and then beat them. What's of note is how conveniently we forget the wins in Sri Lanka and West Indies. It'll be harsh to term the Indian team as 'flat track bullies' who can't win when presented with tough conditions. Whether they prove it or not, that only time will tell. Over to the Australian performance. Steve Smith, David Warner, Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon, for the way he bowled in the last game - you can't take them light. Smith has been India's nemesis and they are yet to figure out how to dismiss him. Needless to say, like Kohli's, his wicket is crucial. Warner, brutal, flamboyant, unpredictable and a game-changer, can take the game away from the opposition in no time. What we need to look at is he's played 26 Tests out of Australia and has scored three centuries. In comparison, he has 18 centuries in Australia. Averages more than 48. Despite that, you can write him off at your own peril. One bowler who stopped the India juggernaut was Steve O'keefe. For me, the moment of the series has been the satisfaction on his face after he walked off the field after the first innings with figures of 6 for 35. Players make a lot of sacrifices, go through a lot of struggles to make it here. And then you land in India and all you hear is talks of how the visiting spinners aren't good enough. An Indian spinner way past his prime writes you off even before you bowl a single delivery. The satisfaction on his face was enough to shut all the critics. However, there are now new challenges in front of him. The Pune pitch aided him. The Bengaluru surface isn't likely to be so kind. What he will have to prove is he's good enough to work the batsman out. It's now that the real challenge begins.
