On a pitch where Australian batsmen struggled to put the bat on ball, Ajinkya Rahane batted brilliantly and brought up his 12th Test century. Pressure was immense on Rahane ahead of the game as India suffered a humiliating eight-wicket loss in the first Test. Moreover, regular skipper Virat Kohli flew back home after the first Test and Rahane took over the reins. Defying all the odds, the Mumbai-born batsman indeed played a captain's knock and scored the series's first century. He's still going strong at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and will like to convert his ton into a further substantial total. India vs Australia 2nd Test 2020 Day 2 Live Score Updates.

Earlier in the day, Rahane came into bat at number four after opener Shubman Gill fell prey to Pat Cummins. However, the veteran remained calm and steadied his knock to perfection. He was well supported by the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja who played significant knocks. However, none of them could even cross the 50-run mark while Rahane notched up his ton. Notably, this is Rahane's first century as captain and second at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

100 For Rahane!!

Meanwhile, India have crossed the 270-run mark and are comfortably placed on the driver's seat. They have already gained a lead of more than 70 runs, and with five wickets in hand, they'll like to dent the home team even further. Besides Rahane, Jadeja is also well set on the crease and will want to play a substantial knock.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 27, 2020 12:18 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).