India began the second day of the fourth Test against Australia with the hope of wrapping them up under 400. That didn't happen but the whole of India, which will wake up a bit later, slept with the terrible news of the death of the country's former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. Singh, who has been battling health issues for a while, was one of the finest prime ministers the country has seen and as the finance minister in the 90s, led the economic reforms revolution.
The Indian players walked out while sporting black armbands as a mark of respect for Dr Manmohan Singh. "The Indian Cricket Team is wearing black armbands as a mark of respect to former Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh who passed away on Thursday," the BCCI handle wrote on X (formerly Twitter.)
Dr Singh breathed his last at the age of 92 at the AIIMS Hospital in New Delhi. A 7-day national mourning has been declared in India after his passing. From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to leaders, and celebrities from all fields and citizens wrote essays and paragraphs in tribute to Singh as he departed for his heavenly abode.
Australia resumed their innings from 311/6 in some style as the Indian bowlers and fielders looked listless from the start of the second day. Steve Smith and Pat Cummins dictated the terms rather too easily and India's body language and tactics looked flat from the outset.
Smith slammed his 34th Test century and Cummins fell one short of his fifty as the duo stitched a 112-run stand for the seventh wicket. Ravindra Jadeja eventually broke the stand but it seemed like the lawn had been grazed by that time. Smith is still unbeaten and signs are ominous as the match has slipped through India's hands.
