India v Australia, 4th Test Dharamsala. 3rd day
Like any other morning, Saturday
morning in Dharamsala, located 1317 above sea level in laps of Himalayas, was a
serene one.
But amid all peace India had a
chaotic forenoon. Sanjay Bangar announced that Indian captain Virat Kohli will
take no part in the game as he is yet to regain full fitness. Stand-in captain
Ajinkya Rahane made a blunder at the toss which led India to bowl on what
looked like a batting beauty. Further India replaced Virat Kohli with the
bowler - Kuldeep Yadav - the chinaman spinner with no experience under his
belt. Among all pitches which have had been on show during this season, the one
here in Dharamsala has least chance of breaking down. So, the extra spinner
seemed a product of faulty planning.
To inflict further chaos, Karun
Nair dropped David Warner on first ball of the match. It was not the first time
he (or any other Indian fielder) had grassed down a catch. Slip-fielding is a
specialist's position. It requires concentration, patience, skill and
technique. Here Nair committed the gaffe of not opening the foot in direction
of ball which implied that he never got the momentum.
To add insult to the injury, Warner
drove the last ball of same first over through covers. Though, in very next
over Umesh Yadav defeated the defense of Matt Renshaw, what proved to be only
success story of otherwise a horrendous session for India.
Steven Smith continued his impressive
run against India. He cut, drove, flicked his way to another test fifty. Warner
who was unsure at start seemed to have gain impetus. It appeared as if Mr. S
Murphy (Law) had developed an instant liking for Indian team. On a morning
where India needed to control game they gave away 18 fours and 1 six.
Kuldeep
delivers
At lunch first innings score of (
around ) 500 looked inevitable. But can a test series which have had more
twists and turn than Jalebi progress
so smoothly? Quite not. Indian test season have been all about individuals
stepping up at right time. At picturesque Dharamsala, the debut man Kuldeep
Yadav volunteered to the need of hour. Kuldeep Yadav claimed key wickets of
David Warner and Glen Maxwell along with wickets of Peter Handscomb and Pat
Cummins.
For a kid playing his first test
match the way he set-up batsmen standouts. After bowling four legbreakes, he
bamboozled David Warner with flipper, Peter Handscomb was lulled in driving. To
Maxwell he bowled wrong-un after teasing him with legbreaks. The wicket of Pat
Cummins was a result of constant pressure.
Herein, underlining point is
Kuldeep Yadav's impeccable control. Legspinners generally have poor control as
they use their wrist vis-à-vis fingerspinners who are dependent on fingers. In
afternoon session where Kuldeep bowled 15 overs he didn't delivered a single
short ball.
Unaffected by all this Steven Smith
brought up his 20th test century. It is remarkable that neither pace of Umesh
Yadav, swing of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, subtle change of pace of Ashwin, angle of
Jadeja and novelty of Kuldeep Yadav have been able to plot his wicket. He looks
invincible between those 22 yards irrespective of the colour of strip. Be it
hard, green or brown Smith detects his own method to succeed. Even at his prime
best he has not tried to get ahead of himself. Perhaps it was apt that his down
fall was against some exquisite bowling and spectacular catching.
In afternoon season India for nth
time in this series made a comeback from arduous position. Australia were 208-6
at tea.
Lowers
Order Chips in
The sole reason of selecting Mathew
Wade ahead of Peter Nevill has been to strength the lower order. In this
respect Wade has not disappointed Australia. In Bangalore he stitched
partnership of 48 runs with Starc. In Ranchi he scored 37 runs. And now in
Dharamsala he brought up his first test 50 after four years. With Australia
possessing inexperienced middle order - Peter Handscomb is playing only his
second international test series and Glen Maxwell is yet to find his feet - these
lower order contributions becomes necessary. Pat Cummins chipped in with vital
21 and Lyon swept his way to 13 runs. Australia were all out for 300. They must
have been eyeing bigger than this when they were 144-1 but India fought their
way back.
KL Rahul safely negated the
only over India had to face. At the end of another topsy-turvy day, for first
time in the series India can feel that they have won the day-1 of test. The
wicket is still good to bat on but Mathew Wade has predicted that cracks will
play an important role as match progresses.
Comments
Post a Comment