- India 189 & 274; Australia 276 & 112 | India win by 75 runs
- Series levelled at 1-1 with two Tests to play
And some heated reaction:
Related: Virat Kohli lays into Steve Smith and Australia following second Test incident
Here’s our match report from Adam Collins:
Related: Australia put in a spin as India complete remarkable comeback in second Test
What a game, and what a result for India. The series stays alive, the Border-Gavaskar trophy is up for grabs. The home side looked baked for all money after Nathan ‘Nathan’ Lyon eroded them through the first session and took his 8-50. But how quickly things can turn: he got none-for in the second innings, and made two runs in two hits with the bat.
Australia should really have found their way to a win with a first innings lead of 87 runs on a very difficult pitch. But Rahane and Pujara took the game away with their 118-run stand, the only century partnership of the match, and KL Rahul was equally important with his scores of 90 and 51.
Related: Australia put in a spin as India complete remarkable comeback in second Test
Edged a couple of runs, Lyon, then tries to drive the flighted ball and Ashwin finishes the game himself with his sixth wicket. Takes the simple return catch and India’s players descend into a huddle of yelling faces and pumping fists.
With 78 to get, Handscomb decides he needs to get some of them quickly, and tries for a big slog-sweep. The bat ends up almost vertical, the ball goes up the chimney, and Saha trots a couple of paces back behind the stumps to be there for the drop.
35th over: Australia 110-8 (Handscomb 24, Lyon 0)
Lyon tries to get himself out by slogging to cover, but fails. Survives four balls of the Jadeja over. somehow.
India on the verge now! This pitch has gone from difficult to unplayable, at least as far as some deliveries were concerned. Left-arm around to the right-hander, the ball hits a flat spot, and commando-rolls into middle stump in a manner untouchable by any bat made by man.
34th over: Australia 110-7 (Handscomb 24, O’Keefe 2)
Handscomb a defensive masterclass against Ashwin. Watches the turn, waits back, sharp reflexes. Blots out a maiden.
33rd over: Australia 110-7 (Handscomb 24, O’Keefe 2)
Yadav bowls straight, attacking the stumps. Handscomb is good enough to work a couple of singles through square leg, while O’Keefe is hit on the body and gets a leg bye. Yadav couldn’t resist the short ball to a tailender.
32nd over: Australia 107-7 (Handscomb 22, O’Keefe 2)
Alarm, alarm, alarm. O’Keefe edges a single. Handscomb flicks a more confident one. Then O’Keefe plays a similar shot, but squarer, and there’s hesitation with the calling. O’Keefe would have been run out at the non-striker’s end had the throw hit. It doesn’t. They get a valuable run, just before Handscomb is beaten on the outside edge by an absolute snorter that spits on straight. Ashwin battled in the first innings without huge reward, but he’s putting on a display here. Handscomb isn’t fussed, coming outside his off stump to nudge another run square on the leg side.
31st over: Australia 103-7 (Handscomb 20, O’Keefe 0)
Handscomb isn’t quite sure what to do here. How to approach this? He’s doing it amturely, just trying to calm things down, get settled, instil some confidence in his batting partner. He defends the entire Umesh Yadav over, and when the last ball rears up and hits him high in the ribs under his front arm, he cracks a broad grin and laughs at the bowler. Loving the contest. This is a great tell about a player.
30th over: Australia 103-7 (Handscomb 20, O’Keefe 0)
O’Keefe can also defend - remember he was part of Australia sitting on 8-161 for a session against Sri Lanka in Pallekele. He defends Ashwin’s last two balls with positive footwork.
I typed all that for nothing. Starc defends a few balls but looks uncomfrtable against Ashwin’s bounce. Then one from the off spinner comes in from around the wicket, holds its line, bounces high, zips past the inside edge of the defensive stroke, hits Starc in the armpit, and knocks down the off bail.
29th over: Australia 103-6 (Handscomb 20, Starc 1)
Mitchell Starc has 117 runs so far in the series, in his three innings. That makes him fifth on the runs list, behind only Rahul, Smith, Renshaw and Pujara. If he gets another decent knock here, he could top the list for runs by an Australian No8 or below in a series against India. More importantly, if he gets another decent knock here, Australia wins a Test and retains a trophy. Umesh bowls short, Handscomb stylishly cuts a run, then Starc opens his innings by nudging another into the leg side.
28th over: Australia 101-6 (P Handscomb 19, Starc 0)
Last ball of Ahswin’s over, as he took the wicket before tea, and Starc defends it.
Send me a tweet, send me an email, do. I’ll try to read them between my interlaced fingers.
Wellity wellity well. Get your lunch containers ready indeed, lambies and gooseberries. Inhale, exhale. Think of the work of Telepopmusik, or The Prodigy: breathe. This is a wonderful Test match. This is the business end of it. Another fast Mitchell Starc innings could turn it over. A couple of quick Ravi wickets, whether (ndra) or (chandran), and it flips the other way. But wait... if something flips in either direction, it lands the same way up. So to go the other way it needs to not flip at all. Oh, I don’t even know anymore. Hello. Geoff here. Almost having a coronary already. Farewell, Russell, goodnight sweet prince. And flights of appeals sing thee to thy rest.
With that Wade wicket, Australia now stare into the abyss. At tea they’re 87 runs short of the win and India’s spinners will be bowling at the tail. Can Mitchell Starc and Peter Handscomb pull it off? Find out when Geoff Lemon stops by shortly. I’m off to fold myself into the foetal position, or maybe blow into a paper bag for a while. Blimey.
It’s happening! The collapse is on. Now Wade presses forward hard to the final delivery of the Ashwin over and when it bobbles up off his pad, Saha sprints past the vacant short leg region, dives and reels in a superb catch. India are right on top!
27th over: Australia 101-5 (Handscomb 19, Wade 0)
Australia had just overcome another symbolic psychological hurdle by moving into triple figures before Marsh perished, but to speak like Matthew Hayden for a moment, this has really put the cat amongst the pigeons, cats, mice, plus both sleeping and top dogs. Matthew Wade is at the crease now and Jadeja paired with Ashwin. Buckle in.
Mitch Marsh goes! Oh dear, that is unfortunate. He was back and across to the returning Ashwin and feathers an edge into his leg before short leg swoops on it. He was looking very solid until then, but now he’s on his way The person I envy: Geoff Lemon, who will take you through the evening session. We can’t be far off the tea break now. 87 to win for Australia
25th over: Australia 98-4 (Handscomb 16, M Marsh 13)
Ishant Sharma is back to replace Umesh, and I like this a lot. He really set the wheels in motion with his fiery spell earlier, but right as I type that Handscomb lathers him through cover for a boundary to reduce the target to two figures. He’s also nudging the singles when they’re on offer. Equally as good is a four Mitch Marsh punches through mid-on, with a perfectly straight bat. That means Australia have reached the half-way point in this chase, and it gets even better when Marsh angles another boundary through the cordon. Super shot.
22 runs off the last two overs from Umesh and Ishant. This match is now about winning small phases.
24th over: Australia 85-4 (Handscomb 11, M Marsh 5)
Ravindra Jadeja has 0-3 from six overs at this point, and I reckon Kohli should keep him on a while longer while he’s applying such suffocating pressure. The temptation, of course, will be to bring back Ashwin, who bowls a higher number of wicket balls.
23rd over: Australia 84-4 (Handscomb 10, M Marsh 5)
Yadav gets another over and why the hell not, because he’s heauled his side back into the contest and every time you think his threat is disspipating he takes a wicket. Having said that, Peter Handscomb has just deposited him to the fence at deep point with a quite magnificent square drive and Mitch Marsh drives confidently to get four too. With six wickets in hand, Australia need 104 runs to win.
Exciting Test cricket is the most sickening of all the excitements. #INDvsAUS
22nd over: Australia 75-4 (Handscomb 5, M Marsh 1)
Maiden from Jadeja. He’s absolutely bloody loving this. So am I. Who wouldn’t?
SH*!......
Height was the issue in the end. It was clipping the top of off stump, but it went back to the umpire’s call.
They’re not dead keen on it, and it wasn’t given, but Jadeja is being Jadeja so it’s reviewed. Brilliant.
21st over: Australia 75-4 (Handscomb 5, M Marsh 1)
Holy moly there will be some stink about this Smith thing. Yadav has finished another superb over now, but replays show that Kohli was enraged by Smith’s attempt to seek assistance from the stands. We’ve barely had time to notice that Mitch Marsh is at the crease and off the mark. Gird up your loins, Australia. This could get very ugly. Kohli is winding his arms around and whipping the crowd into a frenzy. It’s all gone a bit UFC. I think I need a double shot of something luridly coloured and petrol-tasting.
Chaos in Bangalore! Steve Smith had been trapped dead in front by Yadav but in the process of asking Handscomb whether he should review it, he also seems to be seeking guidance from the change room, which is a no-no. Nigel Llong strides at him like a traffic warden who has noticed someone parked across two spots, and Virat Kohli is also incensed. Either way, the Australian skipper walks off the ground.
20th over: Australia 71-3 (Smith 28, P Handscomb 2)
I’ve just realised how this pans out, dear readers: Ravindra Jadeja takes 7-20 and Mitchell Marsh gets out without playing a shot, having frozen on the spot pondering an unintelligible passage of Matthew Hayden’s commentary. Just a maiden for Jadeja here. He’ll swing the wrecking ball through any minute, I’m sure.
19th over: Australia 71-3 (Smith 28, Handscomb 2)
The other person who’d better get Australia home in this game is Steve Smith; it did indeed seem to be the Australian captain who talked Shaun Marsh out of reviewing that dismissal. The problem with that is that Smith was practically standing at mid-off as the ball struck his partner, and the bowler was coming around the wicket. Smith was about the least qualified person in the ground to make a call on that one. In further bad news for Australia, Handscomb now cops one in the bread basket from Umesh. By his reaction it didn’t tickle. “I have no fingernails left,” says reader James Lane. “Is it too early to start drinking Indian rum?” Not at all.
18th over: Australia 71-3 (Smith 28, Handscomb 2)
I wouldn’t say this will be the making of Peter Handscomb, because he’ll certainly cut the mustard regardless, but what wonders it might do for his confidence if he can channel his powers of playing spin here and get Australia home. He’s been solid enough in this series without going on with it. Here he faces Ravi Jadeja, who is wearing sunglasses from the props department of Point Break.
17th over: Australia 70-3 (Smith 28, Handscomb 1)
The pressure of this contest is almost unbearable now, not that you would know it from the way Steve Smith shuffles across in front of his stumps to Yadav’s shooters. He gets an underside edge on one here, which is lucky because he would have been LBW otherwise. Some are coming through at little more than ankle height, others popping up. Australia need 118 to win this Test. What else would you rather be doing?
16th over: Australia 68-3 (Smith 27, Handscomb 0)
Jadeja is back into the attack now to replace Ashwin but I’ll be honest, all the drama in this over has been focused on replays of Marsh’s dismissal. If they’d reviewed it he would have survived! Perhaps they were fooled by how much it jagged in off the pitch, but there was daylight between the ball and off stump when it was put through ball-tracker. Deary me.
15th over: Australia 67-3 (Smith 26, Handscomb 0)
He was taken off so Jadeja could send down a speculative over of spin, but Umesh Yadav has come up trumps in his second over.
Oh my word! Shaun Marsh has left and in-ducker from the returning Umesh Yadav and been trapped in front. The umpire’s finger goes straight up and after a moment of consultation with his skipper he makes the long walk back to the pavilion. Australia are in trouble here. Worse: replays reveal it was both hitting him outside the line of off stump and also just missing the stumps by a matter of inches. Good grief.
14th over: Australia 65-2 (Smith 25, S Marsh 8)
Ouch. Ashwin drops short and wide, and Smith doesn’t miss the opportunity to cash in by cutting it to the ropes. Marsh is content to push singles, and it’s sound judgement early in his innings. As they stop for drinks, Australia have eight wickets in hand and require a further 123 runs to clinch a memorable victory.
13th over: Australia 59-2 (Smith 20, S Marsh 7)
Virat Kohli saw enough of Umesh Yadav in that one over, and I don’t entirely blame him. There are not many runs to play with, so Ravindra Jadeja appears and produces a maiden first up. Funny that.
Much politicking throughout the summer to arrive at the Marsh-Wade axis at 6 and 7. Could the stakes be any higher for them than today?
12th over: Australia 59-2 (Smith 20, S Marsh 7)
“Nine an over for 15 overs would be nice,” says Matthew Hayden, outright barracking for a minute. Sunil Gavaskar finally gets his revenge, pointing out that such an equation would still leave the tourists 15 runs short. Sunnyboy indeed. Back in the middle, Marsh faces up to the marauding Ashwin and makes an absolute mockery of the game situation, caressing a cover drive to the fence like he’s playing in the backyard. He cops a lot of stick, Marsh, but his sheer talent is surely unquestioned. Australia need 129 to win from here.
11th over: Australia 53-2 (Smith 19, S Marsh 2)
Umesh is indeed the man who comes into the attack, and has no luck to start with as a thick outside edge from Steve Smith passes through the left hand of a diving Virat Kohli at seconds slip. What would have been good: a first slip. What else would be good: if this is all over today so our nerves aren’t shredded any further. Nine off the over for Australia.
10th over: Australia 44-2 (Smith 11, S Marsh 1)
Australia, meet your saviour: erm, Shaun Marsh. Let’s be honest, he played a gem of an innings to get 66 earlier in this game, but there is also the fact he had more lives than every single cat to have appeared in a Matthew Hayden idiom.
And so it begins: Warner is gone! He was attempting to sweep Ashwin there, and it got a little out of reach. Umpire Richard Illingworth had no hestitation and with ball-tracker showing it would have hit off stump, the third umpire stays with the original call. Warner falls one short of the blazing 18 I predicted of him, but confirms every other suspicion I had. This match is on a knife edge.
Warner does not look confident here, which is a very bad sign for Australia. Smith appeared to overrule, probably figuring his partner is a man who can win this game in 45 minutes of decent batting. We shall soon see.
9th over: Australia 42-1 (Warner 17, Smith 10)
Kohli does indeed grant Ishant one more over, but he’s a diminished force as it wears on. It’s very hard yakka to bowl long spells in this heat. Australia might have seen off the residual danger, though Yadav has a knack for taking early wickets. Whether he gets a go before or after first-innings spin hero Ravindra Jadeja is the question from here.
8th over: Australia 40-1 (Warner 16, Smith 9)
Bang! Warner hits a big six off Ashwin, nailing it over long on for a maximum. Risky, but it’s paid off. One thing I do love about Matthew Hayden is the way he refers to Sunil Gavaskar, scorer of 10,000 Test runs, as “Sunnyboy”. If you don’t speak Australian, that is a sugary ice block in a cardboard box. He also says this is a game of cat and mouse where there can be only one top tog. He’s wandered off to the zoo again.
7th over: Australia 31-1 (Warner 10, Smith 7)
Ishant keeps charging in with the firm belief that he’s the second coming of Dennis Lillee, which is an admirable character trait in conditions like the ones he’s normally bowling in. Warner runs a single through gully and gets off strike again, leaving his skipper to feel his way in a little further. Will Ishant get another over? I’d be tempted to allow him one more, but Umesh Yadav is probably warming up right now.
6th over: Australia 29-1 (Warner 9, Smith 6)
Cometh the hour, cometh the David Warner reverse sweep. What a madman. Anybody else would go into their shell right now, but he’s dancing about the crease doing a one-man recreation of Torvill and Dean’s bolero. They didn’t even have a Gray-Nicolls Kaboom to whack stuff with either, the jokers. A single gets him off strike, which is for the best on a number of levels; he can’t self-immolate when he’s down the other end, and Smith batters Ashwin for four through mid-wicket and then two through cover. Is anyone else’s face really hot? This game is giving me a fever.
5th over: Australia 22-1 (Warner 8, Smith 0)
Steve Smith is at the crease now, and he’s the subject of a very optimistic LBW shout from Ishant first up. That one hit the Australian skipper closer to his hip than his knee. His troubles aren’t over though; Ishant thunders one down and hits one of those crater-like cracks in the pitch, so the ball snakes away from Smith’s outside edge and almost ends him. It ends up a wicket-maiden for Ishant, who bowls like a demon throughout.
Ishant strikes! There was a prolonged delay as technicians tried to get Spidercam away from Matt Renshaw, and then something even nastier approached him: Ishant Sharma with an off-cutter. The left-hander fences unconvincingly and feathers an edge through to the keeper Saha. India have the breakthrough!
4th over: Australia 22-0 (Warner 8, Renshaw 5)
Calm down, Davey. Warner goes after Ashwin now, failing to heed the lesson learned by Renshaw two overs ago and attempting to flog it to cow corner against the spin. Not wise. Next ball Ashwin sends a textbook off-break fizzing past his outside edge. Superb bowling. Warner looks a rube in the face of such brilliance.
3rd over: Australia 18-0 (Warner 8, Renshaw 5)
Ishant comes around the wicket now when he’s bowling to Warner, and I’m not sure it’s by his own free will because a conversation with Kohli preceded the new approach. Warner still profits, working two through mid wicket before gently pushing one down to long on for three. Of note: this might be the last time he bats with that humongous Gray Nicolls ‘Kaboom’ bat, because it’s about to be banned. Ishant, meanwhile, has a spirited LBW shout against Renshaw but I think he knows it hit the pad outside the line of off stump, so there is no review. Australia now need 170 to win.
2nd over: Australia 13-0 (Warner 3, Renshaw 5)
Four more valuable runs to Australia here as Ravi Ashwin is favoured to open the bowling with some spin, and Warner pads him to the fence at fine leg. Australia will take them any way they can get them today. Warner gets a quick single too, and has started with typically manic intent. Renshaw gets a leading edge attempting to hit against the spin through mid-wicket, but picks up a single, then there is another to Warner. With minimal fuss, Australia are 13 from two overs.
1st over: Australia 6-0 (Warner 1, Renshaw 5)
Aaaaand we’re back in Bangalore, with Ishant Sharma bounding in to David Warner. “I’ve just found out during the break that 17 of his 18 hundreds have come in either Australia or South Africa,” says Michael Clarke. He’s talking about Warner, of course, but the note of incredulity is what’s so brilliant about the statement. He genuinely can’t believe it.
Damien Martyn might be the only person not watching this game of cricket
Remember when it was revealed that Martyn was among the 47 people followed by Donald Trump? Good times.
Which do you use the most? #snapchat#Instagram#SocialMedia#story
Australia need 188 to win. Their highest successful chase in India was 194 at the same ground in 1998, when Mark Taylor made 102* #INDvAUS
So we can breathe. India started the day at 214-4, and Pujara looked perfectly comfortable in adding 24 more runs before Rahane was trapped in front by Starc, triggering a monumental collapse. India lost 5-20 from 19 balls at one stage, and 6-36 all up to squander a chance to put this game beyond doubt. Now? Australia have a sniff. Even a chase as small as this will be very tough work, and they’ll have the 40-minute lunch break to think about it.
WICKET! Ishant c S Marsh b O’Keefe - 6
Ishant goes, holing out to Marsh at cover after a determined little knock. And with that wicket, Australia will chase 188 for the win.
97th over: India 274-9 (Saha 20, Ishant 6) - India lead by 187
Saha is a brick wall at the moment, and rather showing up some of his team-mates. He’s batting a good half-metre out of his crease to Hazlewood and that is no mean feat. Right as I say that he offers a chance but Warner’s dive is unsuccessful at mid-off. But there is a throw at the stumps and it hits. It’s reviewed, but Ishant survives.
96th over: India 274-9 (Saha 20, Ishant 6) - India lead by 187
Says Matthew Hayden as Steve O’Keefe replaces Nathan Lyon and his blistered finger: “He may as well go home because that’s not going anywhere, that injury... It’s time to move on I think.” Blimey. I’d hate to be a patient of Dr Hayden. ‘Look, I’ve seen a bit of a graze on your knee there...Sorry, but there is nothing we can do. You might be a goner within days. Take care of your financial affairs and say your goodbyes.’
95th over: India 273-9 (Saha 19, Ishant 6) - India lead by 186
Josh Hazlewood’s analysis was 6-66 at the start of this over, and it’s been ominous stuff for India. He took three of them yesterday, and has ripped the heart out of India’s second innings with a startling spell today. But...this is turning into a pesky partnership. It’s worth 15 very handy runs now.
Oof, a fair portion of the ball was clipping the leg stump but not enough to reverse Llong’s call.
He also might not have. Nigel Llong doesn’t like it, and he’s usually pretty sharp.
94th over: India 272-9 (Saha 18, Ishant 6) - India lead by 185
Nathan Lyon has a blister on his finger, apparently. His spinning finger. He hasn’t been playing the guitar at the team hotel or anything. Right now it appears to be troubling him, and that means he’s not troubling the batsmen. Ishant, meanwhile, is looking very solid. “He’s showing a lot more responsibility than the batsmen who preceded him,” notes Sunny Gavaskar, adopting the tone of a peeved headmaster. He’s not angry, he’s just disappointed.
93rd over: India 269-9 (Saha 16, Ishant 5) - India lead by 182
Hmm, with Hazlewood reappearing now in a change of ends, Saha goes back to refusing singles. From the fourth delivery of the over Saha decides to finally take one, and Ishant repays his faith by surviving the final two balls of the over. Things have calmed a little now after the stump-flying mayhem of the 30 minutes prior to this partnership.
92nd over: India 268-9 (Saha 15, Ishant 5) - India lead by 181
Bang! Ishant responds to the arrival of Lyon by dropping to one knee and proposing a sweep. It works, and the ball tumbles away to the fence. Then he gets off strike, and looks like a proper batsman all of sudden. He wants the strike now, and Saha allows it. Lyon has an LBW shout near the end of the over but decides against a review; it clearly hit the pad well outside the line of off stump. A significant understatement: another 20 runs would be very handy for India.
91st over: India 262-9 (Saha 14, Ishant 0) - India lead by 175
Of interest as Mitchell Starc stars the 91st over is that lunch is due in thirty-five minutes, and Wriddhiman Saha continues to refuse singles early in the over. He saw enough from Ishant in the last over to know he’s a liability. Starc bounds around the wicket and delivers from very wide on the crease, but the angle isn’t troubling Saha too badly. The penultimate delivery brings a stifled LBW shout, but only Steve Smith and the bowler are interested. Eventually Saha clubs an inside-out drive to the fence at long-off, and Smith shakes his head as though he’s never been so disgusted in his life. Nathan Lyon will come back to bowl the next over.
90th over: India 258-9 (Saha 10, Ishant 0) - India lead by 171
A Josh Hazlewood over without a wicket counts as a win for India at the moment, though again it’s a maiden, so they’re only delaying the inevitable. Ishant faces this one, and he’s hopping around like a cat on a hot tin roof to counter the Australian’s bouncers. A very tall cat. Hazlewood engages in some lovely pantomime at the end of the over, shaking his head and ruing his inefficiency for only bowling six dot balls.
89th over: India 258-9 (Saha 10, Ishant 0) - India lead by 171
Poor Mitchell Starc has produced a beautiful spell today but doesn’t have the wickets to show for it. Saha takes the responsibility of handling him in this over, and as that happens I’m just seeing a few more replays of Hazlewood’s Ambrose-to-Blewett style dismissal of Ravi Ashwin. It shot through at ankle height before breaking the stump at its base. Brilliant. Not so much for Ashwin, I guess.
88th over: India 258-9 (Saha 10, Ishant 0) - India lead by 171
India have just lost 5-20 in 19 deliveries of brainless batting, and Australia will be daring to believe they’ll win this Test match and with it the Border-Gavaskar trophy. Quite remarkable, really. Brian Withington has a question: “Heard any more about the art of captaincy from Sankaran Krishna (over 82) I wonder?” Ouch.
I am between 85 and 90 percent convinced this match is ending in a tie. It’s the only outcome that makes sense at this stage. #INDvAUS
Holy smokes, that is a terrible shot from Yadav! Hazlewood had considered a review when he thought he might have trapped the tailender in front, but didn’t. It mattered not a ball later when Yadav lost his mind and slogged one straight to Warner at wide mid off. Virat Kohli will have steam coming out his ears. Dreadful, but what a session for Australia and Hazlewood. He has six wickets!
87th over: India 258-8 (Saha 10, Yadav 1)
Umesh Yadav reaches the crease now, though I can imagine he faced a scramble not to be timed out. India have lost four wickets for eight runs for him to be required. Not long ago they lead by 150 with six wickets in hand. Now Australia can knock them off with another two poles. Saha senses the urgent need for more runs, and clubs a rather artless boundary through mid-on from the bowling of Starc. Saha is also turning down runs so as to keep Umesh off strike, which is probably wise.
Now Ashwin goes in a moment of madness! This is a bit absurd now. Ashwin was the new man at the crease for India, and though he’d immediately unleashed a beautiful square drive through the vacant point region to pick up four, Hazlewood attacks his stumps with the next ball and it keeps low to splatter them. Hazlewood has five wickets! Even better, as he was running in to bowl the delivery in question, having already taken a wicket in the over, Matthew Hayden said the following: “Josh Hazlewood’s job here is containment.”
Now Pujara goes! Hooley dooley this game is going mad. He’d just turned a boundary down to fine leg to move into the 90s, but then, having never been dismissed so close to a hundred, he wafts at a short one outside off and guides a catch to Mitchell Marsh at gully. India are collapsing exactly as Australia did in their first innings. Madness.
85th over: India 238-6 (Pujara 88, Saha 0)
What an over from Starc. Two wickets and two runs were the result, and the course of the game has altered just a little. India lead by 151 but Australia will fancy keeping their target under 200.
But only just. Holy moly what a ball. It was full and fast and swinging in, and the Indian keeper gets an inside edge into his pad. Time for the dark underpants, I would think.
Starc strikes again! This time he castles the new man Karun Nair, who made 303* in his last Test but gets an in-swinging snorter first up here – castled for a golden duck. Starc is producing a gem of a spell.
Starc gets the breakthrough! It was a superb knock by Rahane, but the new ball has done the trick for Australia. Starc was full, straight, and swinging it in just slightly, and the batsman got only a small stride in before it cannoned into his front pad. It’s hit him dead in front. Gorn!
It looks pretty good to me.
84th over: India 235-4 (Pujara 88, Rahane 51)
Big swing, no ding. Pujara unfurls a very optimistic cover drive when Hazlewood pushes one well wide of off stump, but it’s a fresh-air shot for the batsman. Reader Raymond Reardon has sent me an email about the churlishness of Australians, but it is too churlish to be approved by our lawyers. I’ll have to file it with all the ones I received after writing about Todd Carney’s “bubbling” affair. Maiden for Hazlewood. Good areas and all that.
83rd over: India 235-4 (Pujara 88, Rahane 51)
Starc bounds in and unleashes a Harmisonesque sideways wide, which almost takes out Steve Smith at first slip. “I’d like to see some toes and nose stuff,” says Matthew Hayden. Not at your team-mates though, surely. Starc is bowling very quick indeed; 150kmph first up, then 143, 149, 151, 148 and 152. Steve O’Keefe has a ping at the stumps when Pujara sprints through for a quick single to finish the over, and it was a fiery one from Starc.
82nd over: India 232-4 (Pujara 87, Rahane 51)
No surprises now as Josh Hazlewood pairs with Starc, ambling in on the hunt for more wickets to go with the three beauties he took yesterday. As that happens, reader Sankaran Krishna has some thoughts on Steve Smith’s captaincy, which I will post in the interests of balance: “Lyon and O’Keefe were causing the batsmen all sorts of problems. But the minute the second new ball became available Smith didnt hesitate at all – took it. Gotta love how uncomplicated the Aussies keep the game.” Shots fired!
81st over: India 232-4 (Pujara 87, Rahane 51)
In fact Steve Smith does take the first opportunity to unleash Mitchell Starc with the second new ball, and in these sorts of situations it normally takes the giant speedster an over or so to warm up. Right on cue, a loosener is lathered through cover by Rahane and with that he’s reached 50 from 128 deliveries of patient, game-turning batting.
80th over: India 224-4 (Pujara 84, Rahane 46)
Rahane skips down the track again and batters Lyon out to long-on, but there’s a man posted out on that boundary so it’s a lot of energy expended for a single. Lyon’s approach to Pujara is from a regulation angle over the wicket, and he might soon be tempted to use the bowling crease a little more and come wider. Pujara’s defences, which looked leaky in the early stages of his innings, are suddenly watertight.
79th over: India 223-4 (Pujara 84, Rahane 45)
The new ball is due soon, but might not be taken the way Lyon is bowling. Owing to that, both batsmen are doing their best to pick up singles from O’Keefe. There’s one each for them in this over. Tension building.
78th over: India 221-4 (Pujara 83, Rahane 44)
Lyon continues to Rahane, and you get the sense he’s getting close to a wicket here. He tosses one up to tempt Rahane forward and the batsmen nearly drowns in honey, flapping away at it but fluffing an attempt to put it back in row Z. He’s quite lucky it doesn’t slip through to Matthew Wade behind the stumps. There is a nice bit of rough for Lyon to bowl into here, and that is the secondary reason the batsmen are getting forward at every opportunity; they need to negate the prospect of the ball shooting low or doing something completely unpredictable. A lot of people whinged about this Test, but you can’t argue with the quality of the cricket it’s produced. Enthralling.
77th over: India 221-4 (Pujara 83, Rahane 44)
Twenty minutes ago Sunny Gavaskar was telling us that it was spinning slowly, now Michael Clarke says it’s spinning fast. Either way, batting is a very tricky business with the Australian spinners bowling with accuracy and plenty of pressure from the close-in fieldsmen. A single to Rahane is the only damage in this over, a very good one by Steve O’Keefe.
76th over: India 220-4 (Pujara 83, Rahane 43)
The Australians were utterly convinced that was out, but Richard Illingworth has had a bit of a shocker there. It was spinning well past leg stump, though Pujara was well back and pinned to the crease. He survives the rest of the over as Lyon continues to work him over.
Pujara survives! It was missing leg and he knew it, the Indian No3. He lives to fight another day but Nathan Lyon is in the mood here.
Pujara has reviewed it, and it did spin a mile so I think that’s fair enough.
75th over: India 220-4 (Pujara 83, Rahane 43)
As Pujara and Rahane bring up a superb 100-run partnership, the Australians can’t decide betwen SOK-a, SOK-y and SOK-o as Steve O’Keefe’s nickname. More on that as it’s at hand.
It clearly bounced. As you were.
Nigel Llong gave it out, short leg Peter Handscomb wasn’t sure if it carried, so we’re going upstairs
74th over: India 218-4 (Pujara 82, Rahane 42)
Rahane backs away and has a good look around the ground before facing up to Lyon, but I’m not sure an outside edge was his plan first up. Fortunately for him it doesn’t carry to Steve Smith. Lyon has a leg slip, a short leg, but no silly point and no cover, so they’re encouraging Rahane to drive. The cover comes back for Pujara. There is a big shout from Wade for LBW, but Lyon is too honest to go along with it. It struck Pujara’s front pad a decent distance outside the line of off stump.
73rd over: India 215-4 (Pujara 80, Rahane 41)
Steve O’Keefe has the ball to start with and that’s because the new one isn’t due for eight overs. Pujara turns him around the corner for a single first up and by the sounds of things, there are thousands of singing kids in the stands. Or just 50 very loud ones. There is not much spin from O’Keefe, though that’s not really his bag. It’s keeping just a touch low, which very much is his bag. A solid start from him, and Nathan Lyon will bowl from the other end.
As the players trot out, here’s our first reader email of the day
And it’s from OBO chum Robert McLiam Wilson. “Confident prediction has always been nature’s way of telling you that you are an arsebiscuit,” he starts. “As all those who relaxed about Trump before the election (and who are still similarly relaxing about Marine Le Pen) will testify. Notwithstanding, I’m not sure I have ever seen a game which so so categorically uncallable. Anything could happen. India could get 350. Or not. Lyon could get nine [editor’s note: this would be brilliant, as there are only six left to take]. Or not. It’s richly unpredictable. So, I’m making my call. Something will happen today that produces a wave of disobliging remarks about the umpires and then Jimmy Neesham will tweet something funny about it. There.”
Matthew Wade’s keeping
...is bound to be a topic of conversation when this series is done in dusted, perhaps less so if Australia pull off a miracle series win. But this little video highlights a recurring issue in the way Wade rises too far too quickly, falls off balance and has his foot flying off into the air. Don Tallon would be turning in his grave.
Fifteen minutes until the first ball of a massive day four at M Chinnaswamy Stadium #INDvAUSpic.twitter.com/SjOiShho6V
More on the pitch, whose cracks are really starting to open up
Here it is in terms of what the batsmen need to do: “It really is going to be a test of how quick you make the adjustment – how quick you get down when the ball keeps low,” says Sunil Gavaskar. He reckons it’s slowed a bit now, so it’s easier to make said adjustments. Good news for Australia? Maybe, but also perhaps for Pujara and Rahane. I refuse to believe it’ll be much fun to bat on by late tonight.
This is already my favourite day of the Test. I can’t wait. #INDvAUS
The Virat Kohli controversy is still bubbling away
Ryan Harris adds to it now by saying that the Indian captain’s decision to wave his bat about as he left the field – indicating he thought he’d hit the ball before it had struck his pad – amounts to dissent. Whether it is pursued by the match referee accordingly, we will wait and see.
Here's the pitch #INDvAUSpic.twitter.com/jGF2KtsaTu
Steve Smith is out in the middle now
And he’s got a bat in his hands, eyeing off the pitch and making a mental plan for what’s ahead. His side need to take six wickets first, mind you. Nathan Lyon snared eight in the first innings and hasn’t got one yet in the second. Related to all this: the new ball is due in eight overs, which works reasonably well for Australia. The bowlers will get a feel for things before the call is made and the batsmen may have to reset with its arrival.
Preamble
Hello all and welcome to day four of the second Test between Australia and India in Bangalore, in which we’ve seen three of the more compelling days of cricket you could ever hope for. As per the first Test in Pune, India looked down and out heading into day three, but a combination of Ravindra Jadeja’s mercurial bowling, and the contrastingly brilliant batting of Lokesh Rahul, Che Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane has India 126 runs ahead.
Russell will be here shortly. In the meantime, read how Virat Kohli has succeeded in ruffling a few Australian feathers so far this Test series:
Related: Former Australia cricketer Ian Healy 'losing respect' for Virat Kohli
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