- Updates from the opening day of the Test match series
- Any thoughts? Email or tweet @collinsadam
And on that note, I’ll say goodnight too. Thanks for your company on an absorbing day to start the series. Losing three wickets in the final hour, India threw away the chance to drive home the advanage they had built up with Kohli and Rahane, the moment the captain was run out by his deputy without doubt the moment of the night. It really is set up perfectly for day two. Geoff will be back with you then. Bye!
Hazlewood speaks. Honours even, he thinks. They’re very happy with their bowling effort, getting some miles in the legs, as he puts it, on the first day of the summer. He talks through his lovely delivery to trap Vihari leg before. Notes that it was tough to get swing early due to the wind but made up for it later. He has an ice bath a meal and a massage waiting. A job well done, Josh.
89th over: India 233-6 (Saha 9, Ashwin 15) Saha has Hazlewood to deal with. Defending, leaving, defending. That’s half the job done. Now driving! Most elegantly! That’s one of the shots of the session, a beautiful square drive for four. On the up and everything, delightful stuff. Two to go. Leaves on length; good batting. Last one... three slips and a gully. They wait, Hazlewood takes his times. On his way to the crease and he leaves once again outside off. That’s stumps.
88th over: India 229-6 (Saha 5, Ashwin 15) Ashwin hooks deep towards fine leg and just evades Hazlewood! It’s four; nearly six! Gosh, imagine the response if he’s caught at fine leg with a few minutes before stumps? Ashwin does really well to delay and delay before the final ball of the over in an attempt to make this the last delivery of the night as well but Australia are up to the task, racing through with about 20 seconds to spare. There will be one more overbefore the close of play.
87th over: India 223-6 (Saha 5, Ashwin 11) Hazlewood has been swung around to follow Starc and it’s a busy over, Ashwin taking one around the corner then Saha doing likewise, then three down the ground and a couple behind point. Nothing overly pretty about it - nor the overstep from Hazelwood, detected by the TV umpire - but India get what they need: through another one without further loss.
86th over: India 215-6 (Saha 2, Ashwin 7) Cummins gets a chance now with the new ball - understandable given how accurate he has been today, and his knack of picking up a wicket late in the day. Not this time though, well handled by Ashwin. So much experience between these two veterans. Ten minutes to go.
85th over: India 212-6 (Saha 2, Ashwin 4) Blimey, I’m not sure if Ashwin should be hooking Starc at this stage of the night but there we have it - he survives. Four overs until the close, by my maths. These two have to cling on for India.
84th over: India 207-6 (Saha 0, Ashwin 1) Ashwin is off the mark first ball to mid-off, so it’s back to Saha. Oh, he’s so close too - nearly through the gate, albeit via an inside edge. The end of another successful over in this final session.
Controversial I know, but I think India should have the option of walking off now @collinsadam. Australia have manipulated the over rate to get this half hour (all sides would do it to be fair) but it's a big reward for what is actually a breach of the guidelines.
This day has slipped away from India! No need to review that - it’s hitting middle. Hazlewood rewarded for a fine day of toil, hitting his mark throughout.
83rd over: India 202-5 (Vihari 12, Saha 0) I understand why they were excited about taking another look at the Starc shout at Vihari, but it was a very ambitious attempt at best, missing leg by some margin. Saha looks solid so far. That’s all he needs to be. Of course, has a big Test ton against Australia, one I won’t forget in a hurry. At the Rancho Relaxo in 2017, just when the visitors were opening the Test up, he and Puraja batted for about eight hours. A long day at the radio box, that one. A longer day for Steve O’Keefe, who had to send down 70 overs. Ouch.
82nd over: India 201-5 (Vihari 12, Saha 0) Hazlewood’s turn, wicketless but fantastic throughout the day so far. Vihari is squared up nicely early in the over but responds with a well-timed flick, running away for four. This reminds me a little bit of the partnership between Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb on the first night of the 2017 Ashes Test. They got to stumps in tough conditions and Marsh cashed in the next day. For India, they need something similar here.
Run out the captain, then burn a review on the outest-out ever.
Not a great 15 mins for Rahane, there.#AUSvIND
81st over: India 196-5 (Vihari 4, Saha 0) Saha has a couple of balls to see off to get through the successful over and does so, defending both; aimed right at his pegs. Starc only bowled 16 overs from the first 80 with precisely this final stanza in mind. With 34 minutes left between now and the close, anything is now possible.
GONE! The review confirms Rahane to be absolutely plumb.
Now two new batsmen at the crease against a new ball under lights...#AUSvINDpic.twitter.com/syTITISSzw
Oh yes, that’s very out! Beating the inside edge, hitting leg stump halfway up. It’s taken Mitch Starc just four deliveries with the second new ball to make another impression. Fantastic fast bowling from the Australia’s pink-ball whiz.
HAS STARC PINNED RAHANE LBW? The umprie says YES, the Indian vice-captain is walking off... and then decides to review at the last moment. Upstairs we go!
80th over: India 193-4 (Rahane 42, Vihari 4) This isn’t anything like Brett Lee’s debut 20 years ago, but when considering we’re yet to see this young man bat, he is leaving an impression like that of the blonde bombshell on 27/12/1999. Melbourne. With his final over of the night, there’s shape and carry and he’s sharp. Exciting.
79th over: India 192-4 (Rahane 42, Vihari 3) Two overs until the new ball is due with Starc, which promises to be eventful with Rahane surely struggling with the realisation of what he’s done to Kohli. Not to mention the new man Vihari, trying to get into the groove after 9pm local time. He’s off the mark with a stylish drive here off Lyon though, through cover from the middle off his bat.
78th over: India 188-4 (Rahane 41, Vihari 0) That raised hand from Rahane, how that will be played over and over and over again. One of the great barbeques. Kohli throws his gloves as he crosses the line. Green’s turn to go again, getting a pop at the new man Vihari. Five minutes ago, this was trending India’s way. Now, with that one moment, Australia have a chance to get very busy over the next 50 minutes. Ohhh, and he beats the bat! That’s not far away. Lovely pace and carry.
WOW. HUGE mix up and Virat Kohli is stranded! #AUSvINDpic.twitter.com/3xbuopKuvG
And a wicket they get! The biggest in the game. What a mess! Rahane pushed to extra cover and said yes, Kohli was coming, Rahane said no, run out by metres!
77th over: India 188-4 (Rahane 41)
76th over: India 185-3 (Kohli 72, Rahane 40) Ajinkya Rahane! Hook Pat Cummins for SIX why don’t you! Outstanding counterattacking cricket from the No5, moving into the 40s. He’s served his skipper so well either side of tea, keeping the board ticking over throughout. After a fantastic first session, Australia are under just a little bit of pressure with 14 overs to go before the close. They need one here.
75th over: India 178-3 (Kohli 72, Rahane 34) Oh Virat, that is a sumptuous off-drive - you get four for those. “Shot of the day,” says Simon Katich on SEN. Yup. It’s the time of the day when commentary discussions turn to the chance that Australia had to get rid of the Indian captain. In case you missed it, he gloved a ball to short leg but Paine decided not to review the on-field decision. Eeek.
74th over: India 171-3 (Kohli 67, Rahane 32) Back from their drink, it’s Cummins to go again. That’s fine with Rahane, who gives himself time to play as late as possible, opening the blade to steer four down to third man. Nothing wrong with the ball but some measured risk from the India vice-captain. To square leg next, a single on offer there. This day is perfectly balanced with 65 minutes to go.
73rd over: India 166-3 (Kohli 67, Rahane 27) Rahane is still looking to tick the board over, going at a better clip than Kohli in recent times, driving neatly through cover for a couple then cutting Lyon behind point. Good angles. That’s drinks.
“Morning Adam.” Hello, Luke Richardson. “Listening on BBC Sounds app and love that we can tune into Adelaide (albeit cooler than in my imagination) from a damp UK.” You can also pick up the call I’m on in the UK, via SEN, all series from tomorrow on. Indeed, I can hear the other members of my Hotel Quarantine floor leaving their rooms as I type. We leave at 4am for the airport - praise be! Freedom!
72nd over: India 163-3 (Kohli 67, Rahane 24) Cummins oversteps twice in a row to start his new over. To be very clear, if you haven’t been watching on today, the front line is now the job of the TV umpire - at last! And the job is being done nicely. This is the first time Australia have played a Test with the new playing condition; it shouldn’t be long before they adjust. Rahane deflects three down to third man later in the over. Actually, watching the replay, that’s an edge. But safe all the same.
71st over: India 157-3 (Kohli 66, Rahane 21) NG Lyon is back to replace Starc, a shift to put in before the second new ball. I’ve been at most of these pink-ball Tests and it is fascinating the extent to which the second new ball dictates behaviour in the night session. But he’ll want to do more than hold an end up, through Rahane with a beauty - that bounce! - two byes. Some controversy to end the over, Rahane taking a couple more behind point, but umpire Bruce Oxenford has pinged them one short run for Kohli’s turn. Watching the replay back, his bat was easily over the line! What’s going on there? He’s not having a good first day, that’s for sure.
70th over: India 154-3 (Kohli 66, Rahane 20) Another maiden form Hazlewood, this time keeping Kohli quiet with some handy shape away from the right-hander.
Interesting take here from Gary Naylor, which makes a fair bit of sense. Given there is no real penalty for over rates at the moment (oh, sorry, nominal fines, that’ll do it) this might be exactly what they’re angling for with the over rate here.
Hi @collinsadam. I reckon the best split for the new ball is about five overs tonight (with tired bowlers) and a shiny new cherry first up tomorrow. In other words, fielding captains get a reward for 85 overs in the day and not 90.
The sanction for slow over rates need to bite.
69th over: India 154-3 (Kohli 66, Rahane 20) Rahane is ticking over over nicely here, stroking two through the covers - no risk with that shot. Oh wait, disregard, he’s just has a slash at a wide one and missed. Not far away from that edge.
68th over: India 152-3 (Kohli 66, Rahane 18) Hello, a Josh Hazlewood slower one! We see him bowl that knuckle ball in one-day cricket quite often but rarely in the long form. It beats the blade comfortably after taking off from the seam, prompting a smile from the Indian skipper. He doesn’t miss when the short ball follows, slamming a second pull shot to the boundary in the space of two overs. Shot.
Hazlewood bringing out the knuckleball, the absolute flirt
67th over: India 148-3 (Kohli 62, Rahane 18) There’s the Kohli pull shot, which we haven’t seen since the over where Starc took a chunk out of his right thumb during the middle session. Fantastic technique. But the big quick has a win of his own later in the set, finding a big inside edge that balloons in the air but not to hand.
I’m not listening to the Seven call at the moment but evidently there was a bit of a disagreement between Ricky Ponting and Pete Lalor about Joe Burns’ selection, the former captain supporting his retention. There’ll be plenty of that between now and when the Queenslander walks out to bat at some stage tomorrow.
NOT OUT! Rahane has made it with the dive. Head had the presence of mind to flick underarm rather than picking up the ball to stand up. That’s what they practice day after day, those direct hit throws.
66th over: India 141-3 (Kohli 55, Rahane 18) Earlier in the over, there was a shout for leg before but Hazlewood’s delivery clipped plenty of inside edge before crashing into Kohli’s pad. Plenty of action as day becomes night at Adelaide.
IS RAHANE RUN OUT? We’re going upstairs; brilliant from Travis Head.
65th over: India 140-3 (Kohli 54, Rahane 18) Nice punch from Rahane off the back foot, timing it crisply past point down to the rope. Lyon has put in a brilliant diving effort though - has he kept that in? I reckon he might have. Yep, after multiple TV replays, that is the decision of the third umpire - three runs, not four. Kohli defends then watches then plays with soft hands into the off side, taking a quick single to retain the strike. Shots of the Adelaide members enclosure, which would usually be heeeeaving at this time of night. Not quite so this year in order to maintain social distancing, but it still looks like a nice place to spend an hour.
64th over: India 136-3 (Kohli 53, Rahane 15) Hazlewood joins Starc back into the attack. So, Lyon to get a brief break as the lights really start to take over. Of course, he’s bang on the money to Kohli from the get-go. That’s five maidens from his 13. He and Cummins, especially, are just so accurate and difficult to score off.
63rd over: India 136-3 (Kohli 53, Rahane 15) Righto, Starc is back. It’ll be interesting how Paine manages these 18 overs until the second new ball - a short burst from his pink-ball stud here, then back to Hazlewood? He’s only bowled 13 now for the day, so no concerns about his workload. Good wheels, lovely carry. That Adelaide sky is about to get very colourful - can’t wait. A real drawcard for this Test.
62nd over: India 133-3 (Kohli 52, Rahane 14) Rahane is watchful then expansive, getting down low to take advantage of the big gap behind square for Lyon, sweeping the spinner expertly down to the rope for four. Fine batting, this.
61st over: India 128-3 (Kohli 51, Rahane 10) Not the most convincing stroke from the inside edge past short leg, but it is enough for Kohli to bring up his half-century. Far from his fluent best, taking 123 balls to get to this mark, but what a fantastic record he has at this ground. Rahane also gets a single from Cummins early in the over, his behind square. Kohli defends then ducks. There’s another no-ball called by the TV umpire, which is great to see - at last, a solution to that problem. Kohli finishes with one more, eased into the off side this time.
60th over: India 124-3 (Kohli 49, Rahane 9) Kohli goes at Lyon but doesn’t quite get to the pitch, his outside edge trickling away for three. “Intriguing,” says Gerard Whateley, summing this contest up in a word, as he does so well. The good oil from those at the ground is that we’re about 20 minutes away from the witching hour, where anything can (and often does) happen in these pink ball Tests. But as we noted at the previous interval, they might not get the full ten overs with the second new ball before the close based on the current over rate. Over to Paine.
59th over: India 119-3 (Kohli 46, Rahane 7) Cummins to Rahane, the pressure building nicely again after the busy over against Lyon. A sharp bouncer to complete the maiden, Cummins’ 7th so far. 13-7-13-1 - tasty numbers.
58th over: India 119-3 (Kohli 46, Rahane 7) Shot. That’s a confidence-booster for Rahane, on the front dog and stroking Lyon against the spin through the gap at extra cover, running away for four. Lyon drags it back a foot or two, giving the vice-captain the chance to score again, cutting one to cover point. Kohli’s turn and he repeats the dose from earlier in the over, getting to the pitch and driving carefully through cover, timed well enough to beat the diving Green on the rope. Classssss.
Shot of the day. #jinks#coverdrive
57th over: India 109-3 (Kohli 41, Rahane 2) Pat Cummins, welcome back to the bowling crease. The way he set Agarwal up earlier today was just glorious. Nothing especially flashy about the process, landing it in a shoebox ala Curtly Ambrose, but when the inducker came the opener was left wanting and lost his middle stump. Kohli has accumulated well either side of the break, all in singles, another here behind square. Rahane, who will take the arm-band from his skipper next week in Melbourne, defends the rest watchfully. Here is that set-up I mentioned:
This is gorgeous. #AUSvINDpic.twitter.com/RDrrkN824e
56th over: India 108-3 (Kohli 40, Rahane 2) Nathan “Garry” Lyon, how will they ever explain this nickname to the generations of kids who will look him up in the Wisden Almanack in 50 years time? ‘Oh, a bloke who played footy for Melbourne shared a last name with him, and that was that.’ Advance Australia Fair. I can hear Marnus under the lid talking about, I think, Secret Santa? There’s a silly point in place when Rahane is on strike but he isn’t in the action here. Tidy re-start for all.
The players are back on the field. I’m moving from TV to radio for this session, picking up the SEN commentary that I’ll be on myself tomorrow once I get out of quarantine in Perth and over to Adelaide first thing. Nathan Lyon will continue, with Kohli on strike. Three men around the bat, no silly point. PLAY!
Great point here from the Wutube. Day-night Tests are all about maths.
Slow going for India’s batsmen, over rate on the slow side as well. It’s in Australia’s interests to speed up. The quicker they bowl the next 25 overs, the more overs they’ll get with the second new ball under lights. #AUSvIND
Quick plug? Alright, I will. Each evening of the series, Geoff and I are recording an episode of our podcast, The Final Word. When we popped these out in the 2019 English summer, people seemed to like them more than our usual efforts. So, with that glowing anecdotal recommedation in mind, please do join us later tonight!
“Evening, Adam.” G’day, Digvijay Yadav.“Slightly off-piste question today. What’s the Chemistry like between Ponting and Gavaskar on 7? I know Punter was quite gracious on social media and the interaction that they had on zoom but from what I recall they had a prolonged spat in the late noughties.”
That was my recollection as well, around SCG 2007? But as you say, they have been sharing in a lot of social media love. Time the great healer between greats.
“Hi Adam.” Hello, Nigel Smith. “Just woken to a bright Bristol sky to find there is Test Match cricket in the world! Flattery apart I thought your preamble was excellent, “days and day and night and nights of cricket”. You have set me up for the day.” Thank you on behalf of Geoff, who wrote that earlier. But great to have you with us, always nice when England wakes up during an Australian Test.
“Is it too early to conclude that Cameron Green is an amalgam of the best of Lillee and Bradman and will inevitably go down as the greatest of all time?” asks The Clinton. This is definitely the right question to be asking on the available evidence. It might be that he’s Miller and Pucovski is Bradman. Pass it on.
Pat Cummins is talking to TV at the break. I’m not sure there’s much value in this, shouldn’t they let him pop his feet up for the full 20 minutes? Anyway, the main takeaway is that he believes Nath Lyon is pretty good at cricket. And he’s right!
55th over: India 107-3 (Kohli 39, Rahane 2) Marnus Labuschagne is thrown the ball - not a bad shout. But Kohli doesn’t take the bait when he gets a long hop to begin, pulling a single rather than trying to pop it in the stands. Rahane does likewise, then Kohli once more. One ball until the break... defended well. Fantastic cricket across those two hours with 66 runs added, losing Pujara to Lyon along the way.
54th over: India 104-3 (Kohli 37, Rahane 1) Possibly the final over before tea? Kohli plays as though it will be, not taking anything for granted against Lyon. He keeps the strike with a single out past point. Oh, and they have snuck it in - one to come.
53rd over: India 103-3 (Kohli 36, Rahane 1) Green isn’t giving Rahane a sniff here. What a joy for Tim Paine: suddenly he has a legitimate four-pronged seam attack.
“I have been following OBO since 2005 when my friend Jon Walgate (used to be 100% British, but now divides his citizenship between the UK and Canada), introduced me to OBO,” writes Som Bandyopadhyay. “At that time both of us were in Calgary, sitting in the same office, and wondering why England teams were so pathetic (that’s before the Ashes I reckon). Needless to say, the other fellows took no interest, but we didn’t give a damn either. And in those days, we mostly watched cricket through OBO, though sometimes we resorted to live-streaming on our laptops, the quality of which was, well, just like the England team. In all these years, I have found only Andy Bull published my emails. So I am grateful to him. And if you also want to be at the receiving end of my gratitude, please do the same.” Look, I’m a sucker for gratitude. Thanks for your loyal readership.
52nd over: India 103-3 (Kohli 36, Rahane 1) Kohli plays with soft hands, bisecting the two catchers in close on the legside for a single. Rahane’s turn, trying to get off the mark, and he does with the final delivery of the set with a little prod from the outside portion of his bat, down to third man. On telly, they are now comparing Cam Green to Keith Miller in a sign that summer, my friends, has truly arrived.
One for the Joe Denly Ultras (guilty as charged) on Pujara getting to 100+ balls but failing to raise his bat. Chris Jones on twitter brought this to my attention.
51st over: India 101-3 (Kohli 35, Rahane 0) A show of faith from Paine that Green continues when the temptation would be to bring Cummins back ahead of the break. In fairness, Green is doing a great job with his short ball - “as hostile as anyone used today,” according to Damien Fleming on telly. Not wrong.
“Hi Adam.” Hi, Ian Forth. “On TV, Shane Warne has just commented “Too late, she cried”. Being a humble expat in this fine land, I assumed this was another example of a locally understood phrase such as “London to a brick on”. But looking it up, all I could glean was that the full version is “Too late, she cried, as she waved her wooden leg”, which merely adds to my confusion. Was wondering if readers could shed any light on its origin or indeed meaning.”
50th over: India 100-3 (Kohli 34, Rahane 0) Right, so the Indian leadership axis comes together with quarter of an hour until the interval previously known as dinner. With the long break now coming first, in a change to earlier day-night arrangements, 20 minutes at this time of night is more a cocktail break. I think that originally a Mike Selvey line during the inaugural day-night Test in England. Also, that’s the tenth time in Tests that Lyon has picked up Cheteshwar Pujura.
Yep, there’s plenty of inside edge on that before ballooning up off the pad flap, taken nicely by Labuschagne at leg slip diving forward. What a relief that will be for Paine and his men after what Pujara was able to do two years ago. Superb from Lyon, not just with the wicket-taking delivery but throughout his spell. Earned it.
HAS LYON GOT PUJARA AROUND THE CORNER? It looks straightforward, he’s leaving the field, but given NOT OUT! The Australians review straight away.
49th over: India 98-2 (Pujara 41, Kohli 34) There’s Green’s first bumper, and it’s right on the money, Pujara swaying out of the ,ine. The relentlessly patient No3 through takes the chance to rotate the strike off his hip when the time comes. He faced in excess of 1200 deliveries in the 2018-19 series - already up to 156 today.
Cameron Green looks like he’s bowling in the third net and it’s 141km. Looking forward to his back working.
48th over: India 97-2 (Pujara 40, Kohli 34) Pujara is the man to push back at Australia here, not Kohli. Fine batting, deep in the crease to cut Lyon for four then leaping down the track at the next offering - a calculated risk that he would be fuller after the boundary - flicking him for another. And Lyon bounces back to finish, a jumping delivery finding the shoulder of the bat, ever so close to landing in the diving right hand of Travis Head. Four men around the bat, all in the game.
47th over: India 88-2 (Pujara 31, Kohli 34) This would be the first time that Green is bowling in red-ball cricket with a TV umpire scrutising his front foot every time he hits the crease, which accounts for the two no-balls he’s been called for so far. This is, of course, the first time that the third official has been in charge of the front line ball-to-ball rather than when a wicket has been taken. A great development. Oooh, and he finds Kohli’s edge too, through about third or fourth slip - catchable height. Australia’s cricket fans are swooning as one watching this spell, make no mistake.
46th over: India 83-2 (Pujara 31, Kohli 30)“Bowled, Gaz” roars Tim Paine in appreciation at the end of another over where the Indian skipper is denied the opportunity to assert himself. Of course, a spinner’s main job comes later in a Test Match, but Lyon has always been a fine operator when bowling on day one.
45th over: India 81-2 (Pujara 30, Kohli 29) Wow, Green is back on and immediately htting the radar at over 140kph. Deceptively sharp from a fairly chilled approach to the crease - what a handful he is going to be from his 200cm frame. He misses his line to Kohli though, who clips a couple away to backward square.
Green is 10kph quicker than he looked to be when bowling during the tour games. What a handful. #AUSvIND
44th over: India 79-2 (Pujara 30, Kohli 27) Good batting from Pujara, onto the front foot and pushing to cover, getting a couple. More bounce later, kicked away after dancing at Lyon. He’s now faced 145 deliveries from India’s innings of 264 so far.
43rd over: India 77-2 (Pujara 28, Kohli 27) Ouch! Starc smacks one into Kohli’s glove. That’s hurt him - there’s blood. Had there been a short leg, he would have been in play there, but he’s not long been removed for the seamers. They’re taping up the Indian captain’s bottom hand, he will continue. He’s tough. Now there’s a man back in there at bad pad. And sure enough, when the short ball comes again to finish, Kohli pulls into the gap for four. Absorbing Test Match cricket.
42nd over: India 73-2 (Pujara 28, Kohli 23) Did I just hear Simon Katich refer to Kohli as a “puffed up party boy” when he first played against him ten years ago? One of the many reasons why he’s the best expert summariser in Australia, be it on telly or radio, is that is never worried about saying precisely what he thinks. Never fear, Indian fans, he went on to say many lovely things about the man he coaches in the IPL for the RCB - there’s a lot of love there. In the middle, the men around the bat are enthusiastic in their appeal with Lyon gets one to pop at Pujara, landing at silly point, but it is turned down by Umpire Oxenford and Paine doesn’t review.
41st over: India 72-2 (Pujara 28, Kohli 22) Starc to Kohli, who gets off strike with a push to point to start this third hour. The left-armer is round the wicket to Pujara with catchers around the bat on both sides of the wicket but the Indian No3 knows the drill here, playing with soft hands on the line of the body and leaving well alone when Starc gives him some width outside the off stump. A handy nut to finish, moving off the seam away to the cordon, but it’s kept out safely.
Thanks, Geoff. What a fantastic hour of push and pull; an hour for the purists and all that. 30 runs added for the visitors with the hosts going ever so close to removing Kohli at bad pad... if only Tim Paine sent it upstairs. Looking forward to your company. Drop me a line any time, or ping me a tweet if that’s your style.
40th over: India 71-2 (Pujara 28, Kohli 21) Another maiden, but an eventful one, as Lyon teases Pujara a few times and has him bobbing up another edge, into body, that Wade nearly takes diving across the pitch from short leg. Lyon is looking a handful.
Peter Salmon emails. “I note that Cameron Green is the 459th Australian test cricketer. The 459th English cricketer was Mike Hendrick, who is now 72 years old having debuted in 1974. I don’t know what to make of that.”
39th over: India 71-2 (Pujara 28, Kohli 21) A maiden from Starc to Kohli, who came halfway down for a single and got sent back after tapping it to cover.
“This is a rather exceptional Adelaide wicket for a day-nighter. I was expecting some greens. But, this looks like one of those pitches Indians may have an advantage on.”
38th over: India 71-2 (Pujara 28, Kohli 21) Some good ground fielding from the Australians. With Lyon bowling, Pujara twice looks to flick through the leg-side. Twice he’s prevented by some hustling, some diving, some bobbing up and throwing. That’s another Pujara maiden. The sun is getting stronger and the grandstand shadows from the west are about a third of the way across the ground.
Pujara will have his sights set on a hundred now. Some time around the tea break on day 4 he should be entering the nervous 90’s.
37th over: India 71-2 (Pujara 28, Kohli 21) Starc comes back to bowl, and with Starc there’s always the chance he can err. Not by much: he bowls left-arm over at Kohli, a length ball, but it’s just a touch too straight and that lets Kohli play that straight-bat whip off his pads that he plays so well. Into the midwicket gap for four. That’s the only score from the over though; a similar shot to follow from Kohli finds the fielder instead.
36th over: India 67-2 (Pujara 28, Kohli 17) Lyon probes away like a conscientious proctologist. Paine is interested in the spectre of a nick from a ball that strays down leg side, but Kohli didn’t hit it and Paine decides as much. Then the keeper bangs the bails off with a sidehand whack, sending them spinning and flashing their lights to square leg, but Kohli’s foot was earthbound. The batsman finishes the over with that wristy slap he plays across the line of the ball, sending it to a deep-set mid-on for a single.
35th over: India 66-2 (Pujara 28, Kohli 16) Cummins to bowl his 11th. Pujara ducks the bouncer, then bails out again due to some supposed movement in the crowd. There’s a sightscreen about 40 metres wide in front of the dig trees, so he must have the eyes of a Boxing Day Sales shopper. Lyon is giving Cummins lots of assistance from cover, shining the ball for him, chatting with him on the way back.
“Homer, have you been putting your head in the Shine-O Ball-O again?”
34th over: India 64-2 (Pujara 26, Kohli 16) With the vultures around the carcass, Kohli decides that he has to take on Lyon. No point just defending with lots of catchers round the bat. Down the track comes Kohli and lifts four over mid-on! The most attacking shot we’ve seen today by a distance.
33rd over: India 60-2 (Pujara 26, Kohli 12) Cummins persists with the short leg and a leg gully to Pujara, who again plays a ball off his hip not far from that short leg. He’s had some luck there. I make that... seven maidens to have been faced out by Pujara today.
Deepak Rao writes in: “I’m old enough to remember my first year of cricket watching in Australia in 1978-79 as a 10 year old when England were 2/30 after the first two hours at Perth... then David Gower came in and scored a dreamy ton and England won easily!”
32nd over: India 60-2 (Pujara 26, Kohli 12) It’s time for Nathan Lyon! On 390 Test wickets, Australia’s most prolific finger-spinner enters the fray. That metronome arm-swing across his body on the approach, the bald pate gleaming in the light, the high arm. His first ball is short, and cut by The Pooje for a couple of runs. His third ball has flight, snap, and turns to hit the pad, then the bat-face, and pop up just wide of silly point! He discards his sweater at this point, having warmed up. Two bat-pad catchers plus a slip. The fifth ball is overpitched and Pujara drives three through the covers. Kohli blocks the last.
31st over: India 55-2 (Pujara 21, Kohli 12) Cummins bowling, and twice Kohli squeezes him away for a brace with a straight bat, once through square leg and once through point. Nowwww it will be time for spin.
30th over: India 51-2 (Pujara 21, Kohli 8) Mark this: the first over where this India pair looked confident rotating the strike. Twice Pujara drops Hazlewood into gaps and takes a single, either side of Kohli pulling without much force for a run. Whether that affects Hazlewood’s concentration I don’t know, but his last ball is down leg side and Kohli helps India to three leg byes by getting a deflection from his pad. At long last India raise 50.
29th over: India 45-2 (Pujara 17, Kohli 7) Cummins in, and he’s not afraid to keep going to the short ball! Zips another one past Pujara’s nose as the batsman leans back, then rails one in at Kohli’s ribs that the batsman fends away off glove and bat handle through a vacant leg slip for a couple of runs.
28th over: India 42-2 (Pujara 18, Kohli 5) Still no spin today. Pujara takes a single to the leg side. Positively flying along now. Hazlewood to Kohli has three slips, gully, point, mid-off, mid-on, short leg, and almost a deep backward square. Kohli almost beats mid-on with an on-drive, but Cummins gets across and stops it.
They’ve survived a long time but they do need to get the score going as well. If a couple of wickets fall here then India will be in a mess.
27th over: India 41-2 (Pujara 17, Kohli 5) Cummins to Kohli, and there’s another near thing at short leg. A forward push, a looping edge that drops short. They’ve kept that catcher in for most of the day. I think it’s Wade under the lid now. Most of the players have their jumpers on, including both batsmen, as it dips below 20 degrees as we tick towards 17:30 in Adelaide.
26th over: India 41-2 (Pujara 17, Kohli 5) We resume after the break, with Pujara on strike, and you won’t believe this but... it’s a maiden. Hazlewood the bowler.
Timely for Scott Probst to write in, “I think Pujara is worthy of that line from Sunshine of Your Love: ‘He’ll be with us till the seas are dried up.’” So he will, playing an immaculate forward defence.
A classic battling first session. Australia’s quicks have been good. Very good. The big three did most of the work between them, Green a couple of overs at the end. They’ve tied India down, but India’s batsmen have kept a lot of good balls out. Honours even for now.
25th over: India 41-2 (Pujara 17, Kohli 5) Green with the last over before stumps, and he gets up into the 140s for pace. Kohli takes a couple of runs flicking off his toes, and aside from that is happy to play out the over. That’s... dinner? Lunch? Supper? It’s only just gone 4 o’clock.
24th over: India 39-2 (Pujara 17, Kohli 2) Hazlewood has done a power of work today, into his ninth over. Kohli has had some problems with Hazlewood recently, but handles him well in this over, eventually taking a single, and instead it’s Pujara who is beaten by another lifter pinging past the edge.
23rd over: India 38-2 (Pujara 17, Kohli 2) No more selling the dummy, because here comes Cameron Green. Have to say, his extreme close-up of his profile photo on the big screen does him the disservice of making him appear like a chubby teenager, when he’s instead an enormous 21-year-old. He hits a decent length from the get-go, nothing too fierce in terms of pace but he works his way into the higher 130s as the over wears on. Pujara works away a couple of runs to the leg side, and Green oversteps in one delivery stride, but that’s it from the over.
22nd over: India 35-2 (Pujara 15, Kohli 2) Zing, goes Hazlewood past the outside edge of Pujara. A beauty that steeples from a length and straightens away from the bat. So nearly a nick. Pujara has been on 14 since the planetary orbits were set, since the first galaxies cohered out of cat hairballs and cosmic dust.
Pujara went to 14 from his 45th delivery, so that makes it 30 deliveries since he has scored. To 31, as he pushed to point. To 32 as he defends to the bowler. To 33, 34... then there’s a run! He pushes a single to point. Watch out, IVA Richards.
21st over: India 34-2 (Pujara 14, Kohli 2) Short leg in place for Kohli, with his very upright stance, his trigger action across his off stump, his fast hands through the ball. He gets such a lifter from Cummins that he has to pull his gloves above his head to avoid risking a touch to the keeper. Stabs another ball past the short leg for two runs. His shirt ruffles in a stiff breeze that has been gusting on and off this afternoon.
“It’s the middle of the night here,” muses Elliott, “and when an Englishman is unable to sleep, his thoughts turn to the inevitable, bowling actions. Is Bumrah’s currently the most fun/idiosyncratic in Test cricket? He’s no Paul Adams, but there aren’t too many pace bowlers with deviant propulsion these days.”
20th over: India 32-2 (Pujara 14, Kohli 0) Pujara has been on 14 since the glaciers were young. Since the first beings crawled from the sea. He gets hit very high on the thigh pad, sawed in half. Gets offered width that he disdains. Gets challenged with a bouncer that he descends beneath. Fourteen, fourteen, now and forever fourteen.
19th over: India 32-2 (Pujara 14, Kohli 0) A wicket from the first ball of Cummins’ over, then India’s captain plays out a maiden. Leaves a few balls, evades a bouncer. Looks pretty calm. When your opener bats through an hour and a half of the first session, they’ve done a reasonable job for you.
That’s the end for the wickets! Cummins goes straight through Mayank with a beauty! Shades of his Joe Root delivery, though this one pitches just outside off stump and decks in, rather than pitching in line and decking away. Agarwal is only trying to defend, but the ball goes straight through the gate and hits the top of middle stump with such force that the bail spins and winks through sunlit air and lands about 40 metres from the stumps, back towards the fine leg boundary. Nathan ‘Nathan’ Lyon has to walk all the way back to field the bail. Agarwal has done some hard graft: has he done enough to set a platform for Virat Kohli coming in next.
18th over: India 32-1 (Agarwal 17, Pujara 14) Starc carries on, having switched to the River End after his first spell came from the Cathedral End. When he nails that yorker it looks like it could knock over anyone. Again Pujara is able to do the required excavation, though he takes his hand from the handle and wrings it afterwards, his fingers reverberating wth the impact.
17th over: India 31-1 (Agarwal 16, Pujara 14) Mind games from Tim Paine. Cameron Green warms up, bowls a practice ball, then Cummins bowls another over. Another maiden, too, but Pujara is able to leave half of the deliveries alone. He’ll do that all day, I’m telling you.
Got an email from John Vegancatering, which I have suspicions is not his real surname, but far be it from someone named Geoff Lemon to judge.
16th over: India 31-1 (Agarwal 16, Pujara 14) Starc in to Agarwal, full, and the batsman was anticipating something short. Off balance, he throws his hands through the line of the ball and slices it over point for four! Streaky but valuable. Then he skews two runs away on the leg side. Pujara meanwhile has been on 14 for most of my life.
15th over: India 25-1 (Agarwal 10, Pujara 14) Here’s Cummins to Pujara. Mixing up his lengths as well. A ball in at the ribs, a fuller one that Pujara checks to cover and tries to head for a run that isn’t on. Gets sent back. Ducks a bouncer. El Che just loves to wait. Never happier than when his bus is delayed. Sitting at a stop in El Paso for four hours, watching dust settle on a cactus. That’s the stuff.
14th over: India 25-1 (Agarwal 10, Pujara 14) Starc gives Agarwal the classic fast bowling mixed bag. Bouncer, full ball, a few in the channel. Agarwal is happy to stay patient at this stage. That’s all he needs to do.
13th over: India 25-1 (Agarwal 10, Pujara 14) Cummins resumes after the refreshments, and carries on doing the same thing. Makes Pujara play at five balls out of six, beating him once. Really at the batsman. Impressive.
12th over: India 25-1 (Agarwal 10, Pujara 14) Hazlewood carries on for the longer of the two opening spells, and Pujara is confident enough to try out his on-drive for the first time today. Picks up three runs. That’s the first hour and the drinks break, and we’ve had 12 overs to this point. Might need a decent Nathan Lyon stint in the second hour.
“I’m certainly going to live to regret this,” predicts Yum, “so I may as well go for broke and say that choosing to bat first will play right into Australia’s hands by giving an under pressure Burns a chance to get the nerves out, while forcing India’s lower order to bat under lights.”
11th over: India 22-1 (Agarwal 10, Pujara 11) Time for Patrick Cummins. He’s sharp, he’s stylish, and he lands the ball on a pin. Makes Pujara play right from the start. Keeps the batsman tied to the spot for the first five balls, then draws in inside edge for a single to close the over.
10th over: India 21-1 (Agarwal 10, Pujara 10) Hazlewood keeps banging away, with a short leg in position, and a point rather than a leg slip for his more conventional style. Agarwal splits point and cover with a strong drive, striding forward and picking up four.
“Good morning Geoff from snowy Piedmont,” writes Finbar Aslow. “Did you know there were porcupines in Italy? Me neither, but I found one under my car yesterday. They are BIG! Apparently it’s the only European country where they‘re relatively common.”
9th over: India 16-1 (Agarwal 6, Pujara 9) Agarwal glaces a single from Starc. Paine has taken out the short leg, so Pujara immediately deflects a ball straight into that gap. Paine brings the short leg back, moving Lyon around to leg gully. And Pujara flicks just wide of him for two! He’s got out that way a few times, has Che. One of his few susceptibilities. But he survives, and picks up three runs from the last ball, driving so softly through mid-off that it stops of its own accord before reaching the rope.
8th over: India 10-1 (Agarwal 5, Pujara 4) This is a brilliant contest. You expect a wicket just about every ball, but the Indian pair is hanging tough. Hazlewood draws an edge from Pujara, high on the bat with extra bounce, but again Pujara playing so late and softly at the ball saves him, the ball bouncing in front of Smith at second slip and then between he and Labuschagne at third for a couple of runs. Later Hazlewood oversteps to add a no-ball to the score.
If you’re wondering, Burns is first slip. Green with his wingspan is pretty much fielding at gully and point at the same time.Wade at cover, Cummins midwicket, Lyon square leg, Head at a leg slip now rather than the short leg, and Starc at fine leg. So many legs. Is this a game for centipedes?
7th over: India 7-1 (Agarwal 5, Pujara 2) Starc to Agarwal who is nearly caught at short leg! They can’t put the debutant Green in there given he’s nine feet tall, so Travis Head has the job. Starc bowls in at the body, Agarwal fends, and the ball dips on its way to Head, and instead ends up at feet. His reflex snatch at it gets a fingertip to it as the ball hits the turf. Starc follows up with his best short ball of the day, a proper bouncer that makes Agarwal limbo out of the line.
6th over: India 7-1 (Agarwal 5, Pujara 2) Hazlewood bowls another maiden, and he tracks the line in slightly tighter this time, making Pujara play at almost everything. Tracking, scanning, like that drone-targeting scene in the most recent series of Westworld. If you know, you know. There’s the surprise short ball from Hazlewood, a real weapon for him given he so seldom uses it, and it hits Pujara on the body. The Pooje is playing like Matthew Wade. What a compliment.
5th over: India 7-1 (Agarwal 5, Pujara 2) A couple of singles. Pace from Starc. Drops one just back of a length and has Agarwal hopping, fending it away with a skewed bat and flying gloves. Pings another down the line outside off stump. The hot-pink Kooka is really sizzling through the air today.
“Is this the new normal? Which is really just the old normal? The evidence is compelling.” This is Neil Titterington’s proposal.
4th over: India 5-1 (Agarwal 4, Pujara 1) Agarwal faces Hazlewood, bat wafting in his backlift, coming down crisply in defence.
Chris from cricket-less Western Australia writes in. “I’m on the bench today at work so to speak, with nothing to do but daydream and click refresh on your live blog whilst telling myself that it counts as ‘personal and professional development’. My main epiphany from this morning’s work is that Matthew Wade somehow knew that he would become a candidate to skate through like Steven Bradbury into the opening role, and took to chesting deliveries from Neil Wagner last summer as an unconventional audition. Looking forward to hearing about the match unfolding from Adam and yourself!”
3rd over: India 2-1 (Agarwal 1, Pujara 1) Starc’s fiery start continues. Nasty bounce at Agarwal, spitting from a length to hit the shoulder of the bat and lob towards gully. On the bounce. Agarwal gets off the mark pushing a run to cover point. Pujara gets a scorching yorker, right on the crease line, but in his calm way seems to have plenty of time to keep it out. Good contest.
2nd over: India 1-1 (Agarwal 0, Pujara 1) Josh Hazlewood from the other end, Australia’s premier new-ball pair. It’s helpful when you can have Cummins bowling first change. JH pins Pujara on the pad first ball! But it’s going high. Decked back into him. After that Hazlewood immediately settles into his fourth-stump line, and Pujara has the discipline to leave and leave and leave. Maiden.
Scott Lowe emails in. “Welcome back Test cricket in Australia, we have missed you. Geoff (and Adam later on), looking forward to spending time with you and the OBO gang. Burns is the key name being discussed, but who has gone under the radar to you? For me, its been Travis Head. Big series for him to cement his spot, and if he plays well he can stop the kind of collapses we have seen from Aus in the past.”
1st over: India 1-1 (Agarwal 0, Pujara 1) Hoo boy. In the 2018 Test here, Pujara was called to the crease after 12 balls. This time he’s in after two. He bails out of his first delivery from Starc, backing away and citing movement from someone passing behind the massive sightscreen. Finally he settles. Faces up. Defends the first. Then edges short of first slip! Starc with that pace gets the nick but it dies, Pujara’s soft hands and a deep set cordon helping to save him. He gets a run from the spill. Agarwal blocks a searing yorker. How’s that for a first over?
Oh my goodness! Make that 43 wickets with the pink ball for Mitchell Starc! The master of that particular art takes only two balls of this match to strike! His first ball, Shaw defends with a poke halfway between front foot and back. His second draws a similar shot, but the left-armer swings it into the right-hander and this time takes an inside edge back onto the stumps. What a start!
The teams line up with the match officials on the field, and there’s a Welcome to Country before the national anthems. Please be upstanding, and all that. (Or not.) We have the songs. They finish. Old mate really gets out the big tonsil guns for the last few notes. People clap. It’s gonna happen.
Remember, India’s win here in 2018 came after batting first. The Aussie bowlers came out breathing fire, took three wickets in quick succession including Kohli, but then Pujara steadied the innings and made one of his finest centuries, getting them to a total that wasn’t imposing but ended up being enough.
Tim Paine says he would have preferred things the other way around. Adelaide isn’t the bat-first certainty that it once was, with the ball likely to move around, but runs on the board still tend to be the best formula in day-night matches.
“Certainly would’ve liked to have batted first but our attack will perform in all conditions. First morning or afternoon as it is here of a Test match there’s always enough in the wicket. If we can challenge them in the right areas, and we’ll back our guys to do that.”
All the speculation, all the arguments, and it comes down to this. Joe Burns after his wretched recent run will open nonetheless with Matthew Wade for Australia, as Cameron Green makes his Test debut at six.
Joe Burns
Matthew Wade
Marnus Labuschagne
Steve Smith
Travis Head
Cameron Green
Tim Paine (c, wk)
Pat Cummins
Mitchell Starc
Nathan Lyon
Josh Hazlewood
Virat Kohli wins the toss and India will bat first!
The Indian captain says: “Looks like a really nice wicket. Nice and hard. And just runs on the board - it’s priceless in Test cricket especially playing away from home or anywhere actually, but more so away from home, to be able to put some pressure on the opposition when they bat.”
We know this one already. Australia’s will come later.
India
Prithvi Shaw
Mayank Agarwal
Cheteshwar Pujara
Virat Kohli
Ajinkya Rahane
Hanuma Vihari
Wriddiman Saha
Ravichandran Ashwin
Umesh Yadav
Mohammed Shami
Jasprit Bumrah
Session times. Play will start at 14:30 Adelaide time, 15:00 Eastern Daylight, 12:00 WA. The first session will be two hours. The first break will be 40 minutes, and called ‘dinner’, even though it’s at 16:30 and it’s only dinner if you’ve been very bad and been sent to bed early.
Break 16:30 to 17:10 local time. Second session 17:10 to 19:10. Tea break, 19:10 to 19:30. Final session, 19:30 to... hahaha, who are we kidding, probably about 1am given the way these guys bowl their overs.
Pink ball power. Mitchell Starc is back from leave as well, and he has the most wickets in day-night Tests, 42 of them. In fact, Australia’s four bowlers are the top four on the wickets list for this format. Because they’ve played more of it than others, but also because they’re good at it. Looks like tough work for India’s batting.
Where is Warner? It is important to note that Little Davey Warner is not here today. Unfortunately, Little managed to blow out his groin in some sort of high-speed groin accident, and cannot take place. He is currently the highest scorer ever in day-night Tests, with slightly shy of 600 runs (more than half of those coming in one hit last year against Pakistan). Steve Smith is next with exactly 500, and he will play.
Drop us a line. This is important! It’s hard to get through a Test match without some people saying hello, reassuring us that we’re not just shouting into a void. My email is in the sidebar, so is my tweetbox. When Adam Collins takes over after lunch, it will change to his email address. See how this works? And yes, it’ll be Adam and I today, together again, inseparable.
I’m not fussed what you write to me about, just tell me what’s on your mind. If it’s civil and relevant, it may be included on this very page. We are establishing a discourse, friends. That terrible terrible word.
In the meantime, if you’d like a preview that’s a bit more crickety than the previous post, here’s one I prepared earlier.
Related: Australia's instability gives India something to target in first Test | Geoff Lemon
You would scarcely credit it, but – it’s Test match time. We have not seen a Test match played on Australian shores since the 6th of January. January 6! We haven’t seen Australia play one anywhere else, either. In this most horribilis of annuses (if you’ll excuse my Latin), everything has sucked with the incredible interstellar power of MegaMaid. And one small part of that suction has been the relative lack of the game that some of us like, the long unfolding hours, the dreamy buzz of somnolent crowds that allows parts of our brains to switch off and drift into the great ether of the shared universal consciousness, only to snap back to focus when some bright point of light draws us to it. Test cricket. Days and days of it. Nights and nights, too. It’s time.
What does that mean, in more specific terms? We’re in Adelaide. Australia will play India. Two years ago the Indians won an excellent match here, one that got closer than it had any right to thanks to some brave batting from Australia’s tail, one that India eventually won thanks to Che Pujara’s brilliance with the blade and a group effort with the ball.
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