- Chandrashekhar Luthra
- Senior Sports Correspondent, for BBC Hindi
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When Travis Head and Marnus Lupasion came out to bat at Delhi’s Kotla stadium on Sunday morning, no one could have guessed what was going to happen in the next hour and a half.
The onus was on these two batsmen to propel the innings as they scored 61 runs in 12 overs. The innings started with this score and rolled to 113 runs in 31.1 overs. Australia’s 9 wickets fell after adding 52 runs from 115 balls.
The weakness of the Australian batsmen against the spinners was once again exposed. Australia’s batsmen are now under huge pressure for the next two Tests of the series, having been outplayed by trying to play sweep shots on low-boundary pitches.
Those who know the Kotla ground have realized on the first two days that the wicket has been very good this time and the ball is getting average bounce. This is the reason why Mohammed Shami proved himself to be the winning bowler of the innings on the first day with four wickets for 60 runs.
Bat Cummins’ teammates were thinking about Shami’s bowling. Because for the first time since 2017, this team fielded a Test with a fast bowler. Australia won the toss and were bowled out for 263 runs. The team averaged 277 runs on the first day during the last five Test matches, which is the lowest first day score at Kotla.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja suffocated the Australian batsmen in the first innings. Ashwin took 3 wickets for 57 runs and Jadeja took 3 wickets for 68 runs.
On the second day the wind is on whose side
At the start of the second day, India continued their innings with a margin of 21 runs without the loss of a wicket. Australia’s concern was what their spinners would do on this wicket.
Any Delhi cricketer can tell you that playing sweep shots on the Kotla pitch is like taking a risk. This is the reason why Indian cricketers showed composure, but Nathan Lyon also played to his full potential.
He started teasing the Indian batsmen with his game plan. He increased the speed of his balls.
He clean bowled Rohit Sharma at 95 kmph. As Lyon took three wickets for four runs, the Kotla stadium was quiet.
Had it not been for the crucial partnership between Axar Patel and R Ashwin, Australia would have taken a huge lead. By the end of the second day’s play, the Australian team had the stronger hand. It took a lead of 62 runs and took nine wickets.
When the third day started, the pressure was on for the Indian team. The reason was that they had to bat in the fourth innings and the Australian team had scored 61 runs for one wicket and led their innings. But the Australian innings collapsed within the first hour of play.
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The Australian team lost 9 wickets and managed to add only 52 runs. Ravichandran Ashwin took three wickets as in the first innings but Ravindra Jadeja took seven wickets with his bowling.
As much as Jadeja’s bowling was responsible for Australia’s woes, so was the performance of the Australian batsmen. In the second innings, Australia lost 6 wickets as they hit a sweep shot.
Reason to stumble on Kotla
While Usman Khawaja used this sweep shot to score good runs in the first innings, Labuschagne did a good sweep in the second innings as well. But no one can predict when this shot will turn dangerous on the Kotla pitch.
Former Delhi wicket-keeper batsman Surinder Khanna said, “The Kotla pitch behaves differently in the morning humidity. Australian batsmen don’t understand this. Jadeja bowls straight and fast. His bowling doesn’t do any miracles. The team reached this stage because the Australian batsmen wanted to play sweep shots.
Jadeja took 7 wickets for 42 runs in 12.1 overs. This was the best bowling performance of his Test career. Earlier in 2016, he took 7 wickets for 48 runs against England.
115 in the fourth innings on the Kotla pitch was not easy. KL Rahul was dismissed by a measly number of runs. After lunch, Rohit Sharma played aggressively. And Lyon also hit a strong six off the ball. But he soon ran out.
Pujara could not score big in his 100th Test, but his fours were the main reason for the team’s victory in this match. He scored an unbeaten 31 off 74 balls.
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Virat Kohli completed 25,000 international runs in his 20s but was stumped for the first time in Tests. Iyer also left after that. But in the end the Indian team won by 6 wickets.
World Test Championship equation
After winning the first two matches of the Test series, the Indian team decided not to lose the series. Team India also strengthened their right to the World Test Championship final, which Australia had already achieved.
After winning two Tests, the question of whether the team can play in the final of the World Test Championship cannot technically be answered with a ‘yes’. If India lose the next two Tests and on the other hand Sri Lanka beat New Zealand 2-0 in New Zealand, Sri Lanka can reach the final.
India, Australia and Sri Lanka are the three teams that can reach the top spot in the championship. If Australia lose all four matches, it could also be in trouble. However, the Indian team is still at the top. If Australia draw a match in the series, the team will advance to the final.
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Two matches left in the series
The selectors retained the same squad for the remaining two matches of the series. The decision was taken in a meeting of four selectors after the resignation of Chetan Sharma. KL Rahul’s place in the team remains despite continuous defeats. It looks like he will get chances until he scores a century.
The third Test of the ongoing series will begin on March 1. Apart from this, the squad for the ODI series has also been announced. Rohit Sharma will not be able to play the first ODI due to family reasons and Hardik Pandya will captain the team in his place.
Left-arm fast bowler Jaidev Unadgad, who was left out of the squad during the Delhi Test, has been included in both the squads. Unadkat played for Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy final against Bengal.
Saurashtra won the Ranji Trophy by nine wickets and Unadkat was named man of the match for his 9 for 129. At the same time, Ravindra Jadeja, who took 17 wickets in the first two Tests, has also returned to the ODI team.
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