Why did I choose end of Day 3 to put down my thoughts on the 2nd test match between India and Australia? I believe this Bengaluru test is on a knife's edge right now and all four results are distinctly possible. It has been a seesaw battle, with both teams claiming equal honours. What better time then to take stock of whatever led to this situation, and also have fun speculating all that could happen over the next couple of days!
India won the toss and elected to bat on a pitch that most experts described as a batting beauty, one on which 450+ was a par first innings total. It turned out to be anything but! Nathan Lyon, employing massive overspin and thereby extracting disconcerting bounce, troubled all Indian batsmen and returned with figures of 8-50. In the process of Lyon recording the best ever figures by a visiting bowler in India, the world's no. 1 team was bundled out for 189. Except for the local boys (Rahul, who cracked a solid 90, and Karun Nair briefly), none of the Indian batsmen seemed to have a plan to tackle Lyon. By stumps on Day 1, Australia had moved on to a solid-looking 40-0, with the Indian bowlers looking much less penetrative than their Aussie counterparts.
Day 2 started with India fully aware of how one more ordinary day could wipe out their chances of regaining the Border-Gavaskar trophy. They were playing with four bowlers (dropping Jayant Yadav and bringing in an extra batsman in Karun Nair), and couldn't afford a bad day from any of them. However, what transpired over the next 90 overs was arguably India's best all-round bowling performance of the entire season. Both Ishant and Umesh troubled the Aussie batsmen, bowling a very tight line and giving nothing away. So much so, that Virat Kohli didn't employ spin from both ends for a very long time and in the process, underbowled Jadeja. This despite the fact that Jadeja picked up the most number of wickets. Ashwin tried multiple angles, changed sides, got Warner with jaffa, kept the runs down but couldn't manage any more wickets. The Aussies were precise with their game plans, demonstrating admirable patience and temperament to keep India at bay, and scrapping for 197 runs in those 90 overs to end Day 2 at a fairly comfortable 237-6. This translated into a healthy lead of 48 runs. To put it succinctly, India fought hard but couldn't quite wrest the initiative from the Aussies. However, their efforts were enough to prevent the Aussies from running away with the game.
Day 3 then was a day that could have decided the course of the match. Instead, we saw a seesaw battle between bat and ball, with the pendulum swinging this way and that, before settling on to the aforementioned knife-edge equilibrium. First, Starc got Australia off to a promising start and at 269-6, India were staring at a 125+ kind of a lead. A lead that substantial, on a slow and low pitch like this would've meant curtains for India. Instead, Jadeja first took a splendid catch at the mid-wicket boundary when Starc was looking to slog sweep Ashwin, and then cleaned up the tail for the addition of only 7 more runs. He finished up with 6 wickets despite bowling the least number of overs. Australia finished with a lead of 87 runs - made possible by handy contributions from the ever-consistent Renshaw, the normally-inconsistent Shaun Marsh and Mathew Wade. Restricting the Australian lead to less than 100 seemed to infuse fresh energy into the Indian batting, as the openers came out with a very positive intent. Rahul played fluently for his 2nd half-century of the match but when he, Kohli and Jadeja (who was promoted up the order) fell within a space of 36 runs, India were ahead by only 33 runs (effectively 33-4). Once again, Australia were in the driver's seat and, given recent evidence, may have even harbored hopes of chasing less than 100 in the final innings. However, what followed was a superb rear-guard action by Pujara and Rahane. They stitched together a yet-to-be-broken partnership of 93 runs, the highest on either side during this series. Pujara has played magnificently and his unbeaten knock of 79 has brought India right back into this match.
Going into Day 4, India is ahead by 126 runs with 6 wickets in hand. However, they will be wary of the threat posed by the Aussie bowlers, who've been very immaculate with their control and tactics throughout this series. As has been the norm in this series, the lower order wickets tend to fall in clusters and, except for Mitch Starc, none of the other lower order batsmen from either side have survived for long-intervals. Hence, Aussies would be hoping for a couple of early wickets on day 4 and that could given them a shot at the Indian tail. Like Ishant and Umesh earlier, Josh Hazlewood opting for tighter line, slightly shorter length and seam-bowling instead of swing, has looked the most dangerous. On the other hand, India would be quietly confident of their chances given Pujara and Rahane are going strong and Karun Nair is still in the hut. They'll also be hoping for some meaningful contributions from Saha and Ashwin.
The pitch seems to have gotten better for batting and hence, India would need to set a target of 250+. Anything under that and Australia, with the explosive-and-due-for-a-big-score-Warner in their ranks, will be the favorites. Also, some thunderstorms are expected for the next couple of days. This then opens up all four possible outcomes - yes, given the slow nature of the pitch and how India has closed the gap on the Aussies, even a tie can't be ruled out. Or, more excitingly, Australia fighting for a draw while praying for the rain - who would've thought, even 24 hours ago!
What has transpired till now?
India won the toss and elected to bat on a pitch that most experts described as a batting beauty, one on which 450+ was a par first innings total. It turned out to be anything but! Nathan Lyon, employing massive overspin and thereby extracting disconcerting bounce, troubled all Indian batsmen and returned with figures of 8-50. In the process of Lyon recording the best ever figures by a visiting bowler in India, the world's no. 1 team was bundled out for 189. Except for the local boys (Rahul, who cracked a solid 90, and Karun Nair briefly), none of the Indian batsmen seemed to have a plan to tackle Lyon. By stumps on Day 1, Australia had moved on to a solid-looking 40-0, with the Indian bowlers looking much less penetrative than their Aussie counterparts.
Day 2 started with India fully aware of how one more ordinary day could wipe out their chances of regaining the Border-Gavaskar trophy. They were playing with four bowlers (dropping Jayant Yadav and bringing in an extra batsman in Karun Nair), and couldn't afford a bad day from any of them. However, what transpired over the next 90 overs was arguably India's best all-round bowling performance of the entire season. Both Ishant and Umesh troubled the Aussie batsmen, bowling a very tight line and giving nothing away. So much so, that Virat Kohli didn't employ spin from both ends for a very long time and in the process, underbowled Jadeja. This despite the fact that Jadeja picked up the most number of wickets. Ashwin tried multiple angles, changed sides, got Warner with jaffa, kept the runs down but couldn't manage any more wickets. The Aussies were precise with their game plans, demonstrating admirable patience and temperament to keep India at bay, and scrapping for 197 runs in those 90 overs to end Day 2 at a fairly comfortable 237-6. This translated into a healthy lead of 48 runs. To put it succinctly, India fought hard but couldn't quite wrest the initiative from the Aussies. However, their efforts were enough to prevent the Aussies from running away with the game.
Day 3 then was a day that could have decided the course of the match. Instead, we saw a seesaw battle between bat and ball, with the pendulum swinging this way and that, before settling on to the aforementioned knife-edge equilibrium. First, Starc got Australia off to a promising start and at 269-6, India were staring at a 125+ kind of a lead. A lead that substantial, on a slow and low pitch like this would've meant curtains for India. Instead, Jadeja first took a splendid catch at the mid-wicket boundary when Starc was looking to slog sweep Ashwin, and then cleaned up the tail for the addition of only 7 more runs. He finished up with 6 wickets despite bowling the least number of overs. Australia finished with a lead of 87 runs - made possible by handy contributions from the ever-consistent Renshaw, the normally-inconsistent Shaun Marsh and Mathew Wade. Restricting the Australian lead to less than 100 seemed to infuse fresh energy into the Indian batting, as the openers came out with a very positive intent. Rahul played fluently for his 2nd half-century of the match but when he, Kohli and Jadeja (who was promoted up the order) fell within a space of 36 runs, India were ahead by only 33 runs (effectively 33-4). Once again, Australia were in the driver's seat and, given recent evidence, may have even harbored hopes of chasing less than 100 in the final innings. However, what followed was a superb rear-guard action by Pujara and Rahane. They stitched together a yet-to-be-broken partnership of 93 runs, the highest on either side during this series. Pujara has played magnificently and his unbeaten knock of 79 has brought India right back into this match.
What to expect on Day 4 and (possibly) Day 5?
Going into Day 4, India is ahead by 126 runs with 6 wickets in hand. However, they will be wary of the threat posed by the Aussie bowlers, who've been very immaculate with their control and tactics throughout this series. As has been the norm in this series, the lower order wickets tend to fall in clusters and, except for Mitch Starc, none of the other lower order batsmen from either side have survived for long-intervals. Hence, Aussies would be hoping for a couple of early wickets on day 4 and that could given them a shot at the Indian tail. Like Ishant and Umesh earlier, Josh Hazlewood opting for tighter line, slightly shorter length and seam-bowling instead of swing, has looked the most dangerous. On the other hand, India would be quietly confident of their chances given Pujara and Rahane are going strong and Karun Nair is still in the hut. They'll also be hoping for some meaningful contributions from Saha and Ashwin.
The pitch seems to have gotten better for batting and hence, India would need to set a target of 250+. Anything under that and Australia, with the explosive-and-due-for-a-big-score-Warner in their ranks, will be the favorites. Also, some thunderstorms are expected for the next couple of days. This then opens up all four possible outcomes - yes, given the slow nature of the pitch and how India has closed the gap on the Aussies, even a tie can't be ruled out. Or, more excitingly, Australia fighting for a draw while praying for the rain - who would've thought, even 24 hours ago!
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