Guwahati: India will have their work cut out for them on day two of the third Test at Indore because of their poor batting display in the first innings, which allowed Australia to take a lead of 47 runs.
India who chose to bat first was bowled out for just 109 runs. In the face of Australian spinners, Indian hitters were powerless. On a pitch with a lot of turn for spinners, Nathan Lyon (3/35) and spin veteran Matthew Kuhnemann (5/16) both recorded their best stats in their careers.
Only Virat Kohli (22) and Shubman Gill (21) crossed the 20-run mark for India in their first innings while other batters struggled to score. Skipper Rohit Sharma (12), Ravindra Jadeja (4), Ravichandran Ashwin (5), who had delivered with the bat so far in the series, flopped this time around. Axar Patel (12*) was the sole survivor of Aussie spin onslaught left wanting for more support.
Ravindra Jadeja got things going in Australia’s first innings by removing opener Travis Head for just nine runs, bringing the visitors down to 12/1. While the loss of this first wicket gave Australia some optimism, Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne responded with a crucial 96-run stand for the second wicket that gave Australia the advantage.
With some early wickets in the fourth session, Jadeja (4/63) assisted India in staging a little comeback, but Australia had already claimed the lead. At the conclusion of the day’s play, Khawaja (60), Labuschagne (31) and acting skipper Steve Smith (26) helped Australia reach 156/4. For the guests, Peter Handscomb (7*) and Cameron Green (6*) maintained their perfect records.
India will need to make sure that the lead is kept to a minimal and that the Australian squad doesn’t spend too much time at the wicket on the second day of play.
“We have to get them out,” batting coach Vikram Rathour said at a press conference.
Rathour said it was just an off day for the team as a batting unit and pitch offered a more sharper turn due to moisture.
“The wicket was definitely challenging. It turned way more than we expected and the turn was sharper due to moisture. We definitely could have scored more, but I do not think we played poorly or rashly. It was just an off-day for us as a batting unit,” he said.
The coach said the turn became less sharp as the day progressed.
“Credit to Australia for the way they bowled, they bowled in good areas,” he added.
The batting coach said that the side prefers to bat on turning tracks since “it is their strength.”
“We prefer playing in turning tracks, it is our strength. This is a one-off wicket. The two wickets in earlier Tests were not bad, we preferred them. Today, it was drier than expected. Perhaps, curators did not get time to prepare the wicket as the shift of venue of the match from Dharamshala to here was announced late,” said Rathour.
With the ICC World Test Championship final spot confirmed with a win, India will have to rely on their spin trio of Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar to outfox the Aussies and Indian batters to roar back after a setback and conquer the turning tracks.
Brief Scores: India: 109 in 33.2 overs (Virat Kohli 22, Shubman Gill 21, Matthew Kuhnemann 5/16) trail Australia: 156/4 in 54 overs (Usman Khawaja 60, Marnus Labuschagne 31, Ravindra Jadeja 4/63).