Published: Dec 27, 2014, 03:04 PM (IST)
Edited: Dec 27, 2014, 04:26 PM (IST)
India are already 0-2 down against Australia in the four-Test series, and having conceded 530 runs at Melbourne in the first innings, they have a humongous task in front of them. India had a good first day, but they lost all ground on the second day against Australian tailenders. Pramod Ananth looks back at how India have lost the plot on the second and the third days, despite dominating early on in this series.
Australia were bowled out for a mammoth 530 on Day Two of the third Test after being restricted to 259 for five on the opening day. Australia had lost an early wicket of David Warner for a duck, and Chris Rogers and Shane Watson built a 115-run second wicket stand and steadied the innings to a certain extent. India bounced back by picking the wickets of Rogers and Watson in quick succession, reducing Australia to 115 for three. Australia ended the day with the balance evenly poised, with skipper Steven Smith and his deputy Brad Haddin at the crease. India would have surely felt that they have started off well in this game, and they would have taken field on Day Two with lot of confidence.
After getting five wickets on the opening day, India would have been quiet confident of bowling Australia out for around 320-330. Haddin hasn’t been in a great form but he fought hard and got a crucial 55, adding 110 runs with Smith. India did well to break that stubborn stand, but little did they know that they were up against a wagging tail once again. Mitchell Johnson, as India would remember, is no mug with the bat. He made a useful 28, and then it was time for Ryan Harris to showcase his batting prowess. He came in and scored an attacking 74 of 88 balls and Australia inched closer to a score in excess of 500. Smith was batting fluently at the other end, and scored 192, his highest Test score as Australia folded for 530.
India’s inability to dismiss the tail cost them heavily once again, as their lack of creativity in the bowling department was also to blame to a certain extent. They didn’t bowl many full deliveries and kept trying to dismiss the batsmen through short balls, which turned out to be extremely wasteful. Eventually, it was full-length bowling that did the trick. Boundaries came at will for the Australians and Indians by then had started looking completely out of sorts, being knocked out of contests.
Looking back at the first Test at Adelaide, India did not have a great start there. But they ended the Day One on a high after getting three quick wickets. They certainly had the momentum going into Day Two. But they didn’t capitalise. Michael Clarke batted despite the injury, and along with Smith took Australia to a position of complete domination. India fought hard on Day Three at 369 for five, after Virat Kohli scored a century, but collapsed to end their innings at 444 on Day Four — losing all the initiative. The team took heart from the way they batted in the first innings and showed character on the final day, only to lose by 48 runs.
Even in the second Test at Brisbane India finished the stronger team at the end of Day One. India scored 311 for four thanks to a wonderful 144 by Murali Vijay. But like always, India once again collapsed to 408 all out the next day. Despite this setback, India were able to pick up four wickets and Australia ended day at 221 for four still trailing India by 180-odd runs. Despite dismissing Haddin and Shaun Marsh early on, the tail along with Smith took Australia to 505. India managed to set a target of 128, which after a small hiccup, Australia were able to win it with four wickets and a day to spare.
Now, India have finished Day two of the Melbourne Test at 108 for one with Vijay still batting at 55 along with Cheteshwar Pujara on the other end. The third day is going to be crucial because of India manage to bring down Australia’s lead, the balance could be restored. But if there is another familiar collapse, India would certainly be staring at a huge defeat. The performance on Day Three will set the tone for the rest of the match.
There’s still a lot of cricket left in this Test. But India’s continuing problem of not able to dismiss the tail cheaply could all come back and haunt them in the end, but a good finish to Day Three can put India in a position to challenge Australia’s authority.
(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)
