Rain snatched away one precious day of the third Test between India and Australia here on Thursday, severely hurting the hosts’ best chance of a possible march towards registering a historic 3-0 lead against the ‘Baggy Greens’.
It wasn’t a heavy downpour but a constant drizzle since early morning which couldn’t let the players take the field for a single minute and forced the match referee Ranjan Madugalle to call off the day just after the lunch. Toss couldn’t happen as the covers couldn’t be removed from the area around the pitch.
India have never won more than two Tests in a single series against Australia but with a 2-0 lead and two matches to go, the hosts have a chance to achieve the feat. And considering the struggle and turmoil that the Australians are facing, there is even the possibility of a whitewash (4-0).
The fact that India were whitewashed when they visited Down Under, paying them back in the same currency would be a special moment for the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side, who are trying to bring there own performance back on track after months of criticism and a series of losses.
Now with only four days left in the Mohali Test, the hosts would be praying to the weather gods for some sunshine, literally as well as metaphorically.
Amidst light drizzling, Indian team reached the ground on time but left quickly after realising that the possibility of a match is near to impossible. The visitors, however, delayed their arrival and waited in their hotel for the rain to stop. It did stop around 9:30 and the ground staff started to work to mop all the water from the covers. The super-soppers were brought out as the few spectators, who braved the rains to come to the ground, watched in helplessness the futile mopping-up activity on the field.
The first inspection of the ground was done at around 11:00. “Overnight rain started at 3 am and it will take at least two hours for the ground-staff to dry the playing areas. However, bad news is that rain has been forecast for the afternoon as well,” Richard Kettleborough, ICC umpire, said after the inspection. Next inspection was kept at 12:00 but as he predicted, the rain returned to undo all the hard work put in by the ground staff.
When the rain didn’t stop till 1:00, Madugalle decided to call off the day.
Smith comes back, Maxwell to sit out
Australians were still in the stadium when the match was called off and even sent Steven Smith, who was picked ahead of Glenn Maxwell for the match, for a press briefing.
Maxwell, who made his Test debut in Hyderabad and took 4 for 127, was missing from the first eleven when Australia announced the team despite the ground being under covers. Australian team management decided to go with specialist spinners in Nathan lyon, dropped after Chennai Test, and Xavier Doherty. “He (Maxwell) did have a good debut,” coach Mickey Arthur told the Australian media on Thursday.
“We went with our two quicks and Moises, and we went with what we perceive to be our two specialist spinners. Nathan lyon and Xavier Doherty were both brought here as specialist spinners. Maxi was brought here as the allrounder-type guy. I guess, in a way, he competes with Moises for one position and we’ve decided we’re going with our specialist attack. We need to take 20 wickets to win this Test match so we wanted our specialists out on the park.”
Mitchell Starc and Peter Siddle selected themselves as they were the only available pacers in the team after the suspension of James Pattinson and Mitchell Johnson (along with Shane Watson and Usman Khawaja) for disciplinary reasons. Brad Haddin replaced injured Matthew Wade.
For India, Shikhar Dhawan would be making his debut as he replaced Virender Sehwag. Except that the team was still unknown as India didn’t announce the team, though it is highly unlikely that the hosts would make any changes.
From being picked as a bowler to now as batsman
Mohali: Steven Smith’s is a curious case. It seems Cricket Australia is confused about his skills. When Smith made his Test debut against Pakistan in England in 2010, he was chosen as the frontline spinner. His last appearance for Australia in a Test during the disastrous 2010-11 Ashes was as a batting all-rounder. Now, when he is making another comeback in the Test team, though luckily, Smith is a specialist batsman.
When he came to India as one of the 17 members of the Australian squad, no one thought he would get a chance to make a Test comeback but thanks to Usman Khawaja, who was the first back-up batsman, for not doing the ‘homework’, Smith gets another chance.
“I’ve probably always been more of a batsman than I was a bowler,” Smith tried to clarify on Thursday.
“Getting picked in different teams in those roles was very special. The first two Tests I played, I played as a bowler. It’s a bit different now to come in as a No. 5 specialist batter and that’s something I’ve worked really hard on in the last couple of years, tightening my technique up and becoming more balanced and getting big runs.
“I am excited to be in the playing XI this time, hope there is play on Friday. We have been training very hard, getting into the nets and working on our skills. I think I’ve improved a lot in the last 12 to 18 months. I’ve changed a couple of things with my technique that have made me a bit more stable at the crease, a bit more balanced and more selective as well. I feel like I’m tightening my technique up quite a bit and I feel as if I’ve been playing spin really well on this trip,” he added.
Smith has a connection with Mohali as well. The last time Smith played here in 2010, his overthrow cost Australia the match by a wicket. He came on as a substitute on the fifth and final day of the Test and a direct hit was all Australia needed from Smith to win the match, which was ultimately won by India by one wicket. VVS laxman played a defiant innings of 73 not out and pulled India out of deep hole.
“It’s a little bit different from the last time I was here, when I was involved in a few overthrows. This is another opportunity to come back to the squad and I want to contribute,” Smith said.
Dealing with the trauma of two back-to-back defeats and an unwanted off-field controversy, the visitors have got the services of a sports psychologist, Michael lloyd, who has flown in from Australia on Wednesday, to help players deal with the pressure and restore their morale. And lloyd has already started working with the players. He spoke to Smith as well.
lloyd works across several CA-affiliated teams and was scheduled to arrive before the axing of four key players for breach of discipline. “He asked us not to premeditate about anything and asked us to have a clear mind. He is good at what he does,” he said.
Smith has a Test batting average of just 28.77 from five appearances, while a bowling average of 73.33 isn’t that great either, but the cricketer believes he has improved overall in the last 12-18 months.
Amit Chaudhary