India scrap to 4-run lead with 2 wkts in hand on Day 2; lyon takes five
Nathan lyon found out the joys of pitching the ball up to the batsman on a turning Indian pitch on Saturday with a five-wicket haul which gave his team a chance of going home with a win.
Bowling round the wicket for most of his 22.1 overs on Day Two, he gave the ball the required air and maintained a wicket-to-wicket line cutting the angle to the Indian batsmen on a turning Feroz Shah Kotla track here on Saturday. The ball would pitch around off stump or just outside it and the off-spin on it would straighten it while the roughness of the pitch would ensure unreliable bounce (low or high) making it awkward for the batsmen. It meant that Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar, both good players of spin, were caught in the crease dismissed lbw. He also got rid of Ravichandran Ashwin later on with the same line.
In the beginning it looked a dull day but brought to life with the wicket of Kohli when Sachin walked in to a rousing welcome from a decent turnout. And, after looking scratchy in the beginning, he played some elegant shots to liven up the proceedings. On the first two balls after tea, he played a flick and a square drive to Peter Siddle to begin early Holi celebrations but when he got out, customary deafening followed.
Indian captain MS Dhoni played a few shots during his brief stay at the crease (24 off 23 balls) but he played one pull too many to James Pattinson. The visitors on their part played to a strategy wherein they kept lyon on from one end and rotated Siddle, Pattinson and Mitchell Johnson from the other. And, the game plan worked.
lyon’s share was half the scalps to fall on the day (two of Australia and eight for India) as India stumbled from 108 for no loss to 210 for six with all of their premier batsmen gone. Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin then shared a 44-run partnership for the seventh wicket as India finished the day on 266 for 8 to lead by four runs in the fourth and final Test. India lead the series 3-0.
Pujara, instead of debutant Ajinkya Rahane, came to open the innings with Murali Vijay. The Australians had no option but to attack with 262 on the board and that gave batsmen the opportunity to play attacking cricket. Pujara played some elegant drives, a straight drive to Johnson and a cover-drive to Siddle being the highlights of his innings. Vijay was again composed on the crease, defending most of the times while using his wrists well whenever the bowlers strayed on the leg-side.
Together the duo shared a 108-run stand in 25 overs before Pujara was bowled by lyon for 52. Pujara was on the front foot and tried to play for the turn but the ball didn’t move and castled the right-hander’s off stump.
For all of close to 500 days that Rahane has waited to take guard in Test cricket, he would feel it couldn’t have been at a more ominous occasion. He came in at number five. At that time Siddle was in the middle of a brilliant spell, working up pace and keeping an awkward length for the batsman to face. A well-directed bouncer to Vijay caught the batsman off-guard, hit his glove and spooned to the wicketkeeper Matthew Wade, that brought Rahane to the crease. The first ball he got, hit his pads and another one in the same over hit him on the helmet.
And, the very next over saw him facing lyon with close in Australian fielders chirping around him. He got out to lyon, who continued his round the wicket line, caught at leg slip for seven. A difficult debut indeed but learning nevertheless for the youngster.
Earlier, the Australian resistance didn’t last long on the second day after being 231 for eight overnight, adding 31 to finish on 262. Siddle completed his first fifty before being bowled by Ashwin, his fourth five-for of the series as he finished with figures of five for 57. This was his ninth five-wicket haul in 16 Test matches. Siddle’s scalp also made him joint highest wicket-taker in a series against Australia, 27, with Anil Kumble who had achieved the feat in 2004. Ashwin can go ahead in Australia’s second innings.
Another milestone was achieved by the Indian spinners when Pragyan Ojha got his first wicket of the innings, James Pattinson, caught by Kohli, to complete his 100th wicket.
Brief scores Australia: 262 (Peter Siddle 51; R Ashwin 5/57) trail India: 266/8 in 68.1 overs (M Vijay 57, C Pujara 52; N lyon 5/94) by 4 runs at stumps on Day 2.