NEWBIES STING

Siraj’s five-for and Shardul’s 4/61 keep India in contention

Brisbane, Jan. 18: Indian pacers Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur produced another inspirational effort in adverse circumstances but India were set a a challenging target of 328 by Australia as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy headed towards an exhilarating finale in the fourth Test here.

The target is a tricky one and the Indian batsmen would get a fair idea whether to go for it by lunch on the final day, which is Tuesday. This was after Siraj and Thakur combined to share nine wickets while dismissing Australia for 294 in their second innings. Siraj (19.5-5-73-5) punched way above his weight with his maiden five-wicket haul but couldn’t prevent hosts from posting an imposing target for his team in only 75.5 overs of the second innings batting.

At stumps, India were 4 for no loss with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill at the crease.

The highest target chased at Brisbane is 236 and that was seven decades ago which is an indicator why this Australian ground can be equated with Fort Knox. The home team hasn’t lost a game here since 1988.

Thakur’s dream Test match also got better with figures of 4/61 and a match haul of seven wickets. The most poignant moment was his apparent joy when he took the catch to help Siraj pip him to the coveted five-for landmark. The possibility of rain adds to the excitement and the changing weather did affect the contours of Australia skipper Tim Paine’s facial expressions which exhibited relief and despair in equal measures. —

— AFP Paceman Mohammed Siraj (right) points to the sky to pay tribute to his father who passed away recently in India while the bowler was on national duty in Australia, as he celebrates taking his fifth wicket with Mayank Agarwal on the fourth day of the fourth Test against Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane on Monday.