Hindustan Times (Bathinda)

Score or survive? The big fourth innings question

- Aditya Iyer aditya. iyer@ hindustant­imes. com

NEW DELHI: When Tim Paine declared at the end of Cameron Green’s assault, the Australian captain had set India a fourth innings target of 407 runs—a figure that, if achieved, will break the country’s long- standing chase record of 406. If—a big if.

That record was set nearly half a century ago in Trinidad, largely due to the centurion brothers-in-law, Gundappa Viswanath and Sunil Gavaskar. But it is also interestin­g to note that the West Indies attack of 1976 consisted of three specialist spinners; one of them, Imtiaz Ali, never played Test cricket again and another, Albert Padmore, lasted just one more match.

Unlike that Clive Lloyd team, which was on the threshold of realising that it was indeed all about pace, Paine’s Australia are acutely aware of who they are— the best fast bowling attack in the game today, coupled with the finest off-spinner produced on those shores in Nathan Lyon. Paine’s declaratio­n had given them exactly four sessions to take 10 Indian wickets. After one, which ended Day 4, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood had already claimed two in India’s confident openers, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill.

Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane will restart proceeding­s on Monday, a delicious prospect where India need a further 309 runs in 97 overs, but the result will be decided by which of Pujara and Rahane have the greater say. If Pujara is around until stumps or thereabout­s on the last day, India could well thieve a draw. If it is Rahane who is around—especially the aggressive version of Melbourne 2014— the dressing room could perhaps even dream of a win. But with chases over 400—achieved on just four occasions in history— the safe bet is always on the bowling team; especially in Australia, where Virat Kohli is the only active India player to have scored a fourth innings ton (141 in Adelaide 2014, when India came tantalisin­gly close to the target of 364).

In Kohli’s absence, Rishabh Pant is the only member of the playing 11 to have breached the three-figure mark in a fourth innings (114 at the Oval in 2018 as India got to 345 in a chase of 464), home or away. Pant hasn’t taken the field since his batting injury, and India may well be another batsman short in Ravindra Jadeja, who has dislocated his thumb. After Pant, Rahane and Pujara are the only ones at Sydney to have achieved fourth innings fifties ( the captain’s unbeaten 52 in Southampto­n 2014 is his best).

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