Aussie Horror Show
Tourists stunned by epic collapse in Bangalore
After the thrills of the second Test in Bangalore, the boys from Down Under run the rule over an epic series. Geoff Lemon: I’m not going to get overcooked and start talking about one of the great Test matches. But we did just watch an excellent example – one that swung, one that showed off the most basic and difficult skills of the game, one that could have gone either way through every minute of the final two days. A fine match that has set up what could become a great series. Adam Collins: Bloody hell, Geoff. One of the best of the modern era is exactly what I’ve described it as elsewhere in these pages. I’ll stand by that.You know what it also was? An old-fashioned stink. Wherever you looked the teams wanted to be in a cage match. Not always pretty, but entertaining. And all that has a way to run before Ranchi. GL: We need to give you a cooling-off period. Not allowed to write anything for a fortnight after a game. Every close game is the best for five minutes afterwards, as we forget all the others in the excitement of the new. But Bangalore was in that group, and the angst which can be tiresome somehow made it more so. Kohli was mad after losing so badly, he was mad after missing out with the bat, and was probably justifiably mad when his rival captain went asking the dressing room whether he should challenge a leg-before dismissal. AC: Yep, four days of tension came spewing out in that one episode. Smith didn’t deny doing it, but Kohli was determined to tell the world that it was a systematic Australian attempt. Intimated he was a ‘cheat’. Probably the worst insult you can issue a cricket captain. Cricket Australia return serve calling Kohli outrageous. A bit like Trump saying Obama was tapping his phone, isn’t it? Prove it, or accept that you’re going to look like the fool in a tinfoil hat. GL: The Baggy Silver. I disagree entirely. Not about the presidents, but the cricketers. If a Test captain with years of experience breaks a well known rule once, it’s entirely plausible to suggest he may have done it other times. Kohli said he was watching for Smith to do it while batting because he’d seen Smith do it in the field. And the umpires were worded up, because Nigel Llong swooped as soon as Smith looked around. I don’t think it’s a massive offence, I’m for anything that gets correct decisions, but the defensiveness from the Australian media has been kneejerk, in my humble opinion. AC: This isn’t going away either. Reports also emerging that Anil Kumble stormed into the match officials’ box to give them a piece of his mind when Kohli’s lbw wasn’t overturned in the second dig. To give it the old Bill Lawry: ‘It’s all happening.’ Not least the actual cricket. I want to give Shaun Marsh a bit of love. No one cops it like he does, and no one feels it more. It didn’t end up match-defining, but his 197 balls out there on day two showed that they did get it right taking him here. GL: What I liked about ‘Marsh the Elder’ was how controlled he looked while scoring. Plenty of near-misses defending, as for everyone on that pitch, but stayed calm and played a long innings that deserved to be the difference. Got a shocker in the second as well, not helped by his captain at the
other end.Yes, no, stop, go, you say goodbye, I say hello. Smith was having so much trouble with reviews that he probably got a paper cut from the local movie guide. AC: It shows how important the non-striker has to be in Tests that close. They should school all players in that skill. A batsman never knows, unless he’s hit it. The bowlers though. Those beautiful bowlers. Three of the four have produced big bags now, with Mitch Starc breaking a stump at 154 clicks after what he did to Pujara in Pune. It’s why I retain faith that they can win this series. Huge scores don’t look likely from either side. Advantage Australia in that low-scoring world, right? GL: Starc and Hazlewood are the better pace duo, sure, but Umesh has shown serious craftsmanship. Less clear in the spin department – the Australian pair has results so far, but Ashwin found his groove again at the Chinnaswamy, and Jadeja spells danger even when he’s Kohli’s least-used option. Bearing in mind that Bangalore was supposed to be the road for this series, the Australians have to find a way. Getting done for 120 wasn’t it. AC: Yeah, what’s the deal with Jadeja struggling to get a go before taking six wickets? Weird. Over 100 wickets at home at fewer than 20 apiece. Reinforced why nobody beats these blokes here. Nathan Lyon gave it a great crack though. Hard to think someone could take 8-50 on day one, the best figures by a foreigner in India, and end up on the losing team. Never seen him bowl better. Struggled after he cut his finger in the second dig, but a timely reminder that he’s still the top dog as far as Aussie twirlers are concerned. GL: Six of the eight innings so far have produced at least a six-wicket haul. Lyon was perfect in the first innings, would have thought he was a moral for ten in the match, then got a first-ball duck and a none-for. Tough game. But it’s perfectly set up from here. There’ll be a whole lot more kerfuffle before we meet next week. AC: Can’t wait to get up there. Dhoni’s home town. Hopefully they have a statue. GL: Time to put one of Steve Smith right next to it.