Ishant’s ‘monkey face’ upsets Steve Smith
ISHANT TRAPPED MITCH MARSH (0) AT THE STROKE OF TEA, BUT SHAUN MARSH HELD FIRM, SCORING HIS SIXTH TEST FIFTY.
down the leg side, before dismissing Peter Handscomb (16), caught by a leaping Ashwin at midwicket off his second attempt.
Ishant trapped Mitch Marsh (0) at the stroke of tea, but Shaun Marsh held firm, scoring his sixth Test fifty and raising a 57-run sixth wicket partnership with Mathew Wade, having put on a 52-run third wicket stand with Renshaw.
Shaun Marsh also had the better of the DRS, but Umesh Yadav eventually had him caught at midwicket. He would have removed the dangerous Mitchell Starc three balls later, but Saha dropped the catch diving to his left. India, who dropped Smith alone four times in the first Test in Pune, have dropped three so far in the Aussie innings.
But Shaun Marsh not only won the battle of stepping up the scoring, he also came out victor in three reviews as India again lost the plot in handling DRS.
The hosts lost all three reviews they took on Sunday, one against Smith and another against Shaun Marsh, both leg before appeals by Ashwin. The exhausted their chances when the next one, an appeal for catch against Mathew Wade also proved wrong.
India lost the first Test by 333 runs and were dismissed for 189 in their first innings in Bangalore, after spinner Nathan Lyon’s record 8/50. India pace bowler Ishant Sharma rolled over on the pitch, tumbling on his follow through as he put everything in his bid to find a breakthrough against Australia on Day 2 of the second Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Sunday.
However, he left everyone in splits after making a monkey face in his attempt to unsettle Australia skipper Steve Smith, who had arrived at the crease after Ravichandran Ashwin had dismissed opener David Warner.
Ishant beat Smith a few times, the ball keeping low on occasions. After one such delivery, the tall paceman shook his head vigorously. After another close shave for Smith off the next ball, Ishant made faces at Smith, leaving the batsman amused and Virat Kohli as well as thousands in the stands in splits.
The cricketing relations between India and Australia touched a low in the 2007-8 series Down Under following the ‘Monkeygate’ row involving Harbhajan Singh. That was followed by Virat Kohli gesturing what he thought of the heckling crowd during the 2011-12 series and Australian opener David Warner’s clashes with him on the field.
Considering that background, the current series between the sides led by Virat Kohli and Steve Smith, Test cricket’s top two batsmen, has been rather subdued.
That calmness was mildly interrupted on Sunday morning, on Day 2 of the second Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, after India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin got into a brief argument with Smith.
Ashwin seemed a bit frustrated before he brilliantly bowled Warner, threw a ball to wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, which flew close to the batsman’s face. After he had bowled Warner, Ashwin tried to push aside Matt Renshaw, the non-striker, why trying to field a drive from Smith on his follow through.
Though Renshaw didn’t respond, Smith arrived at the non-striker’s end and was seen having a chat with spinner. However, umpire Nigel Llong stepped in to separate the two before it turned into a major argument.
Virat Kohli then walked up to Smith and the two had a fairly long discussion before the Indian skipper walked away.
Australia consider sledging as part of what former skipper Steve Waugh called the tactics of ‘mental disintegration’ of the opponents. Before this series, Steve Smith said he won’t hold back his players if any of them want to have a go at the Indian players during the four-Test series.