India stare at defeat after another abject batting display
THERE is inevitability about India’s defeat in the third Test after another abject batting performance which saw them reduced to 88 for four and needing a further 120 to make Australia bat again. No amount of disciplined auxiliary action from the remaining batsmen can take the play even into the fourth day let alone think of saving the match.
Australia are poised to go three up in the series and it is a matter of time to see how long Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli on 32 and 21 respectively can hold out, for after them the tail is long even though M S Dhoni is the next man in.
India batsmen have shown a lack of ability in handling the bouncing ball. They would have been perfectly aware that pace and bounce are the feature of the pitch here and Australia with the strength of their attack would ensure that it remains so. With Australia’s first innings coming to an end on 369 at tea, the tourists faced a daunting deficit of 208.
The start of their innings clearly indicated that they were not up to the challenge. Both opening batsmen fell within the space of a run to balls that were a bit short and rising. From 25 for two, India progressed to just 42 when Mitchell Starc claimed the prized wicket of Sachin Tendulkar.
He had come to the crease to a standing ovation and departed 20 minutes later to another such ovation for what would be his last Test appearance on this ground.
The great batsman was not happy with the leg before decision against him as the ball might possibly have missed leg stump, it was not clear-cut looking at the replay. But he will be sporting enough to agree that one has to take the rough with the smooth in this game.
V V S Laxman too went in similar fashion to the first two. Again it was the short ball, moving away a little and he played at it from the crease. That was 51 for four and clearly the end is not far. India batsmen have been unable to cope with the pressure of the relentless pace attack.
Earlier, resuming their first innings on a commanding overnight score of 149 without loss, David Warner and Ed Cowan once again were in control as they picked up runs freely.
Warner in particular enjoyed himself although not quite as explosive as on the previous afternoon when his phenomenal 104 had come from just 80 balls. He reached 115 with a lofted drive for four to long-off, the ball landed just inside but he made sure of clearing the boundary with his next scoring shot.
Meanwhile, Cowan, 40 overnight, brought up his half century from 79 balls. Zaheer Khan was unlucky not to have dismissed Warner on 126 when Virat Kohli at first slip failed to take the catch.
That was the wicket that India needed the most but instead dismissed Cowan on 74. The batsman had edged the ball on to his pad and then saw it roll on to his stumps much to India’s relief.
The partnership had put on 214 in three hours and it was only the third time an opposing opening stand, in reply, had passed India’s entire total.
The other two occasions were by Australia in Melbourne in 196768 when India were all out for 173 and by South Africa in Ahmedabad in 2007-08, with India having been dismissed for just 76.
The Warner-cowan partnership was also the highest against India by any country since 2003-04 when New Zealand’s Richardson and Vincent put on 231 in Mohali.
Warner went on his merry way bringing up 150 from only 128 balls but meanwhile lost partners at the other end.
Shaun Marsh, with scores of 0, 3 in the first Test, 0 in the second and 11 here on his home ground, again gave his critics further opportunity to reiterate that he wasn’t ready for cricket at this level.
Australia were 230 for two and ten runs later Ricky Ponting was bowled ‘through the gate’ going for an expansive shot. Yadav had taken all three wickets for 70.
At lunch Australia were 256 for three with Warner still threatening the opposition on 156. After the break he soon reached 168 with two boundaries off consecutive balls from Ishant Sharma.
An extraordinary shot over extra cover, off Zaheer, for the last of his five sixes (in addition to 20 fours) took him to 175 and five runs later the great innings finally ended.
In going for another big hit he was held inside the long-on boundary and a magnificent display, spanning nearly four and a half hours during which he faced 159 balls had given the sell-out crowd an innings to remember.
Having scored a hundred in just the last session of play on the first day, Warner had become only the fifth player to do so. Three of his countrymen, Doug Walters, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist had also achieved the feat previously along with Sehwag who scored 133 against Sri Lanka in Mumbai in 2009-10.
India’s pace bowlers who had come through a punishing period with Warner at the crease suddenly had a spring in their step as they went among the wickets. Zaheer removed the next two and Yadav completed his five-wicket haul for 93 with the eighth and ninth wickets. Remarkably Australia lost seven wickets in a space of 79 runs.