Photograph: James Ross/EPA
Here’s Geoff’s report from the MCG. See you back here for day five!
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STUMPS: Australia 228 for 9 leading by 333 runs.
An astounding end to an extraordinary day in an amazing Test.
India threw the first punch of day four, popping the bubble of new sensation Sam Konstas who got an unplayable peach from – who else? – Jasprit Bumrah and walked off for eight. With Australia’s teen talisman gone, India went on a tear before a roaring crowd that has now reached a record high of over 299,000 over the four days.
Mohammed Siraj got rid of Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja before Bumrah blasted out Travis Head (1), Mitchell Marsh (0) and Alex Carey (2). At 91 for 6, Australia looked shot. But two first innings heroes came to the rescue: Marnus Labuschagne scrapped his way to another 70 and captain Pat Cummins added to his 49 with a fighting 41.
The home side got to 148 before India surged back into the contest. Cummins holes out, Mitchell Starc ran himself out and Australia looked down and out at 173 for 9. Enter the unlikely 10th wicket partnmers of Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland. Through guile, luck and courage they inched Australia to a lead of 300 and then went past it.
Their extraordinary 55-run partnership for the 10th wicket has Australia 333 runs ahead. And given the highest score ever chased at the MCG which was 332 back in December 1928, it puts Australia in the box seat to win this fourth Test and take a 2-1 lead into the final match in Sydney.
But it ain’t over til it’s over. And this Test series has twisted and turned like few others. Will Australia’s fast bowlers roll through India tomorrow – or will the niggles to Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Marsh leave them hamstrung? Or can India mount yet another fightback and steal the Test – and the series – with a record-chasing run chase?
Join us tomorrow to find out. One thing’s for sure: it’ll be a day to remember.
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82nd over: Australia 228-9 (Lyon 41, Boland 10) Last ocer of the day. Who you gonna call? Jasprit Bumrah. He tosses up a fat full toss and Nathan Lyon clubs it square for FOUR. Probably the worst ball of the series by Bumrah. He’s tired and needs a hot thali and a cold Kingfisher. Bumrah errs again with a no ball and then Lyon steers a short ball through midwicket for two. And now high farce… an edge, a catch between the knees, a brief celebration and then dropped heads as the umpire calls no-ball. There goes Bumnrah’s five-for. And judt when India think it can;’t get any worse Lyon salts the wound with a whack over midwicket that brings up the fifty partnership. Remarkable. And Lyon adds an absurd full stop to an extraordinary day by edging for FOUR. Ouch!
81st over: Australia 214-9 (Lyon 29, Boland 10) India has the new ball but seems they want Jasprit Bumrah to bowl with it next over. Instead Akash Deep gets a final whirl with the old cherry which is showing hints of reverse swing. Lyon doesn’t care. He drives another single. I stand corrected. With Boland on strike India take the new ball. Boland deflects a single to third man to go into double figures. And Lyon leans into the next and tonks FOUR down the ground. Stirring stuff from Australia’s tail!
80th over: Australia 207-9 (Lyon 23, Boland 9) Sundar enters his fourth over and Boland notches his 63rd ball survived. That’s the 80th over up in this innings. Will India bring back Bumrah for a final blast with the new ball?
79th over: Australia 206-9 (Lyon 21, Boland 9) Akash Deep returns to the attack and crashes it into Boland’s pad first ball. This looks close. Umpire says ‘Nah’ but India think ‘Yeah’ and sends it to the higher powers. No dice. It’s going down leg. Scott Boland breathes a little easier but not as deeply as India’s opening batters. There’s no way they want to face a Mitchell Starc over tonight.
78th over: Australia 206-9 (Lyon 21, Boland 9) Lyon slogs for FOUR! Jadeja put it on off stump and the old man from Young jumped out and put it through square leg. With 20 minutes left in the day’s play, Australia may be about to smash and grab their way to a couple of nasty Cummins-Starc overs in the shadow of stumps.
77th over: Australia 200-9 (Lyon 17, Boland 8) India bring on Washington Sundar but it can’t slow Australia’s inexorable crawl past 200. A Lyon single brings it up and takes the partnership to 27. Australia lead by 306.
76th over: Australia 199-9 (Lyon 16, Boland 8) Boland plays out another Jadeja over as he reaches then breaches his longest Test innings – 48 balls and eight runs. And he’s done yet.
74th over: Australia 197-9 (Lyon 15, Boland 7) Lyon edges Jadeja for a single. Neither side minds that. Can Boland carve another boundary. He has now faced more deliveries than Nathan Lyon and looks set for a big score – maybe even double figures. The only one who wants this final wicket more than India is my greyhound who is waiting for a break in play to be fed the last of his Christmas turkey. Sorry Bailey, blame Mr Boland.
73rd over: Australia 196-9 (Lyon 14, Boland 7) Lyon drives Siraj down the ground for a single leaving Boland to CUT FOR FOUR! That takes the Australian lead over 300. That is huge. This partnership has been worth 23 runs – every one them could prove golden. That hurt Siraj. He has 3-66 but still has a face angrier than a bulldog chewing a wasp.
72nd over: Australia 191-9 (Lyon 13, Boland 3) Bumrah to Boland. It sounds like a mismatch but the Australian No 11 has now hung tough for 30 balls. Bouncer. Yorker. Off stump, leg stump. Big Scotty survives it all.
71st over: Australia 191-9 (Lyon 13, Boland 3) A single to Lyon as Siraj strays. Boland cops a bouncer and flinches enough to pop it up. Luckily it comes down short of gully. Good bowling. It baffles me why India haven’t tried the chin music before to these two. Boland glances a single and takes a run which a direct hit would’ve ended the innings.
70th over: Australia 189-9 (Lyon 12, Boland 2) Bumrah barrels in and puts one on Lyon’s leg stump. His flick of the bat misses but there’s enough pad for a leg bye. Can Boland survive five Bumrah balls? Yes. He. Can.
Gervase Greene has emailed to urge that we “officially drop the pretence that Cummins is not a genuine all-rounder?
In the last year - and while captain, curiously - he has jettisoned the dour, but solid blocker propping up the tail. He can now accelerate the rate as required, not only keep out - but score from - even top-notch bowling. And most pertinently, he can flick these switches at will, depending on what the team requires. He is a marvel.
A marvel he is, Gervase. And may yet prove it with a final burst this evening.
69th over: Australia 188-9 (Lyon 12, Boland 2) Time for another jet-fueled Jadeja over. And a little Nathan Lyon luck as he late cuts inches away from Rohit Sharma and steals a run. Blocker Boland survives a 14th ball as Australia lead by 293 runs.
68th over: Australia 186-9 (Lyon 10, Boland 2) Guess who’s back? Bumrah. Australia are creeping toward a lead of 300 and to reach that number would inflict an important psychological blow. Can India’s main man stop these bunnies from breeding 10 more runs? Lyon and Boland edge closer with two leg byes. And Lyon’s drive and Nitish’s misfield at mid-on adds another. These two have put on 14 runs for the 10th wicket. There’s a muted shout for lbw and a middlin review on the last but it’s way wide.
67th over: Australia 184-9 (Lyon 10, Boland 2) Spinner on spinner as Jadeja zips into Lyon. The Australian gets the better of the encounter, dabbing to backward point. He calls for two and it pressures the fielder into a fumble so he gets them. Then a single. And now more frustration for India as Boland’s cheeky single becomes a chancer’s two when the throw ricochets for an overthrow. The people’s hero is off the mark! Australia lead by 289.
66th over: Australia 176-9 (Lyon 8, Boland 0) Lyon is DROPPED! He was caught on the hop by a Siraj slower ball and tentatively popped it up at eye level. Siraj blinked at the wrong split second and spilt the chance. India have grassed four today by my count. Will it cost them in the long run? Siraj thunders one into Lyon’s pad and screams for an upraised finger from the umpire. It doesn’t come but Sharma shrugs and reviews. Unsurprisingly it’s sailing down leg side. Lyon celebrates by carving the fourth ball into the covers for three.
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65th over: Australia 174-9 (Lyon 5, Boland 0) Here comes Australia’s No 11, local hero and Johnny Mullagh medallist 2021, Scott “Blocker” Boland. Jadeja gifts Australia a no-ball but Blocker blocks the rest to make it a wicket and five dots.
WICKET! Cummins c Sharma b Jadeja 41 (Australia 173-9)
Edged and caught! Cummins goes after another fine innings. Jadeja put it outside off and it gripped a fraction and Cummins’ artful steer became a top edge. That’s a crucial wicket but it gives Australia’s skipper time to put his feet up for a bit and prepare a plan for young master Jaiswal who has dropped three catches today and maybe isn’t feeling too lucky.
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64th over: Australia 173-8 (Cummins 41, Lyon 5) We have 41,448 in the MCG and every one of them is on the edge of their seat. Lyon scampers a leg bye from Siraj’s first ball and gives back the strike to Cummins who cuts fine for another two to enter the roaring 40s. Great stuff from Cummins who, after 49 in the first innings, is now entering the rarified air of the full-fledged allrounder. And now he swings hard and high. Two there but he takes one to keep strike. Australia lead by 278.
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63rd over: Australia 169-8 (Cummins 38, Lyon 5) Cummins steers a Bumrah yorker to third man. There’s a run there but he doesn’t takes it, preferring to protect the GOAT. Jasprit now gives him a bouncer to think about and the skipper takes evasive action. Then a yorker. Cummins is up to the challenge of both, knowing Bumrah can’t bowl forever. And now a little counterattack, leaning back and cutting to the rope for FOUR.
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62nd over: Australia 165-8 (Cummins 34, Lyon 5) Lyon edges for FOUR. Streaky but sweet for Australia. Mohammed Siraj adds another furrow to his well corrugated brow. Rohit Sharma has come alive as a captain this afternoon. Despite criticism of his leadership and a shocking run of form with the bat, he has injected his spearhead Bumrah with acumen and fired up Siraj to take three wickets. Not only is the Test and series in the balance, Sharma’s career might be too.
61st over: Australia 161-8 (Cummins 34, Lyon 1) After a break for drinks, Jasprit Bumrah – refreshed and ready to bowl – steams in. Will Pat Cummins spurn singles to protect Nathan Lyon or will he trust the man with whom he orchestrated that famous victory at Edgbaston? There they put on 55 runs for the ninth wicket to secure victory in the first Ashes Test. Can they conjure more glory for Australia here? Not yet. It’s a maiden.
60th over: Australia 161-8 (Cummins 34, Lyon 1) Siraj returns – face full of zinc, head full of steam. New batter Nathan Lyon flicks off the pads to get off the mark. Cummins does well to drop a bouncer at his feet. The next one is wide and Cummins opens the blade and runs it through gully for three more. Australia lead by 266 runs.
WICKET! Starc run out (Nitish/ Pant) 4 (Australia 156-8)
Starc is GORN! The umpire went tot the replay but Starc walked. He knew he was well short of his ground. Dreadful mix-up by the Australian pair and probably Starc’s fault. He turned too quick for the second when Cummins, with a clear view of the swooping Nitish, cancelled it with a bark. But too late. Starc was well short of his ground and veered out of the path of the ball when he should’ve have tried to wear it on the body.
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59th over: Australia 152-6 (Cummins 29, Starc 3) Here comes Bumrah. Does he ever go away? He has Starc in his sights and the big man gets a single. Or is it two? NOOOOOO! There’s a huge mixup and Nitish has swooped and thrown it the ‘keeper. Rishabh Pant seizes the bouncing ball, removes the glove in a flash and throws down the the stumps at the non-striker’s end. This looks close…
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58th over: Australia 152-6 (Cummins 29, Starc 3) Starc attacks! That was a full blooded drive and if Nitish Kumar Reddy hadn’t dived for the stop it was four. Instead it’s one run. Desperate hours here at the MCG. A Test, a series and cricket’s world heavyweight title in the balance. Cummins carves Siraj for another two runs from the last.
57th over: Australia 152-6 (Cummins 29, Starc 3) Cummins clips a single from Ravi Jadeja’s first ball. Australia lead by 257 now but runs are coming in a trickle. Do they risk being skittled cheaply by hitting out and trying and rip out India’s top order in the final hour? Or eke another 30 at snail’s pace so they’re safe at stumps?
The question for Australia is: How much is enough?
56th over: Australia 150-6 (Cummins 28, Starc 2) Mohammed Siraj enjoyed that. He raises his arms and flapped them fiercely at the crowd, bellowing the whole time. Was that a sharp retort to the jerring Australian fans? Or a rev-up for the Indian contingent? Great theatre either way! New batter Starc flails one over the top to steal two runs.
WICKET! Labuschagne lbw Siraj 70 (Australia 148-7)
First ball is straight and fast from Siraj and Marnus misses. Big shout… OUT! Marnus reviews straight away but Siraj looks confident. Of course he does. Is there any bat? Replays show no and Marnus must go. Massive breakthrough for India! Siraj has three and Australia are back in strife.
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55th over: Australia 148-6 (Labuschagne 70, Cummins 28) A tight leave first up by Cummins as Jadeja ramps the pace up to 95kph. It narrowly missed off stump so it’s a good leave. And there’s a good shot! Captain Pat swivels Jadeja fine for a boundary. That brings the partnership to 57 and Australia lead to 253.
54th over: Australia 144-6 (Labuschagne 70, Cummins 24) Attempted yorker. It’s straight and full but Labuschagne brings the bat down in time and jams it through backward square for two runs. He gets another two with a hip chip from the last. Hang on, it’s a belated no ball decision.
53rd over: Australia 139-6 (Labuschagne 65, Cummins 24) Edged but safe! Cummins pierces slips and runs two. Weird few moments as the Australian pair knock back two singles from Jadeja. They need to win this Test to take the Sydney weather Gods out of the equation next week. Lose or draw and they’re behind the 8-ball. Finally Cummins taps another run to escape Cyclone Jasprit next over.
52nd over: Australia 135-6 (Labuschagne 65, Cummins 21) Squared up and beaten! What a seed! Off stump line and seaming away. Bowler and batter share a grin at that one. Bumrah walks back to his mark watching the big screen and marvelling at his own genius. He proves it three more times as Marnus is made to look increasingly mortal.
If you’re wondering… England hold the record for the highest score chased at the MCG which was 332 back in December 1928. Not a bad target for Australia to aim for I reckon.
51st over: Australia 135-6 (Labuschagne 65, Cummins 21) Jadeja is whirling through his fifth over. He has 0-10 so far but has accelerated the run-rate no end. Cummins knocks back a single on the fifth to stay off strike to Mr Bumrah. Over to you Marnus…
50th over: Australia 135-6 (Labuschagne 65, Cummins 21) Bumrah’s spell begins with a maiden as Labuschagne signals Australia’s intent to shut up shop when he’s the maestro is on and have a lash at whoever’s at the other end. We’ll see how that works out…
Tick, tick… Bumrah. He has the ball in hand and we are about to resume.
TEA Day 4: Australia 135 for 6 with a 240 run lead
What a session! Yet again Jasprit Bumrah tore apart Australia’s brittle batting to bring India back into the game that looked to be slipping away.
Bumrah has 4-30 from 14 overs and the scalps of Travis Head (1), MItch Marsh (0) and Alex Carey (2) are hanging from his belt to join that of Sam Konstas (8) from the first session. In doing so Bumrah went to 202 Test wickets at an average of 20. Incredible!
Even so, Australia fought their way back in that final hour. Marnus Labuschagne has scrapped and scraped his way to an undefeated 60 and Pat Cummins (21 not out) is playing another brilliant rearguard knock to save his top order’s blushes. Those two have put on 43 runs in quick time – by far Australia’s most profitable partnership.
This will be a fascinating night session. Will Bumrah the Destroyer return and rip through Australia’s final four wickets. Or will this epic Test take another twist with Australia batting beyond 300 and giving India a challenging target on day five?
Grab a cuppa and contemplate. We’ll be back with the final session shortly.
49th over: Australia 135-6 (Labuschagne 65, Cummins 21) At 43 runs, Cummins and Labuschagne have given Australia its best partnership of the innings. But it almost ends as Jaiswal DROPS ANOTHER! The young opener has been banished from slips after dropping two catches there and put in the dog box of silly mid-off. Now Cummins fends at Jadeja and spits a catch at ankle-height but airborne enough to get fingers to it. Alas, Jaiswal is too high in his crouch and another chance goes begging. That’s Tea.
48th over: Australia 134-6 (Labuschagne 64, Cummins 21) Two from the first as Sundar shucks the rust with a first ball down legside. Second is wide again but outside off and Labuschagne slaps at it but can’t pierce the field. he does better next time, chipping past silly mid-on for a run. Australia lead by 239 and this partnership is now worth 43 runs.
47th over: Australia 131-6 (Labuschagne 61, Cummins 21) Another Jadeja over goes by in fast-forward with just a Labuschagne single from it. Looks like Washinton Sundar will bowl the last over before tea. Curious and curiouser…
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46th over: Australia 131-6 (Labuschagne 60, Cummins 21) Short and sweet from Akash and Labuschagne swings it to the rope for four. Next one angles back and Marnus chops down late and watches aghast as it fizzes back towards the stumps… but bounces over! The luck of Labuschagne strikes again. He takes a single to celebrate leabing Cummins to carve the final ball to the boundary backward of point. Shot, skipper!
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45th over: Australia 121-6 (Labuschagne 54, Cummins 17) Time for spin. Ravi Jadeja returns to the attack and his first ball is wide and full. Labuschagne cuts for a run. Cummins watches the next three then steps out and drives for four. Australia’s captain is putting together another valuable innings for his side here.
44th over: Australia 117-6 (Labuschagne 54, Cummins 14) Dropped! Akash Deep threw it down short and Cummins gave it a heave and top-edged. Nitish Kumar Reddy sent off under swirling wind to claim the catch but couldn’t get there in time. Valiant attempt. Cummins nails the next one and it runs close to the rope for another two.
43rd over: Australia 111-6 (Labuschagne 52, Cummins 9) Marnus gets his fifty with a push to square leg. It’s been another rearguard action by the mercurial No 3 who has held this innings together while never quite getting ion top of India’s bowling attack. Now Cummins flashes at a full ball outside off by Siraj. They run three. Labuschagne drives past mid-on for another two then works a single off his hip. Siraj is starting to tire, he’s too weary even to mutter murderous intent at the batters. Seven from the over. Australia lead by 216 but they need another hundred to be safe and apply pressure.
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42nd over: Australia 104-6 (Labuschagne 49, Cummins 6) Uh-oh, Bumrah is back! After a short spell in the skinny shadows of the Shane Warne Stand, India’s destroyer has been recalled by skipper Rohit Sharma for a final spell in the hot half hour before tea. Bumrah runs in with 4-28 and you wouldn’t bet against him scalping the final four. Cummins fends off the first and Labuschagne rebuffs a single to fine leg to retain strike. Can Australia survive? Marnus finds a single from the last to keep strike for the next.
41st over: Australia 102-6 (Labuschagne 47, Cummins 5) With the zinc beading under his crazy eyes, Mohammed Siraj charges in at Cummins who flails at the first and edges the second, but survives both. He finds relief in a single to mid-on. Labuschagne, who is closing on another fighting half century despite living dangerously all innings, sees off the rest.
40th over: Australia 100-6 (Labuschagne 47, Cummins 4) Thick edge from Labuschagne and Jaiswal DROPS IT AGAIN! Good grief. A bad shot from Marnus – a half-blooded catching practice cut straight to the fielders – but an even worse attempt by the youngster, who reached with hard hands and put it down cold. That’s the second one Jaiswal has shelled at slip today after giving Usman Khawaja another life this morming. Is it the stroke of luck Australia need?
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39th over: Australia 99-6 (Labuschagne 46, Cummins 4) Captain Pat responds! First ball he faces from Siraj and Cummins clubs it into the outfield for four – all run. A statement shot. He will attack India with the bat and then go after them with the ball. Unnerved, Siraj sends the next few wide. Fourth Test on a tightrope right now.
38th over: Australia 94-6 (Labuschagne 46, Cummins 0) Another one for Bumrah, but he’s bowling to Labuschagne, which is not what India want. In fact Labuschagne turns down a single first ball! Into the leg side, no thanks. Farming the strike with your No8 who nearly made a half century in the first innings. That’s the respect they have for this bowling artist. Labuschagne leaves where he can, gets through the over, then tries to dab four with a late cut from the last ball, but misses.
And that, with a large exhale, is me for the day. Angus will be with you for the next four Bumrah wickets.
37th over: Australia 94-6 (Labuschagne 46, Cummins 0) Siraj to Labuschagne, a couple of runs to cover.
Andrew Jagels wrote in with a question earlier, before the action cranked up, so I will attempt an answer given it might be of interest to others. “Could any of our Indian readers clarify why some players have their first names on their shirts (Jasprit, Virat) whereas others have their ‘surname’ (Rahul, Siraj). The variety has always puzzled me.”
I’ve had other correspondence asking this, so I’ll attempt the short version, based on working in cricket. Forgive any generalisations or errors. Basically, first name and surname structure doesn’t apply elsewhere in a Western way, unsurprisingly. India has so many different cultural and language groups that there are lots of methods of structuring names.
Tamils tend to use their father’s name and then their own name, so Ravichandran Ashwin’s name is Ashwin. He wouldn’t use Ravichandran on a shirt, because it’s not his name. So his shirt name is also his personal name. But then Tamils who move elsewhere sometimes flip the order, so Washington Sundar’s name is Washington and his father is Sundar. Or our colleague Bharat Sundaresan’s name is Bharat, his dad was Sundaresan.
Other cultural groups might use a common grouping name, like Singh or Sharma or Reddy, which are not really surnames but identifying broader group membership. So some coverage calls yesterday’s century-maker Nitish Kumar rather than Reddy. We went with Reddy because it’s not that common as a cricketing name, though it’s very common where he’s from.
For another example, Jadeja’s first name in full is Ravindrasingh, but the ‘singh’ part gets discarded in the same way that the Kumar part after Nitish might eventually be.
Then someone like Kohli, who does have a first name and surname structure, it’s more about marketing than naming. Having the Virat 18 shirt is a brand thing, and helps sell millions of copies, as well as promoting the brand he uses in other commercial ventures. The player agents probably decide that, it’s personal choice. Devdutt Padikkal was just out there sub fielding wearing a shirt that only said “Dev”.
So that probably doesn’t answer your question, exactly, because there isn’t one answer, but that fact is also the answer. There are lots of different ways to structure Indian names, that are well beyond what we do with Smiths.
36th over: Australia 91-6 (Labuschagne 43) At a loss for words. Typed or written. Cummins will be in next.
WICKET! Carey b Bumrah 2, Australia 91-6
He’s done it again! Done it again, this time to a left-hander. Bumrah is unstoppable right now. It’s another snorter of a delivery. Around the wicket, angled in, then decking hard. Perfect length. Carey coming forward, trying to defend down the line. Not as extravagant an amount of movement as the Konstas one, but enough to beat the bat, perhaps brush the back pad, and nail the stumps. Bumrah has 29 for the series, 4 for 28 today. Can he keep it going?
35th over: Australia 88-5 (Labuschagne 40, Carey 2) Soooo. Labuschagne is looking good, and Carey has been in great touch. Australia still probably need another hundred runs though. Can’t expect the tail to deliver all the time. This is getting tight! Carey gets going with a flick through the leg side for two. Australia lead by 193.
34th over: Australia 85-5 (Labuschagne 38) Second ball and sixth ball of the over, those wickets. Bumrah has 201 at 19.46 right now, and in this series that’s 28 at 12.6.
The series record for a visiting player is 38, by Maurice Tate. So a few more here and a big match in Sydney, who knows.
WICKET! Marsh c Pant b Bumrah 0, Australia 85-5
They’re in it! India right in it now! Bumrah had just notched 200 career wickets at 19.56, the first player to cross that milestone averaging under 20. And he celebrates with 201. Two in the over. Marsh in a rut that he can’t get out of. Might not make it to Sydney. Australia 190 ahead, the wicketkeeper Carey coming out to join Labuschagne.
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WICKET! Head c Reddy b Bumrah 1, Australia 85-4
Into the basket! Down comes the guillotine! Bumrah does it. He’s bowled so many great balls today that haven’t taken wickets, he deserves an innocuous one that does. In at the pads, Head flicks it away, but in the air and straight to short midwicket, where NK Reddy is hopping in the air and making it tough for himself but clings on to a ball around his midriff.
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33rd over: Australia 84-3 (Labuschagne 38, Head 1) Off the mark first ball for Head, poked behind point, then Labuschagne guides a ball for three. He’s loving his threes today. India were bubbling about the place with the Smith wicket, they think they’re still in it. Got to lop off Head though, he could cost them the match in an hour.
WICKET! Smith c Pant b Siraj 13, Australia 80-3
There’s that late-game probability! Not a good ball from Siraj, full and wide and there to hit if a player wants to. Smith does, huge drive, no footwork, reaching, and nicks it.
32nd over: Australia 80-2 (Labuschagne 35, Smith 13) Time to try the man of the moment. Nitish Kumar Reddy bowls an innocuous first over, with a couple of twos in there for Marnus.
31st over: Australia 76-2 (Labuschagne 31, Smith 13) Carved away by Smith! Through the covers off Siraj, who has 1 for 16 and has just gone for his first boundary of the innings.
30th over: Australia 70-2 (Labuschagne 30, Smith 8) An awkward pull from Smith misses, a cover drive connects for three. Akash Deep goes past Labuschagne’s edge for the umpteenth time. How have they not got more edges here?
29th over: Australia 64-2 (Labuschagne 28, Smith 5) A few run-out jitters, as Labuschagne sends back Smith. But Smith goes back, and plays out the rest of the Bumrah over, wandering across towards the off side to block, taking a single last ball.
28th over: Australia 63-2 (Labuschagne 28, Smith 4) Snorter from Akash Deep. That ball goes up the trellis, past the glovery of Labuschagne and smacks the palms of Pant standing back, taken up around his shoulders. Then another, two balls later, and this one does crush his gloves. Hand off the bat, and he’s got the physio out there. If the bounce is doing this already, no way India are chasing a big score. Labuschagne gets some strapping on his forearm, like Konstas. It’s a big day for forearm injuries.
Jeremy Stokes on the email: “Interesting re. Icelandic cricket term ‘the cat is back in the sack’. The Russian phrase ‘a cat in a sack’ loosely means not knowing whether what you’re going to get is going to be good or bad. Eg. ‘Sam Konstas is coming out to bat - this is a cat in a sack’.”
Huh. Schrodinger’s cat in a sack? Where the unknown is less the aliveness and more the quality? Personally I would go for ‘Rasputin in a rug.’ Again, no idea whether he’s dead or alive in there.
27th over: Australia 63-2 (Labuschagne 28, Smith 4) What is Rohit Sharma’s favourite thing about lunch? He can ask Bumrah to bowl again afterwards. Begging for more magic. Bumrah must be tired, not so much physically but from the demand of needing to be the main player time and again. He bowls a few decent balls without the earlier menace, then overpitches and meets a lovely straight drive from Labuschagne. Top class, back past the bowler for four.
26th over: Australia 58-2 (Labuschagne 23, Smith 4) Lunch done, Akash Deep to start us off, but he gets too straight and he’s bowling to the Flick Brothers. Thee for Labushagne, two for Smith, all off the pads.
Peter Leybourne, who is reading the OBO in bed in Bangkok and using the lunch break to make his breakfast, has sent me a glossary of Icelandic cricket terms.
Personal faves, the wicketkeeper translates to ‘the keeper of the gate’, via the word vikketwörður. A duck is a duck but a golden duck is a falcon. Or if you say that someone is back in the hutch, you say “the cat is back in the sack”.
I’m very interested in late-game-Smith, any time Steve Smith bats on day four or five. Because he’s rarely been effective late in games. You heard about his 34th Test hundred in this match – 30 of those have come in his team’s first innings. Only four batting second.
Of those, all four were in the third match innings. Never made a ton in the fourth.
Those third-innings hundreds, by the way: Edgbaston, his only twin tons, on his astonishing return in 2019. New Zealand at the WACA, on a pitch so flat that Mitchell Johnson spontaneously retired halfway through the Test. Melbourne 2017, when the surface was so turgid that they dug up and replaced the entire square. And Pune in 2017, when the game moved so quickly that he was batting a second time by day two.
This isn’t a criticism per se, it’s just intriguing that a player can be such a dominant force in some ways and not a factor in others.
Lunch - Australia 53 for 2 in the third innings, leading by 158
Fun session. Some fine fast bowling, it was exciting moment by moment for a good while there. A few good shots, a couple of memorable deliveries, Jasprit Bumrah getting fired up on dismissing Sam Konstas and copying the young player’s move of waving to the crowd to get up adn about. Pretty good attendance by the looks, bottoms bays of the Olympic and Southern Stands filled out through the session. Nice sunshine out there and moderate temperatures. Australia in much the stronger position, there’s a big modern trend of overestimating how many runs one needs to defend in a fourth innings, but India remain in the game if they can get a rush of wickets happening.
25th over: Australia 53-2 (Labuschagne 20, Smith 2) Who said that Rohit Sharma is out of captaincy ideas? An over of spin before lunch! It’s bold, it’s daring, it’s a revelation. This is the incisive thinking we’ve been waiting for. Jadeja is the dart artist of choice, left arm straight, and he’s immediately clipped for three by Labuschagne. Smith tries a back-foot punch through cover but finds the fielder. And that’s it. It. Is. Sandwich. Time.
24th over: Australia 50-2 (Labuschagne 17, Smith 2) Labuschagne squeezes a single down to fine leg from Deep, second last over before the interval. Gets Smith onto strike, and gets Smith off the mark, a bottom handed wipe of a shot through midwicket. Like a mafia henchman, ugly but effective.
23rd over: Australia 47-2 (Labuschagne 16, Smith 0) Another scoreless over blocked out by Smith from Siraj, very happy to play for lunch at this stage.
22nd over: Australia 47-2 (Labuschagne 16, Smith 0) Akash Deep back for Bumrah, who did look like he was flagging in that previous over. And dishes out a working over! Smashes Labuschagne in the box, which is the trend of the moment, the mode du jour. Beats the inside half of the bat a couple more times, hitting pads, appealing. Loves an appeal for a very not out lbw, does our guy. No run.
21st over: Australia 47-2 (Labuschagne 16, Smith 0) Siraj to Smith, playing at almost everything, but taking his time to get a read of the pitch.
20th over: Australia 47-2 (Labuschagne 16, Smith 0) Bumrah with a normal human over, one that Labuschagne is able to defend without any personal injury or bowel-outraging alarms, before driving four through cover.
19th over: Australia 43-2 (Labuschagne 12, Smith 0) It was a great setup, if it was one. Four balls all going across, but pitching in line with the stumps first. The wicket ball also pitches in line, but just in line with leg stump, a touch straighter. And a couple of feet fuller, making sure the length is right. India need Siraj, who was so good on their last tour. He’s contributed today. Smith blocks his first ball.
WICKET! Khawaja b Siraj 21, Australia 43-2
Another one clean bowled! Through the gate goes Siraj, lots of effort in the delivery action, and was there a little swing in there? Or was that seam? Siraj has been going past the outside edge time and again, now he passes the inside edge through a big gap and takes out middle and off stump.
18th over: Australia 43-1 (Khawaja 21, Labuschagne 12) Bumrah to Khawaja, who edges a run behind point, allowing the bowler to smack Labuschagne’s pads with an in-ducker and go to DRS when Umpire Gough says no. I thought leg side, live. It’s umpire’s call, and the tracking says possibly brushing the corner of the leg bail, so fair to err towards the batter. But a different call on field and they would have had him. Labuschagne adds another two off his pads to end the over.
Eamonn Maloney has been studying the Wiki. “Unique but possibly not quite complimentary enough to be autobiography? Unlike the highly suspect page of an ex-AFL player I came across once that described him as ‘a successful businessman in today’s society’.”
In today’s society! That sounds like a high-school debate opening.
17th over: Australia 40-1 (Khawaja 20, Labuschagne 10) Siraj isn’t bowling as short as Deep, but he keeps beating the edge too. Bowling across Khawaja, who makes it through another over and adds a run.
16th over: Australia 39-1 (Khawaja 19, Labuschagne 10) Five overs up front, now a chance of ends to bowl his sixth replacing Akash Deep. Bumrah starts with another leaping ball that smacks into Pant’s gloves after a fruitless push, but Labuschagne gets two next ball with a modest drive past the bowler. Beaten by the third ball of the over, very close to the edge and just over the bails as well, Pant appealing out of a sense that somehow, if the arc of the universe bends towards justice, that just should be out, even though the bat didn’t touch it. A hefty lbw appeal next ball, but Bumrah’s inward movement is taking it well down the leg side. Too good for thee, but too good for himself as well. Fifth ball, back past the outside edge, as the cordon hops and bubbles like the cheese on a French onion soup. Then Labuschagne ends the over with a bit of soup in his cup, as Bumrah cuts one into him and liquefies his box. Ouch.
What an over. What a bowler. We keep saying things like this, but he is honestly on a level all his own right at the moment.
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15th over: Australia 37-1 (Khawaja 19, Labuschagne 8) Much better over from Siraj. He draws an edge from Labuschagne that bounces in front of Kohli at slip and skims through his hands. Then a couple of really nice balls to the left-hander that threaten the edge. Now Bumrah is coming back.
14th over: Australia 36-1 (Khawaja 19, Labuschagne 7) Good pull shot from Khawaja. One of his main strokes when he’s playing well. Deep bowls a seventh over on the trot.
Andy Bradshaw asks if it counts as a slogging injury “when the much missed Andrew Symonds ripped the bicep off the bone smacking Sajid Mahmood into orbit during the 2007 VB series, because Paul Nixon had irritated him so much?”
We’ve developed a theory on The Final Word pod that Paul Nixon may have written his own Wikipedia page, given the level of detail and the fulsomeness of description compared to pages of some rather more prominent players.
Go and have a look and tell me what you think. And donate to them. And donate to the Guardian, so I don’t get in trouble for saying that.
13th over: Australia 32-1 (Khawaja 15, Labuschagne 7) There we go. Siraj time, and the batting gets easy. Fish are jumping and the cotton is high. Three for Labuschagne, turned through square leg, three for Khawaja through point, two more for Marnus on the glance. The age of ease. Drinks.
12th over: Australia 24-1 (Khawaja 12, Labuschagne 2) Sixth over for Akash Deep, only a glanced single from it, he’s only gone for 13 in total. But we need that other column populated, Akash, to keep this game bubbling.
11th over: Australia 23-1 (Khawaja 12, Labuschagne 1) Bumrah gets a break. Amazing first spell, but I still think that Australia have had the better of it. India really needed Bumrah to get on a tear, get them three down perhaps. Could easily have happened, but another ten overs of graft and then the Australians can start to regain control of the innings. No run for Khawaja from Siraj’s first over.
“‘You come for the King, you best not miss,’ spake Bumrah to Konstas.” That’s from Samir Chopra, quoting Omar Little. Konstas couldn’t do anything but miss that ball.
10th over: Australia 23-1 (Khawaja 12, Labuschagne 1) You’re hearing it more and more: Akash Deep, please pitch it up a little. Just a little. Deep is too shallow. He’s getting plenty out of this surface, exciting movement, but he’s kept passing the edge.
Until he gets a nick! That is a bit fuller, but Labuschagne edges it into his leg first, and that takes the pace off it. Lands in front of slip.
9th over: Australia 23-1 (Khawaja 12, Labuschagne 1) How the hell is Khawaja still there? Two more in this over from Bumrah that go careening past the edge, as the batter tries to drive rather than just being a static target. It doesn’t work.
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8th over: Australia 21-1 (Khawaja 11, Labuschagne 0) Right India, it’s time for Somebody Else As Well As Bumrah. Time for whoever that player is to do something with the ball. This is a good over from Deep, keeps Khawaja pinned down around the off stump, but can’t dislodge him.
7th over: Australia 20-1 (Khawaja 10, Labuschagne 0) Welcome to the jungle, Marnus. Labuschagne walks out and immediately gets beaten by another Bumrah jagger.
WICKET! Konstas b Bumrah 8, Australia 20-1
Timmmmbbbberrrrr! What a ball from Bumrah! The da Vinci of hyperextension, except that Bumrah actually finishes his projects. That is unbelievable, in the literal sense. How do you play that? You don’t. You can’t. We can’t answer the question of whether Konstas can bat, because that wasn’t batting. He was just standing in the way.
This ball pitches outside the off stump by a good distance, then seams as wickedly as the ones away from Khawaja earlier. But it’s seaming into the right hander. Screaming in. He plays the right line, for a ball that was moving anywhere near a normal amount. This one though goes past his inside edge. From well outside off, it knocks leg stump out of the ground.
What a moment.
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6th over: Australia 20-0 (Konstas 8, Khawaja 10) “I love the fact that after the last four days of Konstas mania, we still have no idea if he can bat.” Quite so, Peter Salmon. Might answer that before lunch. Konstas misses the first ball here, huge appeal from Deep. Senselessly, because that ball hits the top of the thigh. Nice movement, but pitch it up a bit, buddy. Nope, Deep goes shorter and Konstas pulls four through fine leg off a top edge, then nicks on the bounce past Jaiswal at gully for one. They’ve got deep third back for the scoop. Still no closer to an answer.
5th over: Australia 15-0 (Konstas 3, Khawaja 10) A delay while Konstas gets some strapping on his forearm and takes a couple of painkillers. Not sure what happened there. He hasn’t been hit, as far as I can see. Called for the physio immediately after the catch fell short. Can you strain a forearm muscle from slogging too hard?
Bumrah keeps working over Khawaja. I don’t know how he hasn’t nicked one of these first three deliveries. They’ve all done too much, in the end. The third one is fuller than the others, and still deviates so far it misses willow. Last ball of the over, though, Khawaja can glance for four.
4th over: Australia 11-0 (Konstas 3, Khawaja 6) Still unconvincing, Khawaja. Misses a pull shot, edges to gully on the bounce, before flicking two runs square. Deep is bowling from the Shane Warne Stand end of the ground, the old Southern Stand. Khawaja drops a single. Konstas edged in front of gully. Jaiswal again. A very low ball, that one, but he hesitates and hangs back for half a second. Perhaps if he’d gone forward immediately he might have got fingers under it, but would have been tough.
“Liked your piece on Reddy.” Cheers, Colum Fordham. “Together with Australia’s Sam Konstas, he has added a breath of fresh air to test cricket. All raw talent and nerveless aggression. Shame in a way that he capitulated early to Lyon but still. India have a faint whiff of a chance to draw the match if they dig in but it won’t be plain sailing.
At least Reddy’s wonderful innings has given India some hope. Will be fascinating to see Konstas’ reaction now. I’m sure there will be fireworks one way or another.”
3rd over: Australia 8-0 (Konstas 3, Khawaja 3) Bumrah’s turn to beat Khawaja outside the off stump, but again there’s no edge. Indian bowlers need one early. If Australia pass 200 in this innings then the game is all but gone. Good ball from Bumrah! Rearing at Khawaja, just past the shoulder of the bat as he pulls the bat inside the line. Khawaja chats to himself about it as he walks away. Then he’s dropped! Oh, that was straight to him. Jaiswal at a leg gully, almost, had to be expecting a catch in that position. Glanced off the pads, low and fast and flat, but straight into the hands at about knee level, and Jaiswal just lets it burst through. Huge moment.
2nd over: Australia 7-0 (Konstas 3, Khawaja 2) Akash Deep with the new ball, not Siraj. If there’s any swing, now is the time. He has Khawaja hopping as ever, trying to play balls on a length. Gets one to fine leg. Deep bowls a goody to Konstas, that slams the seam and decks away, just past the edge. Then outswing but Konstas carves with the movement to deep backward for two, before being beaten again by a ball too short to take his edge.
1st over: Australia 4-0 (Konstas 1, Khawaja 1) The Double Ks come to the middle, Konstas on strike to Bumrah… and there are boos as he takes a single first ball! Little pull shot. Khawaja glances his first run. Bumrah not quite on the spot yet, sore shoulders from carrying the side, all that. Bowls wide of the off stump and has a word to himself as Konstas stares back at him, then bowls leg stump and deflects off the pads for two. Pace down in the low 130s. Let’s give him an over or two to warm up. There’s the first Konstas shot! Charges, swats, misses with an almost horizontal bat, and the ball bounces over his stumps.
John Starbuck, our most maritime-coded correspondent, writes in. “‘Morning, Geoff. Oh how I miss Richie saying ‘Morning everyone’. I’m currently drinking golden rum to help me sleep later (he says) and carrying on with re-reading Jasper Fforde’s The Woman Who Died a Lot, which I recommend, even though the dominant sport is not cricket, but croquet. More power to your typing fingers as I’m set to enjoy the OBO, so long as the rain holds off. What’s the weather forecast for the MCG?”
I once confused some very pleasant Icelanders who thought I was talking about croquet. Weather is set fair, cool on the walk in this morning, but on the way to the mid 20s and no rain for the rest of the Test.
Updated
End of the second innings, Australia lead by 105 runs
So the Indian pair added 11 this morning, trimming the deficit usefully. Now everything rides on their efforts with the ball. Will Australia fall victim to the third-innings wobble, as they did in Brisbane? Will they seize control of this match? Sam Konstas is going to bat in a few minutes. Strap in, either way.
WICKET! Reddy c Starc b Lyon 114, India 369-10
Never mind, the point of contention is soon resolved. Team play from Reddy, he could have just batted for the nice red ink ton, but he keeps taking on Lyon and hits him down the ground again. This time elevated but not enough distance, and Starc at long off has the buckets out. Lyon gets three instead of Cummins getting four.
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119th over: India 369-9 (Reddy 114, Siraj 4) Cheers as Siraj blocks the first ball. Not many in yet this morning with the early start, though the MCC area is well stocked. Siraj is able to squirt away a run fourth ball, then Reddy adds another.
Then a big to-do from the last ball. Siraj jams down on a yorker outside off stump. It squeezes up from the edge to slip. Umpire’s review checks the bump ball, and the Bangladeshi third umpire Sharfuddoula rules it not out! Cummins is astonished, the Australians had already started wandering towards the fence when they saw the replay. Cummins is making the T sign for a review to the standing umpires, over and over again, while Joel Wilson tells him that he can’t review a review.
I have to agree with Cummins there. There’s a chance that the ball is touching bat and ground at the same time as it arrives, I guess. That might be the umpire’s thinking. But it comes up off the ground and then subsequently off the bat, I would say. Touches the bat last on its way to slip. Anyway. Not out.
118th over: India 367-9 (Reddy 113, Siraj 3) Single first ball! Happy to let Siraj face the spin of Lyon. Interesting. Siraj might need to look for a run here rather than block out five balls. And he does so! A little prod behind point, nicely done. Reddy sweeps a couple of runs square. Then charges Lyon and smites four! That’s the stuff. When you may not have many opportunities to face, got to take the ones you get, and the young century-maker has been happy taking on Lyon all series. Down the ground this time. But can’t find the run from the sixth ball to keep strike. Cummins with a full over to Siraj could be the codicil.
117th over: India 359-9 (Reddy 106, Siraj 2) Cummins to bowl, Reddy to resume on a century, the onlookers cheer… and he plays a forward defence. Nice. Blocks out a couple and then decides to take the single fourth ball of the over, not fifth or sixth. So he’s decided to trust Siraj from the outset. Not so much that they take a possible run when Siraj blocks a ball into the midwicket gap. He spars at the sixth, down the line of the stumps, and it goes by the edge.
Updated
Players are coming onto the field. Some Indian squad members are still taking high catches as the umpires walk out. That’s dedication. Now they’re on the move.
Drop me an email, the address is in the sidebar. Or the bit up the top on your phone.
The special part of yesterday was Reddy’s innings, one that he couldn’t have assembled without the partnership support from Washington Sundar. So that’s what I wrote about at stumps.
Preamble
Day 4, and the match is still is alive. I love that for us. December 28th may be known forevermore as Nitish Kumar Reddy Day. That’s unlikely, but it wouldn’t be outrageous if it happened. It was one hell of an innings from the young player to assemble his first century in Tests and to do so from No 8 in the order. India still trail by a lot, 116 runs, but they have a path towards at least scrapping this out for a draw, or if they happen to bowl well in the third innings then they could be in the frame for a win.
So the scores are: Australia 474, India 358-9. Of course, the advantage is still very much with Australia, and all they have to do is bat decently in the third innings to put a win out of reach for India, and shoot for one themselves.
First, though, they need to finish off Reddy. He reached 105 not out by the time bad light and rain ended play early on Day 3. He’s still there, and he’ll have strike. But he only has Mohammed Siraj for company. So this could all be over in a couple of minutes, or he might farm the strike for a while and whittle down that deficit still further.
Let’s see.
