Match report
Decent end to the day for Australia there, Head and Labuschagne taking the attack back to India.
A droll Eamonn Maloney emails in:
“Uncertain about this Head player, seems to have justified his selection though (eyeroll). When Australia were always going to be up against it I would have had our most ‘Bazballiest’ player first on the teamsheet, but there you are.”
A couple of hours of him motoring in the morning could certainly get Australia back into this series.
I’ve got to dash off now but as always it’s been a pleasure, ta to Jonathan for doing the early shift and thanks as ever for your correspondence. Goodbye!
STUMPS: Australia 61-1
Labuschagne blocks out the last ball from Axar Patel (the man of the day) and folds his bat under his arm like an olden days commuter might their newspaper, striding off without a backwards glance. Australia lead by 62 at the close of day two.
11th over: Australia 59-1 (Head 38, Labuschagne 15) An Ashwin full toss is given the treatment, Head drilling a six back over the bowler’s head. Handy session this from Australia, they’ve lost Khawaja but have grabbed some of that spurious old thing called momentum back at the end of day two. They might get through two more this evening, India will go bananas if they pouch another wicket before the close.
10th over: Australia 51-1 (Head 31, Labuschagne 14) The close in fielders yelp as Jadeja gets one to spit out off the surface. Head does well to glove it straight down. A flatter ball is angled across and he does even better to latch on it and crunch for four, his fifth boundary.
9th over: Australia 46-1 (Head 26, Labuschagne 14) Ashwin into his fifth over, three singles nurdled off it. The lead creeps up towards fifty runs.
8th over: Australia 43-1 (Head 23, Labuschagne 13) BONZA over for Australia, Marnus Labuschagne picks up three boundaries off Jadeja, a drive, a cut and a sweep – the holy trinity of batting. A decent tactic this for Aussies, get as many as you can before they get you – simple eh?
7th over: Australia 30-1 (Head 23, Labuschagne 1) Head backs away to give himself room to carve Ashwin for four through the off side. He seems undeterred by the loss of his opening partner and determined to play his shots. Marnus clips through mid-wicket to get off the mark. Light fading every minute, we might not get too many more.
WICKET! Usman Khawaja c Iyer b Jadeja 6 (Australia 23-1)
India have their first! A loose shot from Khawaja who sweeps in the air and is well held by Iyer short on the leg side. Gloom descending in Delhi and Marnus skips out to the middle.
6th over: Australia 23-1 (Head 16, Labuschagne)
5th over: Australia 18-0 (Khawaja 2, Head 16) Hmmm scratch that. I think Head is just going to go for it if the chance is there to get runs. Ashwin rips one past his edge but he blots that out immediately to come dancing down the track, flicking past short leg for four.
4th over: Australia 12-0 (Khawaja 1, Head 11) I wonder if Travis Head will look to get as many as he can, quickly, against the seamers here. He slaps Shami to the mid-wicket fence for four and follows up with a back foot punch through cover for the second boundary of the over. He looked happy to pat Ashwin away and comes alive when there is pace on the ball. I wonder, I wonder. Doo doo doo doo doo doooo.
3rd over: Australia 4-0 (Khawaja 1, Head 3) Ashwin looks a constant threat. He flights and dips and drops and fizzes a maiden.
2nd over: Australia 4-0 (Khawaja 1, Head 3) Shami starts with a wild one that ends in a different postcode to off stump. Travis Head leans on a length ball and gets it in the gap at cover to pick up a couple. Hard to know what will make a competitive score here in this tricky third innings – anything 180 upwards could be a challenge – that is my hunch.*
*From a sofa five thousand miles away from the pitch in Delhi.
1st over: Australia 2-0 (Khawaja 1, Head 1) Every run vital, crowd fully invested in every ball, this is Test cricket at its most absorbing. Australia stretch their lead to, um, three runs. Both batters underway with a poke off the pads.
We’ve seen some wonderful cricket already in this series and it’s also great to see Virat Kohli go back to being friends with the Australians after the ugliness of the last home series in 2017 #IndvAus pic.twitter.com/UkcLzFFxp1
— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) February 18, 2023
It’ll never last!
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Travis Head strides out with Usman Khawaja, Head will be opening the batting for Australia for the first time in Test cricket. This match is now a one-innings shootout, Ravichandran Ashwin gets his fingers loose by tossing himself a few catches.
The fantastically named Dr Simon Nasseldüche gets in touch and the good Dr don’t fancy Australia’s chances:
“Mark my words Jimbo, the Aussies won’t make 150 here...”
India all out for 262
They trail Australia by a single run. Shami is castled by Kuhnemann and the Aussie batters trot off to strap ‘em on.
Australia lead by one run after the first innings! 😮
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 18, 2023
We've got a game on our hands...#INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/LqBA7sOgE8
You can say that again, Wisden.
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83rd over: India 262-9 (Shami 2, Siraj 1) Shami and Siraj play a shot a ball, this could be over very soon. Three runs eked off Cummins, India trail by one run.
WICKET! Axar Patel c Cummins b Murphy 74 (259-9)
… The ellipsis of doom! Patel is caught at mid-on by Pat Cummins! A heroic catch form the Aussie skipper and Patel can’t believe he’s clung on to it, he drags himself from the field and his team rise to him on the dressing room balcony. The deficit is just four runs and this game is alive.
82nd over: India 259-9 (Shami 0, Siraj 0)
Axar Patel smears Todd Murphy for a flat six that barely gets over head height. A remarkable shot followed straight away by…
81st over: India 253-8 (Patel 68, Shami 0) You could see the emotion surge through Cummins as that catch was held, the series was slipping away there for Australia. Shami comes to the crease with Mark Waugh on comms suggesting he is going to “pin his ears back” i.e go for a slog. Axar Patel might open his shoulders too…
WICKET! Ashwin c Renshaw b Cummins 37 (India 253-8)
Hear that? An entire cricketing nation breathes a sigh of relief – Australia take a wicket! Ashwin plays a loose chip and is caught at square leg. India trail by ten runs – GAME ON.
80th over: India 252-7 (Patel 67, Ashwin 37) More pain for Australia, Axar plunders another four from a cut shot and Ashwin gets in on the fun too, gliding Lyon away to the fence behind point. The game slipping away from the Aussies even though they still have a small lead. The run rate for the session is above four runs an over - India have collected 73 runs and counting. The tourists are wilting. NEW BALL DUE.
Ravichandran Ashwin now has seven century partnerships in Tests. Endlessly stubborn. #IndvAus
— Geoff Lemon Sport (@GeoffLemonSport) February 18, 2023
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79th over: India 243-7 (Patel 52, Ashwin 32) Yikes. Axar Patel gets on the front foot and unfurls a howitzer of a cover drive off Pat Cummins. Next ball he stands tall and rasps a cut shot to the fence! The crowd go crackers. Some innings this from Axar and the partnership between himself and Ashwin goes to 103.
78th over: India 232-7 (Patel 52, Ashwin 32) Nathan Lyon seems to have been bowling for a fortnight. A single to Axar reduces the deficit to just 30. A lot of Australian hopes rest on the new ball which is just a couple of overs away.
77th over: India 231-7 (Patel 51, Ashwin 32) A lesser spotted bouncer! Cummins gets some lift out of the middle of the pitch and the ball thunks into Ashwin’s shoulder and balloons to Steve Smith at slip. A weary looking Cummins sends down a maiden. NewsFlash: Playing cricket against India in India is HARD.
76th over: India 231-7 (Patel 51, Ashwin 32) Patel has hit two towering sixes and four fours in his 51, Australia are desperate for a wicket. Pat Cummins senses his team need him and comes on for a bowl with the new ball due in four overs.
75th over: India 230-7 (Patel 51, Ashwin 31) Consecutive fifties for Axar Patel and he brings it up in some style! Matt Kuhnemann is called upon to send down a few dead-dog overs before the new ball… Patel doesn’t let him settle and smears him away for a huge six over deep-midwicket. A match-turning knock from Axar Patel, he’s knocked the stuffing out of the Aussies in the past hour or so.
74th over: India 222-7 (Patel 43, Ashwin 31) Four more! Ashwin flicks Lyon off his pads for a fine four. India trail by just 41 now. Australia look sapped out there, physically and mentally.
73rd over: India 218-7 (Patel 43, Ashwin 27) Matthew ‘Haydos/The ‘Dos’ Hayden is on the tv commentary with Ravi Shastri. I love his Aussie drawl and he’s an insightful reader fo the game. “I reckon Virat jumped off the boat just as they were about to come around and serve cocktails.” Lovely. Eight runs are plundered off Travis Head’s second over, he ends it by going to full and Axar does not miss out – pouncing on it and driving down the ground for four. Hayden chirps up, “This partnership has gone way past annoying and into critical for Australia.”
72nd over: India 210-7 (Patel 36, Ashwin 26) Lyon continues and is dealt with comfortably until the end of the over when the ball spins past Patel’s edge. It was slow turn though. Australia still have seven overs to get through before they get their mitts on a shiny new ball. The scores might be level by then…
71st over: India 208-7 (Patel 35, Ashwin 25) Head starts tidily enough, a couple collected from his first over.
Depth in batting to India’s rescue…
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) February 18, 2023
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70th over: India 206-7 (Patel 34, Ashwin 24) Ashwin gets a tickle past Matt Renshaw at leg slip and it is another boundary to India. More noise. The deficit was 124 runs when Ashwin and Axar came together and now it’s down to 50-odd. The ball has gone soft and is giving the batters plenty of time to line it up. Travis Head is summoned!
69th over: India 202 -7 (Patel 34, Ashwin 20) Another lengthy meeting between Cummins and co. The over rate is nicht gut. The crowd sense the Aussies dawdling and up the decibel count once more. It’s great theatre even though nowt much is really happening. Ashwin pushes a single into the covers and it brings raptures. Fantastic stuff. This partnership of 63 runs is now the biggest of the match.
68th over: India 201 -7 (Patel 34, Ashwin 19) India go past 200 with four byes as Lyon fizzes one down the leg-side and past a grasping Alex Carey. The crowd in Delhi sense a shifting of the power grapple in this Test and start to cheer every ball. The deficit is down to 62 runs.
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67th over: India 197-7 (Patel 34, Ashwin 19) Murphy continues and is worked for four runs off the over. It all looks quite comfortable for India now and the Aussies are starting to look a little frustrated. Is it time to give Travis Head a whirl? The end of each over sees a mini conference between Cummins and his chief lieutenants.
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66th over: India 193-7 (Patel 33, Ashwin 16) Lyon is on the prowl and sends down a maiden.
Greg Wood gets in touch:
“Could it be said that India’s batters today have been sacrificed to the GOAT? I might go and cremate something in the tandoor as a burnt offering to the cricketing gods.
I’ll see myself out.”
See that you do. Close the heavy OBO oak door behind you too, Greg.
65th over: India 193-7 (Patel 33, Ashwin 16) A single to each batter off Todd Murphy.
An email entitled ‘Nipped in the Bud’ pings in from Saurya Chakraborty:
“That Kohli dismissal from earlier was heartbreaking in many ways - given both his recent lean patch in this format and how NAILED ON he looked for a big score today before that (unfortunate?) dismissal. I’d love if you and the rest of the OBO veterans can recall any other innings where they thought a player looked set for a big one before it ended abruptly (preferably in tragically hilarious circumstances). We can probably avoid James Vince and Crawley from this discussion altogether!
Over to you OBO hivemind! I reckon Ricky Ponting looked nailed on every time he batted…
64th over: India 191-7 (Patel 32, Ashwin 15) Is that a drop? Lyon paws at his pate in frustration as he finds the edge of Patel’s bat and Steve Smith seems to dive over the ball in the slips. Smith is a fantastic slipper but is going through a poor trot of form at the moment. Mark Waugh, who knows a thing or two about pouching them in the slips, reckons he rose too quickly and couldn’t get back down again.
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63rd over: India 186-7 (Patel 28, Ashwin 14) Todd Murphy begins after tea, spectacle frames glinting in the late afternoon sun. Ashwin clips for a couple and four leg byes are squeaked through from a missed sweep. India don’t care how they come. If they can get to within 5o or so runs of Australia then this Test basically becomes a one innings crapshoot, and wouldn’t that be fun (for the neutral at least).
@Jimbo_Cricket - a teatime read for #OBO ers? https://t.co/6uWJDHqShd
— Anand (@anandkumarn) February 18, 2023
Meanwhile in New Zealand…
England are closing on victory in the first Test, with New Zealand 63-5 chasing 394 at stumps on day three at Bay Oval https://t.co/L3Zg0hxXBN
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) February 18, 2023
62nd over: India 179-7 (Patel 28, Ashwin 11) Kuhnemann to bowl the last over before tea. Ashwin nudges a single. A drag down is then laced through the covers by Axar, he’s seeing it big and it’s a statement of intent to end the session. Australia have picked up three wickets - including the silver tuna Virat Kohli – but this partnership is already up to a frustrating (for them) 40 off just 66 balls. The Straya first innings lead is 84 runs. Join us for what promises to be an intriguing final session. Off for a cup of Java, back soon!
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61st over: India 174-7 (Patel 24, Ashwin 10) Axar is wielding the his err axe with relish. Cummins drops short and is cracked away through the covers, a whip-cracking cut shot that Indiana Jones or The Judge himself would be proud of.
60th over: India 170-7 (Patel 20, Ashwin 10) The lead is now less than a hundred. Patel lofts a four off Kuhnemann that goes for a one bounce four and follows it up by nailing a slog sweep high and handsome into the crowd. SIXAH! As a bouffant Mark Nicholas would say.
59th over: India 159-7 (Patel 9, Ashwin 10) As if to prove me wrong for besmirching him in these pages, Patel gets on the front foot and drives Cummins down the ground for a bootiful four. That’s me told, Axar. Ay carumba! Forget skidding low – Cummins gets one to rear up and whistle past Ashwin’s flailing attempted cut. From a personal POV it is a joy to have a pace bowler on, a Cummins over takes a good minute longer than one from the spinners. First world OBO problems eh?
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58th over: India 153-7 (Patel 5, Ashwin 9) Lyon whirls away and lands six balls on the button, a maiden keeps the pressure on. Pat Cummins is coming on for a spell, if he can get the ball to skid low at his pace then he could mop up these last few wickets quickly. Not that either of these batters would thank me for lumping them in with the tail.
57th over: India 153-7 (Patel 5, Ashwin 9) Murphy is accurate if a tad unthreatening. Patel works a single.
56th over: India 152-7 (Patel 4, Ashwin 9) The pitch continues to throw up - or down - the odd grubber. Lyon pins Ashwin with one on the back foot but it was heading down leg. A strangled appeal from ‘Gaz’.
Righto, as things have quietened down a bit let’s do some pleasantries. Who is out there and tuning in aboard the good ship OBO? You can get in touch with an ‘Ahoy!’ or with whatever you like really. Thoughts, theories and Saturday musings very much welcome. You can whang me an Email or drop me a tweet @Jimbo_Cricket.
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55th over: India 151-7 (Patel 4, Ashwin 9) Todd Murphy into the attack, his line is a little off, starting the ball too straight to cause too many problems but it results in a maiden nonetheless. The camera cuts to Virat Kohli in the India dressing room, he is clearly ticking – either at himself or at the third umpire. My money is on the latter but FWIW I reckon it was the right call.
54th over: India 151-7 (Patel 4, Ashwin 9) Counterpunch from Ravichandran Ashwin, he’s such a sweet timer of the ball. Kuhnemann drops his length a smidge and is punched through the covers for another four.
53rd over: India 146-7 (Patel 4, Ashwin 4) Lyon twirls in with his dander well and truly up, every ball an event. Patel does well to jam down on one into the leg-side to pick up two runs.
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52nd over: India 144-7 (Patel 1, Ashwin 4) Ashwin is the new batter and India need all his nouse with the blade. He gets going straight away by driving Kuhnemann square for four.
WICKET! Srikar Bharat c Smith b Lyon 6 (Australia 139-7)
Lyon has five wickets! A gloved top edge is safely snaffled. India on the ropes here, they still trail by 123 runs. Australia crowd the bat and smell blood, any half decent first innings lead could prove crucial on this ragging wicket.
51st over: India 139-7 (Patel 0, Ashwin 0 )
50th over: India 135-6 (Bharat 2, Patel 0 ) Thanks Jonathan, I just snorted into my morning cuppa! The silence was indeed palpable when Kohli was eventually given… and then there was Ravi Shastri. Hello everyone. Crikey, what a time to take over the tools! The pitch is shooting and the game is on a knife edge. Axar Patel is the new man at the crease.
And on that bombshell, I will hand you over to James Wallace. Thanks for your company today, catch you back here soon.
WICKET! Kohli LBW Kuhnemann 44 (India 135-6)
I have been on fire with my commentary curses today. Kuhnemann has Kohli LBW! From around the wicket the ball angled into the right hander, pitched, straightened, and hit pad and inside-edge simultaneously. Kohli reviews, and the third umpire rock-n-rolls repeatedly in an attempt to determine what the ball hit first. This is gripping. India’s star, just going through the gears, against Australia’s debutant. Richard Illingworth can’t see enough on snicko to overturn the onfield decision, so we go to DRS. KOHLI IS OUT! Incredible scenes. The silence on TV commentary says it all. When that is pierced Ravi Shastri sounds like someone’s just keyed his car.
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49th over: India 135-5 (Kohli 44, Bharat 2) ‘Kohli doing Kohli things’ now means finding a single early in the over to rotate the strike and keep the scoreboard tickign over. He does exactly that to Murphy before Bharat gets off the mark with a drive into the covers. Murphy then thinks he’s in the game with a delivery that keeps low, but Kohli watches it like a hawk and drags a boundary through square-leg. Spurred on by the previous delivery, Kohli advances down the pitch and drills another single, this time to long on. We may well be in the guts of a memorable innings. India are in a bit of a mess but Kohli has the bit between his teeth.
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48th over: India 126-5 (Kohli 37, Bharat 0) Kohli continues his policy of finding an early single, making batting look easy. Bharat then takes no risk against Kuhnemann, playing forward and straight as he acclimatises to the conditions. There’s still a moral victory for the bowler though, getting one to drift into the right-handed batter, grip, and then turn past the outside edge.
47th over: India 125-5 (Kohli 36, Bharat 0) Another failed review (this time by India) on a day already full of them. Australia resume the upper hand just as India were mounting a counter-offensive. What will Kohli do now?
WICKET! Jadeja c Handscomb b Murphy 26 (India 125-5)
Right on cue, Kohli advances to the first ball of Murphy’s over and clubs a four back down the ground. He then rotates the strike easily, bringing Jadeja to the business end. But that might not have worked out well with the No 6 given out onfield for either a bat-pad catch or LBW!? Jadeja reviews and snicko shows no inside-edge, ruling out that dismissal, so we move to DRS and, from around the wicket, Murphy gets the ball to hold its line, beat the bat on the inside edge, and travel in the direction of the stumps. Massive wicket for Australia!
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46th over: India 120-4 (Kohli 31, Jadeja 26) Kuhnemann replaces Lyon, looping the ball into the rough outside the left-handed Jadeja’s off-stump from over the wicket. There are puffs of dust but the strike is rotated neatly. This partnership is now looking ominous for Australia. Few deliveries have misbehaved since lunch and it might be time to see if there’s any reverse swing for Cummins before Kohli is immovable.
45th over: India 118-4 (Kohli 30, Jadeja 25) Ooof! Murphy gets one to hold its line from around the wicket and spit a fraction off a length. Kohli gets a thick edge to it that flies just wide of the diving Smith at slip and away for four. A much more conventional two follows as the partnership passes 50.
44th over: India 112-4 (Kohli 24, Jadeja 25) Just the standard Kohli single from Lyon’s latest over. Neither side giving an inch at the moment, both understanding the value of this partnership.
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43rd over: India 111-4 (Kohli 23, Jadeja 25) Just the standard Kohli single from Murphy’s latest over.
Meanwhile, it appears Stuart Broad (AKA Nighthawk) is in the middle of one of *those* spells.
42nd over: India 110-4 (Kohli 22, Jadeja 25) Kohli is trying to assert himself against Lyon but the bowler is up to the task, varying his length to deny the batter any timing. The scoreboard advances nonetheless with a deflection off the hip running fine for four leg-byes.
41st over: India 105-4 (Kohli 21, Jadeja 25) Murphy’s latest over begins with the umpires sending a stumping review upstairs, only to reveal absolutely nothing of note. The delivery was excellent, spinning past the outside edge, but despite sharp glovework from Alex Carey, Jadeja’s back foot never left the crease or terra firma. There’s another shout three balls later, this time for LBW, but from around the wicket, beating the left-hander on the inside is always likely to lead to the conclusion the ball is heading down the leg-side.
40th over: India 104-4 (Kohli 20, Jadeja 25) Lyon is back around the wicket and it seems clear that after looking for turn and bounce with the harder ball earlier in the day, the strategy is now to exploit the low bounce and bowl a stump-to-stump line. It fails to pay dividends this time with Kohli working his regular single and Jadeja tucking into a delivery just a fraction short and placing it firmly wide of midwicket for four. My scepticism over Jadeja being “in” or not has now disappeared.
39th over: India 99-4 (Kohli 19, Jadeja 21) This partnership is now in the 30s and a feature has been the running between the wickets; every available run has been taken. Murphy is offering India’s batters more run-scoring opportunities than Australia’s other spinners with his length – both full and short - just a fraction off.
38th over: India 97-4 (Kohli 18, Jadeja 20) A touch of low bounce on a couple of occasions raises Indian heart-rates but Kohli’s hands are quick enough to jam down on Lyon’s deliveries. The bowler adapts to the pitch’s signals by moving over the crease, but succeeds only in allowing each batter a single. Excellent cat-and-mouse cricket.
37th over: India 95-4 (Kohli 17, Jadeja 19) It’s Todd Murphy to share duties with Lyon but he begins by dropping short and allowing Kohli to bunt a couple towards square leg. The next delivery is drilled to the long-on sweeper confidently, suggesting Kohli does not intend simply to occupy the crease this session. It’s a different story with Jadeja, who has yet to settle in his 40+ delivery stay at the crease, and there’s a big appeal for LBW that’s turned down by umpire Gough for a tiny inside-edge. India’s No 6 responds by driving Murphy back down the ground for four, a shot that only just evaded the bowler in his follow through.
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36th over: India 88-4 (Kohli 14, Jadeja 15) Lyon returns to his beautiful line and length from around the wicket, teasing Jadeja’s outside edge on a couple of occasions, one that includes beating the Indian allrounder in the air. Maiden over.
The teams are back out for the afternoon session. A big couple of hours of cricket coming up. Nathan Lyon has the ball in his hands, Ravindra Jadeja is on strike.
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Greg Wood has spent the lunch interval wisely, by crafting me an email. “Just another thought about Australia’s batting line up for the third Test in the absence of David Warner,” he begins.
”It would be likely that Cam Green would come in, but instead of opening with Travis Head, why not consider opening with Marnus Labuschagne? He is a No 3 after all and at first drop has to be able to play like an opener anyway. That would also create a right-left opening combo with Usman Khawaja. Then Steve Smith as a right hander at No 3, Head as a left hander at 4, Peter Handscomb as a right hander at 5. This would help create opportunities for more left right combos in the top order to keep Indian bowlers changing their lines and field placement. Then of course Green at 6 and from there down through Alex Carey and the bowlers.”
There is a lot of merit to that proposal Greg, and I wouldn’t challenge the logic. The only thing I would offer is that by shuffling Labuschagne and Smith you could end up meddling with things that are not broken. We know cricketers are full of superstitions and idiosyncrasies, so what seems logical to us may have much more emotional resonance to them. I would be reluctant to disrupt what is clearly the engine room of Australia’s order when an alternative was available.
Or drop into some pink ball shenanigans over in New Zealand:
Here’s some lunchtime reading for you:
Lunch: India 88-4 (Australia 263)
35th over: India 88-4 (Kohli 14, Jadeja 15) Little to report from the final over before lunch, sent down by the debutant Kuhnemann. Australia leave the field for a rest delighted by their session’s work.
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34th over: India 87-4 (Kohli 14, Jadeja 14) Murphy gives Lyon a break and he sends down a maiden.
Fully 40 minutes after the story was broken, the TV coverage finally relays the news that David Warner has fractured his elbow. It makes the discussion about Australian selection for the third Test much more straightforward (i.e. Cameron Green comes in and Travis Head opens).
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33rd over: India 87-4 (Kohli 14, Jadeja 14) Kohli gets his single, then Kuhnemann keeps Jadeja honest. Australia’s back-up spinners have supported Lyon ably this morning.
32nd over: India 84-4 (Kohli 13, Jadeja 14) Jadeja doesn’t look set yet, but he digs in against Lyon and whips a couple into the leg-side when the bowler drops a fraction short. He then benefits from a skinny edge running along the ground through the cordon and away for a boundary.
31st over: India 78-4 (Kohli 13, Jadeja 8) Kuhnemann is back for his third spell of the morning, replacing Murphy from the Delhi Gate end. Kohli nudges his customary single then Jadeja struggles to pierce the field, until driving handsomely to long-on for one.
30th over: India 76-4 (Kohli 12, Jadeja 7) Lyon beats Jadeja’s outside edge then finds a healthy edge that drops inches short of Smith at first slip. That was so so close to a session five-for. Perhaps frustrated at the misfortune, Lyon sends down his first loose delivery of the day, and Jadeja clatters it to the cover boundary. After the opening over experimenting with his pace and length, Lyon has been superb.
Test wickets for Aus v India:
— Ric Finlay (@RicFinlay) February 18, 2023
99 NLyon
53 BLee
52 RBenaud
51 GMcGrath, JHazlewood
29th over: India 70-4 (Kohli 12, Jadeja 1) Kohli and Jadeja rotate the strike comfortably in an unusually run-of-the-mill over. 20 minutes until the lunch break. India will be happy to creep to the interval with no further damage.
28th over: India 68-4 (Kohli 11, Jadeja 0) After Kohli rotates the strike Lyon pins down Jadeja. Not only have Australia taken a cluster of wickets in dramatic fashion, they have slowed the run-rate to a crawl.
27th over: India 67-4 (Kohli 10, Jadeja 0) Murphy is now copying Lyon and coming into the crease from around the wicket. Kohli deals with it nonchalantly but there’s a strong appeal for LBW against the left-handed Jadeja. Of course, Australia have no more reviews so the on-field umpire’s decision is final, and Michael Gough says not-out.
26th over: India 66-4 (Kohli 9, Jadeja 0) What a session this is turning into for Australia. India turns its eyes to Virat Kohli once again.
Kohli's Test average by quartiles:
— Ric Finlay (@RicFinlay) February 18, 2023
1st 42.37
2nd 61.14
3rd 61.98
4th 27.62
WICKET! Shreyas c Handscomb b Lyon 4 (India 66-4)
Nathan Lyon’s golden arm snags a fourth! But this dismissal had little to do with the GOAT and everything to do with Peter Handscomb. Shreyas flicked the ball off his toes and it thudded into short-leg’s midriff. Handscomb, under the lid, reacts brilliantly, folding his body to cushion the blow and grasp the catch as the ball descended to the turf. Miraculous from the Victorian.
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25th over: India 65-3 (Kohli 8, Shreyas 4) Todd Murphy gets his first bowl of the day, replacing Kuhnemann. After Lyon bowling right-arm offies from around the wicket, and Kuhnemann bowling left-arm orthodox from over, Murphy is bowling his right-arm off-spin from over the wicket. Australia doing their best to manufacture variation in their spin attack. Murphy settles into his work with India looking to rotate the strike, then there’s a massive appeal for bat-pad catch at short-leg. Handscomb reacts brilliantly under the lid, and the bowler is adamant he has a wicket. Here we go… AUSTRALIA REVIEW FOR THE FOURTH TIME THIS SESSION! And it’s the third stinker. Shreyas was nowhere near hitting that. Australia are out of reviews.
24th over: India 63-3 (Kohli 7, Shreyas 3) A surprisingly quiet Nathan Lyon over.
Meanwhile, more news on David Warner. The Australian veteran is not only concussed, he has a fractured arm to boot.
Confirmed hairline fracture, more to come … https://t.co/HB6ev5vnde
— Peter Lalor (@plalor) February 18, 2023
23rd over: India 62-3 (Kohli 7, Shreyas 2) Five solid deliveries from Kuhnemann, finding the right length to the two right handers, bringing them forward, making them question their shots. The sixth isn’t a bad ball but Kohli shows his class, whipping the ball with powerful wrists, against the turn, off middle stump and away to the midwicket boundary.
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22nd over: India 57-3 (Kohli 3, Shreyas 1) Now Lyon has Virat Kohli groping, the Indian star missing the straight one angled across him, almost overbalancing in the process. That natural variation is so hard to adapt to as a batter. So many deliveries spinning viciously in from off to leg, then one just carries on with the arm.
21st over: India 55-3 (Kohli 1, Shreyas 1) Shreyas Iyer has come out looking to counterattack, but Kuhnemann gives the right-hander nothing to hit, and even induces a top-edge from an attempted late cut. Maiden over. Australia are buzzing.
20th over: India 55-3 (Kohli 1, Shreyas 1) Nathan Lyon has turned this match on its head in the space of ten deliveries. Sparkling Test cricket.
WICKET! Pujara LBW Lyon 0 (India 54-3)
Kohli off the mark from a full toss then AUSTRALIA’S THIRD REVIEW OF THE MORNING! Lyon again from around the wicket, again spinning the ball into a right-hander’s pads, and again seeing Menon rejecting a huge appeal for LBW. The bat and pad were very close together, but if the ball struck pad first it will be very close.
Here comes the review … pad first! Red, red, red! Pujara has to go! Brilliant review! Nathan Lyon is on fire!
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WICKET! Rohit b Lyon 32 (India 53-2)
Nathan Lyon does it again! From around the wicket the Australian off-spinner gets his second Indian opener in as many overs. Rohit got himself in an almighty mess, unsure whether to go forward or back, getting trapped in no-man’s land as the ball jagged back towards him and into his stumps!
19th over: India 53-1 (Sharma 32, Pujara 0) Kuhnemann replaces Cummins and immediately induces Rohit to grope outside his off stump and thick edge just short of slip. The Indian skipper responds by thuwmping a slog-sweep four. Consider the bear poked. Some nice running keeps the scoreboard ticking over, but it also brings Pujara on strike, who has yet to settle, and his skittish start is not helped by Kuhnemann ripping a beauty past his outside edge. Excellent cricket on display these past couple of overs.
Another innings for KL Rahul where he fails to convert his start into something substantial.
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) February 18, 2023
KL Rahul in Tests since 2020:
First 30 balls: Average 37.20, S/R 34.83
Next 60 balls: Average 15.30, S/R 29.59#INDvAUS
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18th over: India 46-1 (Sharma 25, Pujara 0) Two balls later there’s an almighty call for lbw against Pujara but despite plenty of animation from Cummins, Carey, and Lyon, there’s no review. You have to think that’s a consequence of the two failures earlier this morning. That looked very close in real time but this time Nitin Menon kept his finger down. Pujara had come a long way down the pitch, but Lyon beat him on the inside. TV replays indicate a review would have been successful! Huge moment in the match. After a sedate start to India’s innings, Nathan Lyon has livened things up.
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WICKET! KL Rahul LBW Lyon 17 (India 46-1)
You’re welcome Australian fans. That declaration of a solid start did not last a delivery. The first ball of Lyon’s second over angled across from around the wicket, landed on a good length, span sharply, beat Rahul’s inside edge, and looked very out in real time. INDIA RETAIN THER REVIEW with ball tracking indicating umpire’s call on height, but it’s still out. Australia have the early breakthrough!
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17th over: India 46-0 (Sharma 25, KL Rahul 17) Cummins continues with his top-of-off approach, eschewing the bouncer so far. India’s openers are happy to defend on the front foot and milk runs when the ball strays onto their pads. Solid start for the hosts, augmented by Australia’s pair of wasted reviews.
16th over: India 45-0 (Sharma 25, KL Rahul 16) Nathan Lyon replaces Kuhnemann, bowling around the wicket to the two right handers, and immediately he gets much sharper turn. It’s the most testing over of the morning so far as Lyon varies his pace and length, searching for the optimal delivery to become his stock ball.
15th over: India 43-0 (Sharma 24, KL Rahul 15) Cummins is bowling beautifully for Trent Bridge or the Gabba. Unfortunately for the Australian skipper he’s in Delhi, and the ball is doing nothing in the air or off the pitch on such a conventional line and length. Maybe I spoke too soon! Cummins bends his back and gets one to hurry onto Rahul who plays forward to a ball that seams and bounces to cut him in two. The ball lobbed up to second slip and AUSTRALIA REVIEW AGAIN! And it’s another shocker with the ball missing the inside-edge by a long long way. Australia lose two of their three reviews very early in this innings, and for very weak appeals.
...and that one was worse...
— Ric Finlay (@RicFinlay) February 18, 2023
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14th over: India 41-0 (Sharma 24, KL Rahul 13) Slip and silly-point in for Kuhnemann who finds the line and length of his opening over. He’s drawing both batters forward, he just needs one to grip. Or perhaps just needs one to slide on? He beats Rahul on the inside and inexplicably Cummins goes upstairs with confidence. THE REVIEW IS LOST with the ball missing the stumps on height and line. Odd call so early in the day for such a low percentage delivery. Rahul responds by sashaying down the pitch and clattering Kuhnemann over the sight-screen for six!
I can only put that review down to the smog.
— Ric Finlay (@RicFinlay) February 18, 2023
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13th over: India 33-0 (Sharma 23, KL Rahul 6) Cummins persists with line and length bowling, despite two men being posted out for the hook. Rohit defends what he must and milks a couple of easy twos off his pads. Not sure this seam-up strategy is destined for much success on this surface.
12th over: India 28-0 (Sharma 18, KL Rahul 6) Kuhnemann continues but India’s right-handed openers get busy, using their feet and wrists well to clip runs into the on-side. They knock the bowler off his length somewhat but Kuhnemann remains calm and sees the over off well. One of those runs into the on-side could have proven costly if Cummins had hit the non-striker’s end with a direct hit. Rohit was ambling and taken by surprise his opposite number’s nimbleness at mid-on.
11th over: India 23-0 (Sharma 14, KL Rahul 5) Pat Cummins shares duties at the start of play, aiming for the top of off stump in a conventional manner. Both batters peel off easy singles. It might not be long before the Australian skipper goes short and uses himself as an enforcer between long spells of spin from both ends.
10th over: India 21-0 (Sharma 13, KL Rahul 4) Kuhnemann starts superbly, hitting a good line and length from around the wicket to Rohit, making the ball hold its line around middle-and-leg. Then he finishes with a wider line and spins the ball past the outside edge. The surface is already showing signs of breaking up with the opening delivery generating a puff of dust.
Matthew Kuhnemann, playing in his third first-class game this season and who was not even in India this time last week, bowls a maiden to Rohit Sharma with a short leg but otherwise no on-side fielders between short fine-leg and mid-on #INDvAUS
— Louis Cameron (@LouisDBCameron) February 18, 2023
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Ok, time to focus on Delhi. The players are walking out into the murky morning ready to begin day two. Debutant Matthew Kuhnemann has the ball, India skipper Rohit Sharma is on strike.
Speaking of the run rate in NZ, Ben Stokes has just hit consecutive sixes to become the most prolific six-hitter in Test history. Second on the list behind the England captain is England coach, Brendon McCullum.
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Mark Waugh and Sanjay Manjrekar have taken a close look at the pitch and they reckon it already looks like a day three or four pitch; dry with plenty of scarring. The best time to bat was yesterday, so don’t expect the kind of run rate we’ve seen over in NZ.
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How’s the weather in Delhi? It’s dry and still with temperatures starting in the low 20s and climbing to the high 20s. Keep an eye on the smog.
If one Test match isn’t enough for you, feel free to keep an eye on New Zealand v England over here. The tourists continue to breathe new life into the old format, ticking along at six rpo as they look to set the Black Caps a challenging fourth innings chase.
And here’s Geoff Lemon’s view from the press box.
On the first day of the Delhi Test, Peter Handscomb appeared to have solved the puzzle. For a time, Usman Khawaja found a way, too. On a pitch that offered sharp turn from ball one even if it was slow enough to sometimes play off the surface, their partnership in the middle of the innings was worth 59, while Khawaja was the consistent presence in helping add 108 beforehand and Handscomb in another 94 afterwards. A total of 263 does not equal cricketing riches, but it was an advance on the previous week’s capitulation in Nagpur.
Here’s the report from the close of day one.
This is a worthwhile opportunity to engage with the issue of concussion in sport and the specific challenge it presents to cricket. Substitutions such as this are surely a step in the right direction.
Here is the substitute Renshaw, ambling to the ground in full kit like a third grade stalwart’s cousin, roped in at the last minute after a bout of gastro has gone through the village. Someone somewhere can be heard muttering “cometh the hour…”.
👀 #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/8IC3cdaUMn
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) February 18, 2023
David Warner ruled out with concussion
Some notable breaking news from the Australian camp before play on day two. David Warner has been withdrawn from the remainder of the Test with concussion after being hit on the helmet while batting yesterday. Matthew Renshaw is his replacement.
BREAKING. David Warner will be ruled out. Concussed. Matthew Renshaw to play.
— Peter Lalor (@plalor) February 18, 2023
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Preamble
Hello everybody and welcome to the OBO for day two of the second Test between India and Australia. We’ll be under way at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi at 9.30am local time (3pm AEDT).
Honours went to the hosts on the opening day, but for the first time this series they didn’t have things all their own way. Australia built four handy partnerships after winning the toss and electing to bat, but none of them blossomed into the kind that can define a contest. 91/1 became 108/4, 167/4 became 168/6, and 227/6 became 263 all out.
Most of the work was shouldered by Usman Khawaja and his reverse-sweeps, and Peter Handscomb staying leg-side of the spinning ball. There was also a timely return to form with the bat for Pat Cummins, providing rare justification of his status at No 8.
India were typically reliable with the ball. Mohammed Shami hit an excellent length for his four wickets, in the process perhaps making Australia rue their decision to select only one frontline seamer. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja shared the remaining wickets, continuing their stranglehold on Australia’s middle order.
It promises to be a cat and mouse day with India in no hurry to repeat their strategy of the first Test and bat long enough once to close out the game. Australia’s trio of spinners will be put through their paces on a surface offering uneven bounce but, so far, nothing spiteful.
Remember, you can join in by sending me an email or fly a tweet to @JPHowcroft.
