Australia dominate day one
After losing the toss and being asked to bowl first the Aussies ripped India out for just 109 runs in a little over thirty overs, it was death by spin for the home side’s batters on a venomous wicket.
Mathew Kuhnemann returned career best figures of 5-16 and was backed up by Nathan Lyon who chipped in with three wickets, including the below snorter to Cheteshwar Pujara – Lyon has now pocketed Pujara a dozen times in Test matches.
'Yeah he's turning it a bit' #INDvAUS | BT Sport 1 pic.twitter.com/N5UyGPM8z1
— Cricket on BT Sport (@btsportcricket) March 1, 2023
Hoping to inflict the same damage on the visitors - India fluffed their lines. Too short or too full and lacking the consistency to extract the best out of the wicket they were patiently picked off by Khawaja and Labuschagne. Both fell before the close but with the lead already at 47 runs it was a green n’ gold day in Indore.
That’s it from us, thanks to Angus for the earlier stint and ta for all the emails and correspondence. We’ll be back tomorrow to bring you day two. Toodles!
Updated
Todd has Virat’s number?
Todd Murphy vs Virat Kohli #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/LJebJ6i2Nm
— RVCJ Media (@RVCJ_FB) March 1, 2023
Usman Khawaja speaks:
I played to my plans, tried to score when there was an opportunity and kept out the good balls. It’s not rocket science, honestly, but it is not an easy wicket out there. It’s spin-friendly, it felt tough the whole time and I don’t expect it to get better.
I used the sweep intermittently when I needed to today and did a similar thing last week. It’s just another arsenal in your repertoire. The bowler keeps you guessing, I was trying to keep them guessing too. It was a bit of a cat and mouse.”
Updated
Stumps - Australia lead by 47 runs
54th over: Australia 156-4 (Handscomb 7, Green 6) Aswhin twice comes into bowl and twice he pulls away. He’s playing a few psychological tricks on the batters. Five dots… here comes the last dart of the day – Handscomb safely blocks. That’s yer lot. Australia’s day hands down.
53rd over: Australia 156-4 (Handscomb 7, Green 6) Jadeja appeals for a catch off Green to Kohli at slip but umpire Wilson isn’t having any of it. The replay shows rightly so, the ball ballooning of the surface and flicking the keeper’s gloves on the way to slip. Right, last over incoming!
52nd over: Australia 154-4 (Handscomb 6, Green 5) A single to Green, the camera pans to a padded up Nathan Lyon who looks particularly nervous.
51st over: Australia 153-4 (Handscomb 6, Green 4) Jadeja gets another ball to rip but Handscomb’s forward push only reaches fresh air. We’ve a couple of overs left in the day, can India winkle another wicket?
50th over: Australia 151-4 (Handscomb 5, Green 3) Sweet timing from the big all-rounder – Green gets off the mark with a flick off his pads.
“Hey there James. Simply had to write to inform you how brilliantly lucky the Guardian OBO has been to me and my team. I had it on for the entirety of the first two Tests and we know what happened then. I didn’t have it on all day today, and look what transpired. Have kept it on for a while now and it has already claimed Marnus, Khawaja and Smith.”
What have you learnt then Kaustubh Mone? You simply must tune in tomorrow. Your team needs you.
Updated
WICKET! Steven Smith c Bharat b Jadeja 26 (Australia 146-4)
Smith is on the attack here at the end of day one. Jadeja over-pitches and is flicked through mid-wicket for four. GONE! Nowt much he can do about the next ball though! The ball explodes off a good length and kisses his edge, that one had his name on, the Aussie skipper trudges off with a weary smile. Cameron Green arrives in the middle.
48th over: Australia 146-4 (Handscomb 3, Green 0)
47th over: Australia 140-3 (Smith 20, Handscomb 3) Boundaries! A horrible drag down by Patel is given the full kablammie by Steve Smith, smashed over mid-wicket for a one bounce four. Next ball is glided by Señor Smudge to the fence at third. A single off the last too. India haven’t got their lengths right consistently enough on this wicket.
46th over: Australia 131-3 (Smith 11, Handscomb 3) Is that an edge? Yep. Smith gets a sharp snick to the keeper who can’t grab it, a fast chance but India need those to stick. Bharat has looked a bit uncomfortable behind the sticks today. Four singles are stolen off the over and the lead nudges up to 22 runs.
45th over: Australia 128-3 (Smith 9, Handscomb 1) We’ve got a handful of overs left in the day. Axar Patel is worked into the covers by Handscomb who gets off the mark. Smith is happy to defend the rest of the over.
44th over: Australia 126-3 (Smith 9, Handscomb 0) India burn their final review! That was never hitting the stumps but Jadeja is like a dog with a bone – he’s up there with Stuart Broad for flagrantly bad use of the DRS. Sharma was again coerced by his keeper and bowler and looks to be silently seething. That could be very costly on this surface, a tricky one for the umpires to get everything right.
44th over: Australia 126-3 (Smith 9, Handscomb 0) Smith drives with the spin to collect a single and bring Handscomb on strike. He’s kept honest by Axar and can’t get off the mark. India sensing this could be there time to get back into this Test match, the crowd adding some frisson to the end of this first day’s play.
43rd over: Australia 125-3 (Smith 8, Handscomb 0) Peter Handscomb is the new batter, he was having a kip under his hat about an hour ago, hope he’s woken up. He’s surrounded by fielders around the bat on both sides chirping away. That’d probably do the job.
WICKET! Usman Khawaja c Shubman Gill b Jadeja 60 (Australia 125-3)
Khawaja sweeps uppishly and finds Shubman Gill on the mid-wicket fence! India cock-a-hoop, Usman drags himself off the field not quite believing what he has done. The Australian lead is 16 runs.
Updated
42nd over: Australia 125-2 (Khawaja 60, Smith 8) Axar Patel offers width and Steve Smith gleefully accepts, driving to the extra-cover boundary for four.
41st over: Australia 121-2 (Khawaja 60, Smith 4) Jadeja once more, Smith turns to leg to pick up a single. Khawaja then steps away as Jadeja turns on his heels and attempts to bowl before the batter is fully ready. A better line from the left-arm spinner, he’s hitting as spot outside off and getting the ball to spit and slide. Five dots negotiated by Usman.
40th over: Australia 120-2 (Khawaja 60, Smith 3) Two more to the Aussie total and the lead stretches to ELEVEN.
Time for a drink.
39th over: Australia 118-2 (Khawaja 58, Smith 2) Jadeja continues, Khawaja showcases his low hands and solid technique. Just one wicket in the 17 overs post tea, Axar Patel is coming on to bowl to see if can flip those figures in India’s favour.
38th over: Australia 115-2 (Khawaja 55, Smith 2) Australia have batted very well to get themselves into the lead here. A reminder that this is what this pitch is capable of:
'Yeah he's turning it a bit' #INDvAUS | BT Sport 1 pic.twitter.com/N5UyGPM8z1
— Cricket on BT Sport (@btsportcricket) March 1, 2023
Play that!
37th over: Australia 111-2 (Khawaja 54, Smith 1) Jadeja beats Smith on the outside, the ball nearly shaving off-stump on it’s way past. Smith gets off the mark with a push to mid-off. A clip to fine-leg brings Khawaja one more. Australia lead by two runs, the sun starting to cast longer shadows across the scorched Holkar turf.
36th over: Australia 109-2 (Khawaja 53, Smith 0) Siraj spoils a decent over by over-stepping with the last. The front foot incursion also means that the scores are level. Jadeja to Steve Smith incoming, don’t go anywhere.
WICKET! Marnus Labuschagne b Jadeja 31 (Australia 108-2)
The arm-ball does for Marnus! Jadeja skids one through and bowls him. Labuschagne played back when he maybe should have come forward. India break the partnership, Labuschagne trudges off, chewing his juicy fruit ruefully. Captain Steve Smith is the new batter and is kept honest by Jadeja.
Marnus' luck runs out for the day#INDvAUS
— Andrew McGlashan (@andymcg_cricket) March 1, 2023
35th over: Australia 108-2 (Khawaja 53, Smith 0)
Updated
34th over: Australia 107-1 (Khawaja 52, Labuschagne 31) Siraj bounds in, a spray down the leg side is followed up by a much better ball zeroing in on Marnus’ pads. An inside edge brings the batter a single. Well bowled! Siraj finds the outside edge but it doesn’t quite carry to Sharma in the slips.
Interesting this:
In a chat with @beastieboy07, Usman Khawaja spoke about playing the reverse sweep. Will that shot come to his rescue on the rank turner in Indore today? 👀 #INDvAUS
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) March 1, 2023
33rd over: Australia 105-1 (Khawaja 51, Labuschagne 30) A maiden but with a little grit in the oyster as a leg-bye is scampered. Siraj is coming onto bowl, India yearning for a breakthrough – can the indomitable seamer provide it?
32nd over: Australia 104-1 (Khawaja 51, Labuschagne 30) Labuschagne does well to dig out a fuller ball and pushes the fielder in the deep for two runs. A single to square leg folllows. Excellent batting, this pair have negotiated this pitch and taken the sting out of India.
31st over: Australia 100-1 (Khawaja 50, Labuschagne 27) Tidy from Jadeja but no breakthrough. A maiden and a hello to Steve Wheeler.
“Bit confused as to why Kuhnemann was described as an “offie” earlier when he’s a left armer. Somewhat unfairly perhaps spin is normally referenced by the perception of a right handed batter. Thus Murphy and Lyon are offies. ( From a left hand perspective, Warne would have been an offie, but, of course, was described as a leggie due to basic delivery leaving the right hander!). Kuhnemann appears to be a finger spinner ( if right handed, an offie ) but is left handed, therefore really a leggie, although normally referred to as a leftie.”
Too much for me this morning Steve, may as well be a riddle wrapped in an enigma. I’ve read it through three times and am still staring blankly. Still, good to have you with us!
30th over: Australia 100-1 (Khawaja 50, Labuschagne 27) FIFTY to Usman Khawaja! He’s been Australia’s best batter on this tour. A clip through cover brings up his half-century and a drive to mid-on takes Australia to 100. The deficit is only nine runs now.
The definition of a 50 worth 100. #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/iNLMRqOcjL
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) March 1, 2023
Updated
29th over: Australia 96-1 (Khawaja 47, Labuschagne 26) India have been more consistent and thus more threatening since tea. Aswhin sends down a maiden. Simmering away, something’s gonna give.
28th over: Australia 95-1 (Khawaja 47, Labuschagne 26) Chance! Tough chance. Ashwin throws his hands in the air as a poke from Labuschagne flies into Bharat’s wicketkeeping pad and sails over Virat Kohli at slip. The ball running away for four runs too.
Marnus’ luck continues.
Updated
27th over: Australia 90-1 (Khawaja 46, Labuschagne 22) A tricksy maiden from Jadeja and his most probing over yet. He gets grip and turn past the outside edge but crucially no tickle from Marnus’ blade.
26th over: Australia 89-1 (Khawaja 46, Labuschagne 22) Ashwin replaces Yadav, who must wonder why he bothered lacing up his bowling boots. Khawaja sweeps powerfully to the boundary rider to collect a single. Labuschagne has been more circumspect than his partner, he punches off the back foot to take a single. Too easy.
25th over: Australia 88-1 (Khawaja 45, Labuschagne 21) This pair have worked the ball into the gaps majestically, the partnership ticks into the 70s. Jadeja twirls and is milked for singles. Ooof! Just when you think batting is getting easy the pitch throws up a spitting cobra of a delivery, Labuschagne does well to play down the line and miss the ragging ball.
24th over: Australia 84-1 (Khawaja 43, Labuschagne 19) Yadav bustles in to start his spell post-tea. Marnus is a study in defence but then seizes on a shorter ball to gide past gully for two.
23rd over: Australia 81-1 (Khawaja 43, Labuschagne 16) Now then! First ball after tea from Jadeja is too short and Khawaja laces it away behind point for four. A dot is followed by a delicious reverse sweep for four more! The home fans fall eerily silent as the ball thuds into the advertising hoardings. Australia ticking along at 3.5 runs an over, India haven’t been accurate enough with their bowling, relying too much on the pitch to do the work?
The Indian players gather in a huddle at the boundary edge, Rohit Sharma has some choice words. They need wickets, and quickly, to get back into this game. “Maaaaassive Session” drawls Matthew Hayden on my TV. Settled in? Comfortable? Let’s play!
Sensible, calm, proactive partnership from Khawaja and Labuschagne. A dose of luck, too, but that's fine and what a batter deserves in these conditions#INDvAUS
— Andrew McGlashan (@andymcg_cricket) March 1, 2023
Good morning to Guy Hornsby!
“Morning James. Quite the morning with two Tests and an ODI making us cricket fans wonder where to look first.”
Cricket never stops eh, everything, everywhere… all at once.
“Even as an England fan, this is the place to be. The game is accelerating so fast that you’d be amazed if it’s still going at Tea tomorrow. I’m not sure how great an advert this is for the game, and while all the talk is of the wicket, you have to feel for poor Richard Kettleborough. I bet he dare not even go to the loo.”
22nd over: Australia 71-1 (Khawaja 33, Labuschagne 16) Australia make it to tea with 71 runs on the board and, amazingly, only one wicket down. Umesh Yadav comes on for a solitary over before the break and looks a bit creaky, a short ball is easily pulled away for a single by Khawaja. Another session won by the visitors, their snacks will taste sweetest. Right, to coffee! Back soon.
21st over: Australia 70-1 (Khawaja 32, Labuschagne 16) Lovely shot from Khawaja! He opens the face to glide Jadeja away through point for four. Four more! JAdeja fires one in down the leg side and it takes off from the rough, sliding away for four byes. Fifty partnership between Marnus and Usman, they’ve steadied the ship and are now cruising.
20th over: Australia 60-1 (Khawaja 27, Labuschagne 15) Khawaja is as cool as a kumquat, he always looks so relaxed at the crease. He uses the full depth of his crease to rock back and cut Axar through point, the batters scamper back for two. Problems for India as this partnership approaches fifty.
19th over: Australia 58-1 (Khawaja 25, Labuschagne 15) Jadeja replaces Ashwin for another warp speed over, just a single from it.
Updated
18th over: Australia 56-1 (Khawaja 25, Labuschagne 14) Usman Khawaja unfurls a controlled drive into the gap at extra cover to pick up two runs.
“Hey Jim, it is Farhan again. I hope your fingers are doing okay this morning. Looks like you signed up for another tough day with so much action ongoing at Indore”
It’s a tough gig but someone has to do it Farhan. Thanks for enquiring after my digits, they have recovered but not sure my noggin has - OBOing the unbelievable finish of New Zealand v England at Welllington a day ago was a wild ride.
"This test match appears to be just as slapstick as much as the
yesterday’s was brilliant. The pitch seemed to be rotten while the Indians were batting, but the Aussies seem to be negotiating this rather well. Also, Labushagne
seems to be enjoying his luck, just as usual.”
17th over: Australia 54-1 (Khawaja 23, Labuschagne 14) Ashwin is worked for a couple of singles. Ravi Shastri on comms wants India to mix it up and bring a seamer on to see if they can get the breakthrough. The fact India might have to consider reverting to seam on this pitch is testament to how well the Aussies are playing here.
16th over: Australia 52-1 (Khawaja 22, Labuschagne 13) Three precious runs from the over and Australia bring up their fifty. They are grabbing hold of this Test match.
15th over: Australia 49-1 (Khawaja 20, Labuschagne 9) Marnus hangs back and nudges through mid-wicket for a single. The over rate is an OBO scribes worst nightmare. Whoosh and they are gone and into the next. Keyser Soze overs, if you will.
14th over: Australia 48-1 (Khawaja 20, Labuschagne 11) Shot! Axar Patel over pitches – Khawaja is onto it in a flash – lacing through cover to pick up four runs. India are striving a bit too hard to take wickets but runs are crucial here, If Australia can get any sort of lead on this surface then it could be terminal for the home side.
13th over: Australia 43-1 (Khawaja 16, Labuschagne 10) This pair doing a sterling job for Australia, watchful and working the singles. The run rate is ticking at a decent lick.
12th over: Australia 40-1 (Khawaja 15, Labuschagne 8) Jadeja rattles through another over, Khawaja picks up a single with a nurdle to leg.
“Morning from South Africa, James.”
Back atcha from London, Daryl Accone.
‘The ICC must stop the prepping of both dustbowls and greentops. A friend of mine in the UK, Tim Kett, believes the only way to minimise the lopsidedness of home-ground preparation and the importance of winning the toss is to abolish the latter by allowing the visiting team to choose whether to bat or bowl. That would certainly stop this devious pitch-preparation nonsense. I am shocked by what India has done with pitches for this series but ... Live by the dustbowl, die by it too.”
I actually didn’t think the other two surfaces in this series were worth all the noise about them but this one will definitely be put under scrutiny by the ICC bods. M’colleague Tanya Aldred wrote a piece a while back on the thorny issue of abolishing the toss:
11th over: Australia 39-1 (Khawaja 14, Labuschagne 7) Ashwin sends down five probing dots and gets one to straighten into Labuschagne. Big appeal but deemed not out by the umpire. Rohit shakes his head… he’s not being coerced into another spurious review… but the replay shows it would have been OUT! The crowd see this on the big screen and Sharma offers up a wry chuckle. Costly use of the DRS by the home side.
Updated
10th over: Australia 38-1 (Khawaja 15, Labuschagne 7) Just as I was about to type that Australia are doing well here, picking off singles and scampering twos… there’s Big turn! Jadeja spits one back into Khawaja’s back leg and he likes it. Sharma has his arm twisted into the review… NOT OUT! India lose their second review – the ball was spinning so much it was missing leg-stump. Good decision by Umpire Joel Wilson. Sharma looks a little irked by his over-zealous bowler. Australia are doing well here.
9th over: Australia 35-1 (Khawaja 14, Labuschagne 4) Aswhin fires one down the leg side and keeper Bharat can’t do much with that, the ball runs away for four precious byes. A single to Labuschagne make it five from the over.
8th over: Australia 30-1 (Khawaja 14, Labuschagne 4) You know that bit in Indiana Jones where Harrison Ford drops a torch into a hole and it is full of snakes? This pitch is basically that. Aptly the camera cuts to Peter Handscomb having a snooze, under a cap rather than a fedora.
7th over: Australia 26-1 (Khawaja 11, Labuschagne 3) This pitch is ragging left right and centre, the red clay at the sides of the wicket may as well be the blood of all the batters that are going to perish on it over the next day or so. Ashwin gets huge turn and every other ball is keeping low and skidding on. Good luck. Somehow Australia get two more runs.
6th over: Australia 24-1 (Khawaja 10, Labuschagne 2) A couple of singles picked and flicked off the dangerous looking Jadeja. Uh-oh! He bowls one that shoots along the surface and scuds into Khawaja’s ankle! Sharma sends for the review and it turns out the ball pitched outside leg by a gnat’s eyebrow. NOT OUT and India lose a review.
5th over: Australia 21-1 (Khawaja 8, Labuschagne 1) Khawaja picks up two runs from Ashwin, every run is gold dust/hens teeth/delete as appropriate. Every ball an event, thrilling stuff.
4th over: Australia 19-1 (Khawaja 6, Labuschagne 1) Gulp. Thanks Angus, get yourself that cold one immediately. Hello everyone! Right straight down to brass tacks for me… JADEJA BOWLS LABUSCHAGNE…OFF A NO BALL! Crikey. The cardinal sin for a spinner to commit, how costly will that be? Ayeeeechi! There’s then a direct hit and a shout for a run out! India celebrate keenly but Khawaja got home comfortably enough in the end.
3rd over: Australia 12-1 (Khawaja 3, Labuschagne 0) Ashwin returns and Khawaja flexes his wrists to squirt it square for a run. Labuschagne pushes forward, head down and bat aquiver to his first ball from Ashwin. It doesn’t go how anyone thinks, missing the willow and running away for byes. Lucky Labuschagne again! He survives and Khawaja clips another to move to three. That’s me done – if 11 wickets in 37 overs doesn’t earn me a beer nothing will. Over to my comrade James Wallace!
Updated
WICKET! Travis Head LBW Jadeja 9 (Australia 12-1)
He’s gone! Australia lose their first and it’s danger man Travis Head who’s undone by a Jadeja straight ball that rushed on him and slipped under the bat. The umpire called Not Out but India were confident from the get-go and so it proved. India draw first blood!
2nd over: Australia 12-0 (Head 9, Khawaja 2) Ravi Jadeja has the ball and his second ball spits off a legside length at Khawaja. There’s half an appeal as the close in fielder spins and catches it low but umpire and batter are unmoved and replays show it’s off the thigh pad. Jadeja oversteps on the next and Khawja takes a single. Head does better, glancing off his hip pocket for a boundary. There’s a huge appeal for LBW on the next. On field decision is NOT OUT but India will review. They look confident, not so Travis Head…
Updated
1st over: Australia 6-0 (Head 5, Khawaja 1) Australia are out in the middle, with Travis Head to face the first over from spinner Ravi Ashwin. Typically aggressive, Head steps back and spanks the first one into the deep for two. The third he swivels on to whip onto the onside for another deuce. He then nonchalantly cuts Ashwin for a single from the fourth to give Khawaja a look and get Australia out to a gallop with five runs from four balls. Ussie does his bit, working one off the hip to get off the mark.
INDIA all out 109 (Kuhnemann 5-16, Lyon 3-35)
India’s innings is done and dusted after 34 overs in just over a session. Matt Kuhnemann was the chief destroyer with five wickets, while Nathan Lyon took three and Todd Murphy chimed in with the prize scalp of Virat Kohli. Now it’s Australia’s turn to bat on a pitch with more demons in it than the Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe. Can Travis Head and Usman Khawaja find a way to foil India’s spinners and extend Australia’s advantage? We’re about to find out, folks.
Updated
WICKET! Siraj run out Head 0 (India 109-10)
A cataclysmic run out finishes it! Axar had his single banked but he called Siraj through for a second and left the No 11 miles short. Head whipped it in, Lyon whipped off the bails and Australia whips out the tail as hoped.
WICKET! Umesh LBW Kuhnemann 17 (India 108-9)
Kuhnemann put it on a length and waited. Umesh swung for the heavens, missed it by a Calcutta mile and it was plum LBW and suddenly Matthew Kuhnemann has his best bowling figures in any format EVER.
32nd over: India 108-8 (Axar 11, Umesh 17) The Murphy experiment is over for now as Kuhnemann returns hunting his first Test five-for. Huge appeal to the second ball and Umesh has been given OUT!
Updated
31st over: India 108-8 (Axar 11, Umesh 17) This is Australia’s nightmare recurring. They’ve got their foot on India's throat but somehow the home side’s tail enders are wrestling back the momentum. With Umesh 17 off 11 balls, the Indore crowd that has been murmuring in distress all day is suddenly in a state of mayhem.
31st over: India 106-8 (Axar 10, Umesh 16) Bash goes Umesh! The slog sweep off Lyon was streaky, this one off Murphy is freaky as he lunges low and scooped it into the crowd on the leg side. Same result though. SIX! And then a four from the last! Eleven runs from the over and India’s tail are flying again. Steve Smith is starting to sweat.
Updated
30th over: India 95-8 (Axar 9, Umesh 6) Umesh Yadav is the new batter and from the swagger in his strut and the set of his shoulders he looks like a ‘good-timer’ not a ‘long-timer’. Facing Lyon, with 3-26 from 10 overs, on a pitch doing plenty, he may well be a ‘short timer’. It works this time, as he hoiks Lyon’s last ball over midwicket for six with a colossal slog sweep. Streaky shot but the crowd love it and every run for India is vital.
Updated
WICKET! Ashwin c. Carey b.Kuhnemann 3 (India 88-8)
Kuhnemann has four wickets! That was a peach of a ball too. He put it on a lovely length where the batter had to play. Ashwin prodded forward and the ball hit the seam and did just enough off the wicket to kiss the edge and Carey again pouched it beautifully. India reviewed but the spike on Snicko was huge. 88 for 8. Triple 8s! Lucky for some, not for India.
Updated
29th over: India 88-7 (Axar 8, Ashwin 3) Almost a run out! Ashwin belted it straight to the fielder at midwicket but Axar Patel was halfway down the track by the time he was sent back. Luckily Usman Khawaja was the fielder and was a little slower to whip it in to the bowler’s end and Ashwin survives. He may not survive again though – big appeal for caught behind off Kuhnemann here!
28th over: India 88-7 (Axar 8, Ashwin 3) So far in this Test series, India’s eighth wicket is being sold for 100 runs! That rearguard batting has been one of the key differences between the sides in both Tests so far. Lucky India… and poor old Ravi Ashwin – he’s got five Test centuries to his name and still has to bat No 9!
27th over: India 86-7 (Axar 7, Ashwin 2) And we’re back and it’s the man with the golden left arm, Matthew Kuhnemann, who will bowl the first over after lunch. With his tight lines, low flight and stump-to-stump accuracy, the Queensland rookie has done what he does and wait for India’s batters to get themselves out. So far it’s working. He’s got three-for. Can he nab another three?
Updated
As players resume for the second session, all the talk is of a quick Test and a poor pitch. Grumpy Grant writes in to say:
“Is this really a Test wicket? If Australia were batting then the fall
of wickets to spin would be assumed to be a result of great bowling and
Australia’s inability to play spin. But India are renowned as bowlers
and players of spin. The MCG was in danger of losing its Test status
because the pitch was so flat. Should this pitch be really judged as up
to Test level?”
I’ll leave that judgement to higher powers than I, Grant. Back to the cricket!
LUNCH: India 84 for 7 (Axar 6, Ashwin 1)
Just when you think Bazball is about as exciting as world cricket gets, Australia and India deliver a session like that! Seven Indian wickets fell, all to spin, to leave the home side a smoking ruin at 84 for 7. And that was after Mitchell Starc took a wicket with the very first ball of the Test, which was curiously given not out by the umpire and then bizarrely left unreviewed by the captain!
To have India seven down is a massive result for Australia as they hunt down a soul-salving victory in a series in which they are two-down with two to play. But as delighted as they’ll be with their morning’s work, all the lunch chatter will be filled with resolve of ‘finishing it off’. Australia have had India on the ropes before in this series, only for the likes of Ashwin and Axar to bat India out of trouble with late-order hitting.
Australia have their tail up. Now they must take India’s tail down. Can they do it? Mark Waugh reckons a 120 total is competitive on a pitch this diabolical. Rest up and refresh as you see fit. We’ll be back shortly for the second session.
Updated
26th over: India 84-7 (Axar 6, Ashwin 1) Nice touch by Steve Smith here to give Mitchell Starc the last over before lunch. The big fella will still be stewing about the two-wickets-that-were-but-weren’t in his first over of the day and if it hadn’t been for Starc’s sore digit he might’ve extended an index to the Cricketing Gods. Since then he’s watched his spinners gobble up eight wickets in this session. You can sense a bit of residual anger in his third-ball bouncer and some angst in a fifth ball near-wide down leg side. But when the last – an attempted yorker – is flat-batted back by new batter Ravi Ashwin, Starc can afford a grin. His team are well on top and there’s a big sniff of Australian victory in the air at Indore.
WICKET! Bharat LBW Lyon 17 (India 82-7)
Lyon has three! Well done Steve Smith for reviewing. Bharat had been tied down and Lyon deceived him, sending it in lower and faster and it beat bat and hit pad. Dodgy batting by India, great bowling by Lyon, inspired captaincy by Smith!
25th over: India 82-6 (Bharat 17, Axar 5) Big appeal from Lyon! But the umpire is unloved and so is the skipper. Sorry Gaz, back to yer mark! Bharat keeps glancing to that long-on boundary he cleared in the last over. Will Lyon toss up a bit of low-hanging fruit? Instead he shoots one in low and it jags back sharply – but too far? Bharat misses it and it hits pad halfway up but is it inline? There’s a huge appeal for LBW from Lyon and Carey here and Australia will review…
24th over: India 82-6 (Bharat 17, Axar 5) BANG goes Bharat! Murphy tossed his second ball up and Bharat met it on the hop and it sent it sailing over the long-on fence for the Test’s first six. That one shot doubles the runs taken from Murphy’s five overs so far but the bespectacled offie from the picturesque river town of Echuca rallies with three dots to close out the over.
23rd over: India 75-6 (Bharat 10, Axar 5) With Todd Murphy claiming the scalp of Virat Kohli for the third time in three Tests (cherish that sentence, young man), the new batter for India is Axar Patel, a real thorn in Australia’s side with bat and ball and India’s leading run-scorer in this series so far. Although he’s 29 years old, Patel has played only 10 Tests so far with no centuries so far and an average of 31. Not too flash… until you consider he’s also got 45 wickets at 15. Axar reminds Lyon his eye is in too, calmly skything his fifth ball to the rope.
Updated
WICKET! Kohli LBW Murphy 22 (India 70-6)
The King is dead! Long live Todd Murphy! Kohli looked imperious up to that point but he’s been undone by a looper that beat bat and thundered into pad right in front! Australia break through again!
22nd over: India 70-5 (Kohli 22, Bharat 9) Murphy continues, bowling tightly (just four runs from his 21 balls so far). Now he draws a big appeal for LBW against Kohli! On field decision is OUT! India will review…
21st over: India 70-5 (Kohli 22, Bharat 9) Kuhnemann returns, this time from the opposite end to where he claimed his three scalps this morning. He’s bowling to Kohli, his first ever Test wicket. But the batter 2ith 27 Test tons to his name has the measure of his third delivery, stepping back and swatting it away for a run. Bharat sees off the next two as lunch looms.
20th over: India 69-5 (Kohli 21, Bharat 9) Todd Murphy has a whip hand and it sacrifices flight to bring the ball looping in from the right paw at 90kph. Interesting bowler to watch, Murphy, with every ball different. The fifth to Kohli is slower, drifting to off and Kohli leans in and lets it fly by the edge. No risk of an edge, just seeing it safely on its way. Just a single from the over.
19th over: India 68-5 (Kohli 20, Bharat 9) Lyon is back online. After Bharat’s slog sweep in his last over, Smith has spread the field and put men at deep midwicket and long off. Lyon jags one back to Bharat and its’s clumsy enough to warrant an appeal. Umpire unmoved and ultimately so is Smith. He has two reviews in the bank (the two he foolishly saved on two wickets in the first over of the day) and he wants to use these two wisely. Just a single from this Lyon over.
Updated
18th over: India 66-5 (Kohli 19, Bharat 9) After a rush of blood to India’s collective heads and the rash of wickets that came in the aftermath, these two batters have steadied the ship with 21 runs. Kohli has been calm and patient. He has stroked two sublime boundaries but otherwise dabbed singles and darted for twos. Murphy can’t break through in the 18th but does bowl a maiden.
17th over: India 66-5 (Kohli 19, Bharat 9) Lyon to Kohli but the King, in his 107th Test, won’t be tempted as his teammates have been. Instead he works it away for a single, leaving Jadeja to uncoil an ungainly sweep which draws a lusty appeal. On field decision is NOT OUT but Australia review… unsuccessfully. Bharat adds some sting to the slap, stepping down and slog sweeping Lyon to the boundary.
16th over: India 61-5 (Kohli 18, Bharat 5) Todd Murphy is in for his chop but his radar isn’t on yet and Bharat and Kohli turn him away for three easy singles in succession. The fifth goes on with the arm and there’s an appeal for a stumping. On field decision is NOT OUT and replays confirm it
15th over: India 58-5 (Kohli 16, Bharat 4) This is Test cricket in fast forward and Thomas Walker, for one, is loving it:
“Watching live from New York at midnight in a blizzard… tough sell for my American girlfriend but she’s appreciating all the action. 5 wickets in the first hour! Much more exciting than her beloved Red Sox. The Indians are going to cause havoc for our batsmen, the bounce is all over the place. Aussie side looks a lot better with Green back in the side. This has been a great series, little bit more application from the Aussie top order and it could easily have been 1-1. Bring it on!”
Thomas, convincing your American girlfriend to watch cricket with you is the equivalent of a ‘five-for’ in any relationship! I hope you, as a loving couple, enjoyed those lovely flicked singles from Bharat and Kohli off Lyon’s bowling.
14th over: India 56-5 (Kohli 15, Bharat 3) CRACK goes Kohli! Standing tall to Kuhnemann he skips back on his toenails and leans in ever-so-slightly, rolling the wrists to spank the ball across the turf and into the rope to cheers from the Indore crowd. India are on the rack here, but while Kohli is out there India have hope of a counterattack.
13th over: India 51-5 (Kohli 11, Bharat 2) Sujit A reckons “both first innings will be finished by end of day today!” while Isaac F bemoans the state of this pitch: “The concept of a CEO pitch clearly doesn’t exist in India!” he says. “A bunsen on Day 1 with completely variable bounce, but it’s a safe bet the ICC won’t rate this as poor.” That variable bounce at last helps the batters, with a Lyon low ball flicked off the pads by Kohli to the fine leg boundary.
Updated
12th over: India 46-5 (Kohli 6, Bharat 0) What a bizarre first hour of play! Australia got two wickets in the first over but didn’t review either. India rode their luck and made them pay, flaying 27 from the next four overs. Then, with the introduction of spin, the worm turned and transformed into a cobra. It bit five times in the next five overs to send India careering to 46-5. Lyon has 2-5 and Kuhnemann 3-8!
Updated
WICKET! Shreyas b. Kuhnemann (India 45-5)
Another one gone! This time it’s the new batter Shreyas playing an audacious shot to his second delivery and getting a bottom edge which trickles into the stumps. Kuhnemann has three wickets and India are crumbling! This is crazy – the home side have lost five wickets for 18 runs, all to spin and reckless batting.
Updated
WICKET! Jadeja c. Kuhnemann b. Lyon 4 (India 44-4)
Lyon strikes again! After almost getting Jadeja LBW from the previous delivery with a ball that went on with the arm which Jadeja missed. He was caught right in front, hitting back pad on the knee roll and looked like it was taking middle stump out for dinner and a show. But a review showed Jadeja got a little edge on it. No matter! Very next ball Jadeja drove the ball hard, straight into the naval of Matt Kuhnemann at mid-on and he snaffled the catch. India four down and in trouble!
10th over: India 44-3 (Kohli 6, Jadeja 4) After new batter Ravi Jadeja peeled off a three from the last Lyon over, Kohli takes another triple from Kuhnemann’s first ball. Again, Kuhnemann bamboozles Kohli with his fifth delivery. The batter stepped way down but it sprang up on him and caught the stub of the bat and luckily went down into the pitch not up. Australia ascendent but two attacking batters at the crease for India. Tight contest here!
WICKET! Pujara b. Lyon 1 (India 36-3)
Lyon strikes with his second ball! Pujara made a mess of that, played all over it and when it spun back sharply, it squared him up, sent him back-pedalling and ultimately went straight through The Wall to skittle his stumps. Great bowling by the GOAT and Australia are on top!
Updated
9th over: India 36-2 (Pujara 1, Kohli 1) Game on at Indore! India were flaying the Australian seamers to all corners of the ground but the introduction of spin has turned the tide, with Kuhnemann claiming two scalps in two overs. Good signs for Nathan Ltyon as he rolls in for his first. Kohli picks off a single from the first ball…
8th over: India 35-2 (Pujara 1, Kohli 1) Matt Kuhnemann to Virat Kohli and the young spinner makes the master batter look a tad foolish! The offie extracted major bounce from his third ball to send the ball whistling past pad, bat and under the chin hairs of Kohli. The King’s eyes are still rolling at that one! But he scampers a single to get off the mark.
Updated
WICKET! Gill c. Smith b. Kuhnemann 21 (India 34-2)
That turned sharply from middle to off stump and Gill chased it with hard hands, flashed at it, only to catch the edge and send a catch low down to Smith at first slip who defied his sore back to scoop it up. Two wickets in eight balls for Kuhnemann! He has two wickets for one run and is bowling brilliantly.
Updated
7th over: India 34-1 (Gill 21, Pujara 1) Almost a run out! That was a very quick single called by Gill and poor Pujara – fresh to the wicket and not as sleek as he once was – was slow to answer the call. Gill was running to the danger end through and he crossed as the throw came in slightly wide… and too fast for the back up fielder who nutmegs it and has to watch it roll to the boundary. A FIVE to Gill! He’s hurt himself too, Gill, and he’s called for the medic. A lift of the shirt shows he’s taken a bit of bark off his left hip sliding for the single. The bright side is that bit of blood adds some much needed colour to an otherwise grey strip.
Updated
WICKET! Rohit stumped Carey b. Kuhnemann 12 (India 27-1)
Another mad swipe and this otime he’s three steps down the wicket when he fails to connect. Carey whips off the bails and the Indian skipper is out stumped. Good bowling change by Smith and great ball from the young Queensland offie! That was kamikaze stuff from Rohit Sharma but he’d been living dangerously – and luckily – from the first ball of the day. Good signs of spin already from this grey parchment of a pitch.
Updated
6th over: India 26-0 (Rohit 12, Gill 14) Here’s a surprise! Matt Kuhnemann, in his second Test, will bowl the sixth over of the day. Is Smith trying to buy a wicket so early here? Or does he want to take the pace off the ball and slow this torrent of runs to a trickle. Either way, Kuhnemann beats Rohit on the sweep with a ball that pitched on middle and jagged past off. The skipper’s mad swipe missed it completely and that got Australian tails a little higher.
5th over: India 26-0 (Rohit 12, Gill 14) Starc ran off the field after his first over. Maybe he needed a quick sob after watching two wickets disappear into the Indore haze. Or perhaps he was making a complaint to the match referee about the standard of umpiring? Either way he’s back for a third over and Rohit Sharma gives him fresh cause for complaint, casually stepping out to lift Starc’s third ball over long-off to the boundary. Starc shakes his head and whistles the fifth past the edge – again. That was 143km/h yet it didn’t carry to Carey who took it on the half-volley. Starc might be wicketless but he’s not hopeless. There are signs of life in this pitch.
Updated
4th over: India 22-0 (Rohit 8, Gill 14) Big edge over slips! Gill steps forward to Green’s second ball and goes full-tilt at it. It misses the sweet spot but catches the educated edge and flies over Handscomb at second slip. A bit streaky but very effective. Likewise the crisp drive through covers to the fifth ball. No luck there, just pure skill. That’s five boundaries already from India and the fourth over isn’t yet complete. Bazball must be catching…
3rd over: India 14-0 (Rohit 8, Gill 6) Starc is right on the money here, angling the ball across Sharma who is playing and missing twice in succession. The fourth ball stays low and goes under the bat. The fifth connects – and how! It’s wide and over-pitched and the India skipper pounces to crash a cut shot to the boundary. Having been dismissed twice, given not out twice and survived reviews both times, he’s clearly riding his luck. And why wouldn’t you?
2nd over: India 10-0 (Rohit 4, Gill 6) As Australian heads continue to shake under their baggy greens, Cameron Green rolls in to Shubman Gill. This is the 23-year-old Gill’s 14th Test but he only has 736 runs at 32 with just one century. He looks to be a man in form though, as he straight drives Green for four. MAGNIFICENT SHOT! And in worse news for the Australians, replays of a later Starc delivery that ducked between bat and pad show it didn’t catch the edge… but struck the pads BANG IN FRONT. Australia have claimed two wickets in one over and blown them both with poor reviewing (of poor umpiring, admittedly).
Updated
1st over: India 4-0 (Rohit 4, Gill 0) Huge appeal first ball! It’s India captain taking strike to Mitchell Starc with the big quick hoping to get his side off to a sensational start as he so often does… and he almost does! That ball was right in the channel and it almost shaved Sharma’s outside edge. Or did it? Wicketkeeper Alex Carey didn’t seem as excited as his bowler and Steve Smith opts not to review. Exciting start! GREAT BALLS OF FIRE! Replays show it got an edge! Australia coach Andrew McDonald has his head in his hands already. And now he’s wincing as Sharma smacks a four through midwicket.
Updated
Mitchell Starc reckons his finger is “good enough” to play five days Test cricket (if we get there). “If I only played when I was at 100 per cent I would have only played five or 10 Tests,” he reckons. “I’m happy with where it’s at and I’ve built up enough of a pain threshold to deal with that stuff over the past 10 or 12 years.”
Updated
With Starc and Green back in the fold, this seems a better-balanced Australian XI. Yet batting is where Australia have been found wanting on this tour.
On camera we can see the Indore wicket has a little grass back of a length but is otherwise hard dirt. Insiders say it is a tricky place to get in, but if you can survive the initial assault, runs can be abundant, particularly with such short boundaries.
Australia have been able to break through the top-order in both Tests so far but the India tail of Ashwin, Jadeja and Patel has defied them over and over. To foil such stubborn resistance, Australia has a new weapon with Mitchell Starc’s ability to extract tail-enders unmatched. The huge footmarks he creates outside the right-handers’ off stump will assist his spinner teammates too. But after months on the sideline nursing injury, will that fickle finger of Starc’s hold out?
So Australia have backed their spin trio to do the job in the third Test, with Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green back to handle the pace duties. The latter’s selection means Peter Handscomb is promoted in the batting order to No 5.
Updated
TEAMS ARE IN!
Australia XI: Khawaja, Head, Labuschagne, Smith (c), Handscomb, Green, Carey, Starc, Lyon, Murphy, Kuhnemann.
India XI: Sharma, Gill, Pujara, Kohli, Iyer, Bharat, Jadeja, Ashwin, Patel, Yadav, Siraj
Updated
India win the toss and will bat first
India captain Rohit Sharma calls correctly and backs his batters to put up a total while endorsing his spinners to grind Australia’s bones on the final day.
Updated
Before the coin toss here at Indore, there’s time to park your peepers on Geoff Lemon’s preview of the third Test…
Preamble
Namaste comrades! Welcome to the Holkar Stadium in Indore for this third Test between India and Australia in the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Unfortunately for Australia, that trophy belongs to India after two convincing victories in Nagpur and Delhi. But there is plenty yet for the green caps to play for. They can square the series with victories here and fourth Test venue Ahmedabad… although India has twice won by 10 wickets inside two days at the latter, with Ravi Ashwin and Axar Patel claiming 35 of the 40 wickets on offer.
So let’s set sights a little lower: if Australia draw or win the final two Tests they can secure a spot in the World Test championship against, you guessed it, India. More vitally, they can restore some pride in the badly battered baggy green cap.
After their crazy capitulation in Delhi, Australia has been pilloried in the press and piled-on by a legion of Test greats who deplored their T20 ‘hit out until you get out’ approach and lemming-like devotion to the sweep shot. The implosion was all the more shocking for the fact Australia was firmly in the ascendency when the innings began. But it’s funny old game cricket, especially in India.
Anyway, let’s not look back in anger. Fittingly, India’s quest for a clean sweep will continue today in ‘India’s cleanest city’ on a desert-like pitch where Steve Smith reckons “we are going to see a lot of spin bowled”. Soothsayer Smith is Australia’s stand-in captain for this Test and the next, after Pat Cummins last week flew home to Sydney to be with his mother, Maria.
Also back home are the injured quick Josh Hazlewood, opener David Warner, and discarded spinner Ashton Agar. It means a reshuffled Australia XI for Indore: allrounder Cameron Green and fast bowler Mitchell Starc are expected to return from their finger injuries to bolster both batting and bowling stocks, and Travis Head will remain as Usman Khawaja’s opening partner for now. India will remain unchanged although there’s talk Shubman Gill will come in for KL Rahul, who missed the optional nets session with a niggle.
Will Australia again play three spinners in Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy and Matt Kuhnemann? Or will a tweaker make way for seamer Scott Boland… or the only unblooded man on tour, pace prodigy Lance Morris? Can the Australian men’s side take inspiration from the T20 World Cup triumph of Meg Lanning’s team this week? Or the fighting spirit of New Zealand’s Black Caps who blew up “BazBall” to snatch an amazing one-run victory over England.
All will be revealed shortly so sit tight, we’ll soon be underway…
Updated
