Today had everything as a whirlwind of change swept across the match. Having captained ineffectually for three days Rohit was all energy and spark. Too much of the latter: showing public disgust at dropped catches from Jaiswal is not good. For once rather than bowling Bumrah into the ground he used him in short bursts. Effectively? One three-over burst produced three top-order wickets. And after his woeful performance in the first innings Siraj roared in like a wounded tiger and bowled with pace, fire, seam movement and precision. For Australia, Head went from gourmet chocolates to boiled sweets, falling cheaply twice. Things that stayed the same? Akash Deep remained luckless. Marsh was overwhelmed, again. Konstas? Cummins? More of them anon.
The day began with a final flurry from Reddy, cut short by an outfield catch from the patient Lyon. He, Cummins and Boland shared the wickets (three each). And Australia went out to face the rejuvenated visitors. Konstas fell to another brutish delivery from Bumrah which bit back at him and took the stumps. It became a familiar tale. All but one of the top order fell to high-quality seam bowling, and there wasn’t much they could do about it. Smith fell chasing a wide one. To be fair, with the lead approaching 200 he clearly felt that it was time to press down the accelerator. But his dismissal opened the gates to a middle-order disaster.
At 6/91 the home side was on the precipice. Only Khawaja had managed to stay long. His 21 doesn’t sound much, but his innings was meritorious. He chewed up 65 deliveries and was only out bowled through the gate. It is a flaw in his technique; but only a small one, and he had done his job with quiet flair and calmness. Back in the mists of antiquity, when fifth-day pitches crumbled to dust, and Shep was a player rather than a beloved umpire, a fourth-innings chase of 200 was a challenging target. But it wasn’t enough here and everyone knew it. If somehow that could be stretched to 300 Australia would breathe again. But at this point it seemed as far away as Roxburgh Park or Coolaroo.
Into the inferno strode the home captain. To his first ball he backed away and scythed it through the off-side for four. It’s his favourite shot: a half-drive, half cut. Don’t try this at home, people, but it seems to work for him. At the other end the rehabilitated Labuschagne had kept his head. He was lucky, of course. You needed luck to survive the Indian pace hurricane. There were more plays and misses than at an incels’ picnic. They added 57 priceless runs together before Marnus was trapped in front by a seaming monster from Siraj. With a pair of 70s in the game he has booked his place for a while yet.
Starc ran himself out trying for a second which wasn’t on. Cummins protected Lyon from the strike and made his way to a masterful 41. It took an excellent away-spinner from Jadeja to get rid of him. At 9/173 the lead was approaching 300. But surely the last pair would not endure long? Lyon and Boland had other ideas. The problem was that India’s pacemen were utterly spent. Bumrah and Siraj bowled 46 overs today. It had been a worthwhile gamble from Sharma, and it almost paid off. The last pair were having none of it. The ball is old, and we’re determined to eke out every run we can get. While Boland defended like Horatius on the Tiber bridge, Lyon went for his shots. He doesn’t have many; but he played them all, and India could do nothing.
By stumps they had managed a stand of 55 not out. The Goat is on 41, and having the time of his life out there. India seemed resigned. Did Australia miss a trick by not declaring? On balance, probably not. The pitch is wearing fast. Reverse swing is on offer, and uneven bounce. But Indian batsmen can overcome obstacles like these. They’ve done it before. Cummins had probably called this correctly. The lead is 333. At the very least he may want to bat on, if only to run the heavy roller once more time. More tomorrow.