Australia v India: fifth men’s cricket Test, day two – live
Key events
WICKET! Reddy c Cummins b Boland 4 (India 129-6)
Pressure tells! Reddy drives at Boland and Cummins leaps at mid-off to take the catch. Boland unexpectedly sends him on his way with a handclap.
27th over: India 129-5 ( Jadeja 2, Reddy 4) India have pretty much ground to a halt here – not sure about that as a tactic, even with stumps approaching. Cummins appeals for an lbw with such enthusiasm that he topples over and falls on his backside, continuing the appeal with a grin, proving Finer Things’ point (over 22).
26th over: India 128-5 ( Jadeja 2, Reddy 4) Three slips and a gully watch Jadeja play out a maiden from Boland.
25th over: India 126-5 ( Jadeja 2, Reddy 4) The tempo has changed completely with the wicket of Pant. A couple of watchful runs from Cummins’s over.
“As an Aussie watching and checking the blog I find it rather odd that Guardian Australia doesn’t have its own correspondent at the actual game?No offence intended.”
None taken SC! I’m sure Geoff or Angus are at the game, the lucky things, but they will be writing for the paper now so can’t do the second half of the OBO.
24th over: India 126-5 ( Jadeja 2, Reddy 2) Ntish Kumar suspiciously plays out five balls of an over from Boland.
“As we watch Pant blaze away, with stats about India’s fastest Test fifty being thrown around, it’s worth remembering that the great Kapil Dev once scored 89 off 55 balls in a Test against England in 1982! Albeit in a losing cause (like this Pant innings might be) but still.”
Thank you, Samir Chopra. I used to work for the Nightwatchman magazine and we published this great piece on Kapil Dev, not in a Test, but still showing how extraordinary he was, especially for the time.
23rd over: India 125-5 ( Jadeja 2, Reddy 1) The drinks break does its work again and the end of a wonderfully entertaining knock that – if the rest of the Indian lineup can scrape together another 80 or so – could be crucial.
WICKET! Pant c Carey b Cummins 61 (India 124-5)
Damn! Cummins pulls the plug on the music system and switches on the bright lights. Pant is tempted by a wide one, goes for the cut, gets an edge and Carey does the business. Cummins leaps with delight, Pant chastises himself as he walks off.
Fifty for Rishabh Pant!
22nd over: India 124-4 ( Pant 61, Jadeja 2) Starc returns and with legs apart Pant pumps SIX over midwicket to reach the second fastest fifty by an Indian in Test cricket, falling short only of his own record. 29 breathtaking balls. The next ball goes for six too, such impish power from quite a small man. They take DRINKS.
“Hello Tanya,” Hello there Finer Things.
“Hoping you are enjoying the match as much as we are enjoying following OBO!” I am, actually a real treat to be up in the middle night watching this.
“Is this the most un-Australian bowling attack ever? Cummins and Starc are always smiling and Boland goes about his business as if he is doing a crossword! They almost make me ‘like’ (okay, that’s a strong word!) Australian bowlers but the scars of 90s & naughties are too deep! What do you and fellow tormented think? “
So so true. Where is the Steve Waugh scowl? The Glenn McGrath stare?
21st over: India 111-4 ( Pant 48, Jadeja 2) Boland v Pant. Pant picks up a couple past point but plays swipes and misses at one, two , three in a row. Jadeja is content with his two from 17.
20th over: India 108-4 ( Pant 45, Jadeja 2) Pant loves the first ball of an over. Sweeps Webster up, up, and over the rope, well caught by the man in the blue shirt baking in the seventh (or so) row. Another lusty blow bring four more square. The SCG is alive with anticipation.
“ I can’t see this match going into a fifth day, maybe not even a fourth at thus rate.” Hello there John Starbuck! Reluctantly, I agree, I think I’ll be lucky to be doing my OBO shift on the fourth afternoon. I don’t want this series to end.
19th over: India 97-4 ( Pant 34, Jadeja 2) A magnificent over from Boland, which Jadeja somehow survives.
18th over: India 97-4 ( Pant 34, Jadeja 2) Pant-tastic! Runs the gamut from a sublime extra cover lofted drive to something dragged out of the dressing-up box as he falls over and almost rolls onto his stumps while pulling the ball over square leg. Also featuring a cut for four off Webster and a thick edge that bounces just before first slip. India’s lead passes 100.
Bumrah returns to the SCG
17th over: India 85-4 ( Pant 22, Jadeja 2) Pant charges Boland’s first ball again and flat-bats him to the rope. And what is this…Bumrah is back, still in his training gear, runs up the stairs of the stand. Back on the field, Pant is happy to hand the strike to Jadeja.
“It is sad to see the mighty fallen,” mourns Pananjady Swathi
“Where he once stood tall
It is hard to believe
That he didn’t know when to leave
That outside the offstump ball.”
Indeed. Time to quietly slip into the sunset do you think?
16th over: India 78-4 ( Pant 17, Jadeja 0) A wicket maiden from Webster, who may have only bowled an over so Boland could change ends!
WICKET! Gill c Carey b Webster (India 78-4)
A first Test wicket for Webster as Gill sniffs at a release of the pressure, advances and swipes only to get an inside edge and give the diving Carey a catch behind.
15th over: India 78-3 (Gill 13, Pant 17) Pant milks ten from Cummins over, without more than a tablespoon of risk, including a cheeky flick for four.
“Afternoon/morning Tanya,” Hello Gervase Greene!
”At the risk of being unpatriotic, I can’t help but regret the early departure of Yashasvi Jaiswal. When he’s in that sort of mood I could watch him bat all day (though I suspect there’ll be plenty more opportunities to do just that in the years ahead). What a Test! What a series!”
Agreed! He’s got to be the most exciting young batter in the world at the moment, beating even Harry Brook.
14th over: India 70-3 (Gill 13, Pant 9) India have just lost three for 17 so Pant comes in, walks out of his crease like a man who suddenly fancies a stroll to the corner shop and smashes Boland’s first ball for six. Completely fearless! His next scoring shot isn’t quite such a feat of engineering as he attempts a reverse ramp off balance and nearly falls over. Hitting Boland off his length, murmur the commentators, caught between horror and admiration, could be key.
WICKET! Kohli c Smith b Boland (India 59-3)
Kohli can’t resist the sweetie and edges the irrepressible Boland to Smith at second slip who can take those with his eyes closed. He roars at himself in disappointment and hits his leg.
13th over: India 59-2 (Gill 11, Kohli 6) A backfoot punch from Gill flies past the fielder to the rope. Cummins beats him later in the over, fancies an inside edge but none of his slips or keepers are on side. They’re correct. Ooof, there’s a peach which flies up and through Gill who smiles to himself. He hangs out his rod and fishes at the next. It’s hard going out there.
12th over: India 55-2 (Gill 7, Kohli 6) Kohli is immediately looking for sharp singles, not a hint of losing his spark at least between the wickets. I reckon that slip catch is going to give him some sparkle this afternoon. The crowd bubble with excitement as Boland runs in and here comes Kohli, who with rolling wrist pulls him over mid on for four.
11th over: India 48-2 (Gill 5, Kohli 1) They take DRINKS after a third Cummins maiden.
10th over: India 47-2 (Gill 5) The game swings to Australia, but can Kohli pull something big from what is surely his last Test innings at the SCG.
”It has been the most absorbing and entertaining test series but did Australia miss a trick with all the hype?” writes Nikhil Saini. “They took an unbeatable 2-1 lead with a match to play but still had to draw/win in Sydney to win the BGT. But with this spicy pitch and their below par batting all through this series India are still in with a chance to win this game. Remember what India did 2 years ago when Australia won on a rank turner in Indore ? They laid out a flat track in Ahmedabad. Result: Draw, Series: Won and India on their way to the WTC finals.”
I just heard them say on comms that the SCG curator was trying to produce a more interesting pitch after criticisms. Someone, sorry I’m not good at identifying voices, said that every ball of this Test asks a question and the good batters thrive. I guess we will find out in the next couple of days….!
WICKET! Jaiswal b Boland 22 (India 47-2)
What beauty! The big one as Jaiswal must go, done by a Boland special that clips the top of off stump. Jaiswal moves in and out like a windscreen wiper but is done by the movement.
9th over: India 46-1(Jaiswal 22, Gill 2) A tricky maiden from Cummins, including a ball that wasn’t released as the wind suddenly gusts, the umpire grabs on to his hat and Jaiswal pulls away just as Cummins is about to release the ball.
8th over: India 46-1(Jaiswal 22, Gill 2) As super-subs go, Boland has to be top of the list. Cracking ball to Rahul and reward for a super first over. Gill comes in and flashes unconvincingly for four. If this partnership gets going it could be tricky for Australia with the fast outfield. But the slips lick their lips.
WICKET! Rahul b Boland 13 (India 42-1)
Ninth ball does the business! Rahul presses forward diligently but gets an inside edge and the ball springs into his leg stump. Boland points the way home.
7th over: India 39-0 (Jaiswal 22, Rahul 11) Cummins swaps to Starc’s end. An appeal for lbw against Jaiswal but no-one really fancies it, including the bowler. A play and miss, two, from Rahul. Cummins smiles his Pat Cummins smile.
“How on earth,” taps Nick Gibson, “did NZ beat India and win the series……” And at home….that’s why we love Test cricket!
6th over: India 36-0 (Jaiswal 21, Rahul 10) Here comes the first change and it is Scott Boland with his unnerving ability to pick up wickets in his first over/first spell. He floats in on the crowd’s roaring admiration and sure enough Jaiswal is beaten by the first which stays low. The third flies off the pitch and somehow squeezes past Rahul. India survive.
This was Geoff’s great piece on Boland from day one:
5th over: India 33-0 (Jaiswal 20, Rahul 8) Rahul swivels to the last ball of Starc’s over and picks up India’s eighth boundary of this short innings with a tidy pull. Starc shakes his head.
4th over: India 22-0 (Jaiswal 18, Rahul 4) Jaiswal continues to seek those adrenalin-drenched boundaries, throwing the bat at Cummins but hitting mid air. Rahul it is who finds the rope, with a four posted neatly past mid on.
An email! Hello Sandip.
“Greetings from a comparatively dry Pacific NW where I am following Graun’s coverage of the BGT esp when the Willow feed goes phut when the clouds move in!
“With re: the 42nd over query about how is it okay with the physios and sundry staff retrieving balls for the fielding team. This situation raises many points, a few of them I highlight below.
“There is nothing in the law that specifically prevents such action and activity, meaning retrieving the ball, or hanging around.
“Umpires usually decide before the match starts what is permitted and what is not.
“Also, most fielders are now equipped with some tracker and their movement metrics provide how much effort they have put in and such stats. It therefore behooves the fielder not to include the jogs and walks in the metrics so as not to dilute the other high intensity runs and sprints. A few tens of metres during the retrieving balls therefore makes a difference.
“My pet peeve is those hangers-on fielding the said ball before it has crossed the agreed upon boundaries. Methinks this is when the umpires reckon will be penalising the batting team by ruling dead-ball as soon as the hangers-on have touched the ball. Better to award 4-runs for the boundary, and avoid diplomatic incidents, not to mention the enjoyment of the spectators who pay good dough to be in the stadium. This is most practical way. And no, I do not play an umpire on the telly, I umpire regional amateur matches.
“Hope this helps clarify the important and critical role played by those hangers-on.”
Thank you! Very helpful.
3rd over: India 17-0 (Jaiswal 17, Rahul 0) Better from Starc, who has found his radar and his run-up. Has Jaiswal beaten and then leaping like a jack in a box, hit in the guts by a shorter delivery. Just one from the over.
2nd over: India 16-0 (Jaiswal 16, Rahul 0) Cummins has had Rahul’s number, and Rahul certainly isn’t going for it in the Jaiswal manner, despite the long hair flowing cavallierly in his helmet. From feast to famine, Cummins starts with a maiden.
Hello Anna Talbot, sorry to pick your email up so late.
”My partner rematches Starc’s dismissing catch repeatedly and came up with this evidence. Can’t see any fingers under that ball myself.” I find these things so difficult to read, but can’t see any obvious problem and haven’t heard anyone moaning about it on commentary. Yet!
1st over: India 16-0 (Jaiswal 16, Rahul 0) Starc is roared in, long legs, rhythmic run, shy smile. Jaiswal leans back and flies into his second ball, which has a touch of width, sending it flying to the rope over backward point. The next is dragged down as Jaiswal whips the ball at nose height for a second four. And a third – this time along the ground behind point. Starc beats him with his fifth and WOW – there comes the fourth boundary! Whipped with regal wrists and awesome power through cover. On comms they say Australia won’t want to chase anything more than 200 here. Cummins stares behind his big bad sunglasses.
Evening session
Here they come! A middle of the night frisson for the Brits, an outrageously bright blue skied high-octane afternoon at the SCG.
TEA – Australia 181 all out, trail India by four runs.
This match, this series, keeping us on our toes. The teams pretty much even at tea on day two – with just one fifty in the game so far, from the tall smiley debutant Webster. No news on Bumrah yet, but India didn’t miss him too much as they wrapped up the Australian innings, with three wickets for Siraj and Prasidh. I’m going to make a quick cup of coffee, back shortly for India’s second dig.
WICKET! Boland b Siraj 9 (Australia 181 all out – India lead by four runs)
Through the gate and rattles the latch!
51st over: Australia 181 (Lyon 7 not out) Win Viz is still giving Australia a 60 per cent chance of winning – and that’s without the (possible) injury to Bumrah in the calcuation. Boland squeezes four through the slips but next ball Siraj squeezes one through the gate. India get the (matchstick) lead and they go into tea with the game on a knife edge!
50th over: Australia 176-9 (Lyon 6, Boland 5) Apologies, my middle of the night brain forgot to change the email address on the page from Angus’ – do drop me a line at [email protected]. Lyon and Boland mine a precious three runs from Prasidh’s over
49th over: Australia 173-9 (Lyon 1, Boland 4)
“Morning Tanya”. Good very early morning to you Brian Withington
”Although it doesn’t appear in his Wiki entry I can confirm that perhaps the most formative (English) summer in Beau Webster’s cricket career was in 2016, when he was the overseas player for our local Knowle & Dorridge CC in the Birmingham League. In that capacity he was following in the bowling marks of the likes of no lesser than Allan Donald. No I don’t know how they afford it either, but the club bar is open 365 days a year and is probably still serving as I type at 3:30 am.”
Thank you for that excellent bit of knowledge! And what a smashing innings it was too – he got a very fond round of applause from the SCG as he trudged off. Lyon picks off three from Ntish Kumar Reddy’s over as Australia creep closer to parity.
48th over: Australia 170-9 (Lyon 1, Boland 4) The end of a terrific innings on debut and India’s second string are more than holding the fort for Bumrah. Boland picks up four with a nudge off his ankles.
WICKET! Webster c Jaiswal b Prasidh 57 (Australia 166-9)
A third fabulous slip catch since I’ve taken my place on the sofa! This time it is Jaiswal who springs like a March hare to his right at third slip/gully as Webster is surprised by some extra bounce. Jaiswal throws the ball into the air with uninhibited joy and Australia are still in arrears with one wicket left.
47th over: Australia 166-8 (Webster 57, Lyon 1) No hat-trick as Lyon squeezes a single off his first ball and, as Webster returns the favour, survives the last three balls.
WICKET! Starc c KL Rahul b Ntish Kumar Reddy 1 (Australia 164-8)
Is that a clean catch? Yes it is! At second slip, Rahul, with his fourth catch of the innings, just gets his fingers under a dart from Starc. The third umpire wants to check but Starc is already walking off. A second wicket for Reddy in two balls!
46th over: Australia 164-7 (Webster 56, Starc 1) Can Starc continue the Cummins holding role? Siraj roars in and Starc’s inside edge darts between his boots
WICKET! Cummins c Kohli b Ntish Kumar Reddy 10 (Australia 162-7)
Fabulous catch by Kohli at slip who casually darts to his left and pouches with both hands as Cummins is forced onto the back foot by a shorter ball and gets an outside edge. A delighted Ntish celebrates with both arms outstretched. Cumins had just driven him with dazzling panache through the covers on one knee. Australia are still 23 behind.
45th over: Australia 162-7 (Webster 52 )
