Test four, day 4: Lunch
Game in balance as Australia lead by 158
It’s a truism that a good batting performance puts the wind in the bowlers’ sails. It’s also a point I’d made in my recap of the last session of day three:
The biggest plus for India from today’s play is that it changes the mood, from the siege mentality consequent on being under the pump over the first two days to a more positive, even combative, outlook.
That mood was manifest when India took the field this morning. Jasprit Bumrah bowled a spell that, for pure quality if not rewards, was the equal of his spell in the Australian first innings in Perth. Akash Deep, who shared the new ball, provided the perfect back up with optimal lengths, sharp pace, and good bounce. And the fielders backed their bowlers up — the chatter was so constant, the fielders were making almost as much noise as the Sunday crowd.
Jaiswal, under the helmet at short square leg, kept up a constant, and one-sided, conversation with the beleaguered Usman Khawaja, giving him advice on how to play, commiserating with him on being turned inside out by Bumrah for the nth time, needling him about his form and his place in the side…
But most noticeably, Virat Kohli moved out of slip, took up position at mid off, and constantly talked to every bowler not named Bumrah, geeing them on, talking lines and lengths; he also kept running the length of the pitch to his captain who was at first slip, offering suggestions about field placement. And when he did move in to bolster the slip cordon, he continued fine tuning field placements — if you had just landed from Mars, you would have thought, judging by what you could see, that Kohli was the Indian captain, not the guy who was stood there at first slip throughout the session.
Everything the Indians did not do in the first innings, they did here — and the Aussie batsmen wilted in the heat and pressure.
Bumrah’s first spell was 5-1-9-1. If rewards were commensurate with quality, there should have been at least two more in that wickets column — he was unplayable. Unlike in the first innings, Khawaja had to face a lot of deliveries from the Indian quick, and neither bowler nor batsman could have told you how he survived.
His only wicket was that of Sam Konstas — a masterclass in thinking a batsman out. Bumrah started off by testing the young opener outside the off stump with balls seaming away late or straightening on the fourth stump line. He then attacked the stumps, and in short order, with the third ball of his fourth over, he produced the one on length that jagged back in and went through the unsure defense of the opener, and flicked the pad on the way through to off stump. (Konstas 8 off 18).
For once, the normally undemonstrative Bumrah celebrated by mimicking Konstas, who had spent much of his fielding time geeing up the crowd (See screenshot above). Clearly, the first innings blitz by the debutant had gotten under Bumrah’s skin a bit; here, he was on a mission of self redemption.
That should have been Bumrah’s second wicket. In his second over, he repeatedly turned Khawaja inside out around and outside off stump, then bowled the fuller length on middle and leg. Khawaja instinctively played the one shot he plays even in his worst form — the flick off the pads. And Jaiswal, who had been posted at a wide leg gully in what was clearly a well planned trap, put down a catch that came straight to him at leg height.
The prevailing mood infected Mohammed Siraj as well. Replacing Deep, Siraj produced a tight first four overs, focussing mostly on a containing line. Then in the fifth over of his spell, bowled from round the wicket, he produced a full length delivery that shaped in at pace, went under Khawaja’s tentative drive with no foot movement, and rattled the stumps to have Australia 43/2 (Khawaja out for a tortured 22 off 65).
It underlined the difference between the first innings and the second — in this innings, Bumrah’s support staff of Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj, who had looked largely flat in the first innings, were sharp and focussed. They bowled potentially wicket-taking deliveries, and most importantly ensured that the pressure was never released. Heading into lunch, Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj produced a period of 20 deliveries without a run being scored. Smith, on the back of his first innings century, took 15 deliveries to get off the mark, and not for want of trying.
Australia ended the session on 53/2. From the home team’s point of view, an overall lead of 158 for the loss of the openers is not a bad position to be in at the end of the first session. From an Indian point of view, the 25 overs they have bowled, without allowing the batting side to inflict much damage, means that is 25 overs less that Australia have to press for a big total and a possible declaration today.
Australia’s game plan became clear in the extended hour and a half before the first drinks break (extended, to make up for lost time last evening). Australia clearly does not plan to try a blitz in a bid for quick runs — the plan is more likely to conserve wickets and, if possible, pick up the pace in the post lunch session when conditions are typically ideal for batting, against a by then softer ball.
I’d expect an hour of consolidation after lunch, with Labuschagne and Steve Smith at the wicket, before Australia reassess and decide if, and when, to go hard.