4th Test Day 2: India Drives Home Advantage on Sydney Road

To anyone who has been watching this Test series unfold, Day 2 at the S.C.G pretty much followed the well-worn script of the way the cricket has gone. Only the most optimistic Australian supporter saw anything occurring on the second day different from India batting the day at their own pace before declaring late in the day with a massive lead and then taking some Australian batting wickets with them into stumps. It didn’t quite follow the script to its conclusion, but most of it was predictable, and was joyful for India and morose for Australia. 

As was brought up in commentary today, India did an Australia on Australia today. Their foot was on their throat and they didn’t let up. Australia spent two decades playing this kind of cricket, no mercy batting until teams are out on their feet before declaring and wiping them out as their tired batsmen were unable to hold back the tide of fast and spin bowling. Now, the shoe is well and truly on the other foot. Being in the ascendancy and only needing to draw this Test to win their first series in Australia, the Indian batsmen took advantage of a completely lifeless pitch and an exhausted, beaten and out-of-ideas Australian bowling attack and just relentlessly ground out run after run in perfect style. Vihari was eventually out-thought by Lyon for his second wicket, but Rishabh Pant came in and played the perfect foil for Pujara. He showed he can play the patient game and push singles and twos without having to obliterate everything that comes his way. He played perfectly while Pujara was at the crease, allowing his senior partner to dictate the way he wanted the innings to go. When Pujara was finally dismissed for a magnificent 193, it allowed Pant to take on the senior role while he in turn was supported by Ravi Jadeja. Once he reached his second Test century, both batsmen they began to open up and put the foot down. Jadeja put Cummins 20 metres over the fence when the third new ball was taken, as good an indication of the lack of any peril in the wicket. When he finally fell for 81, he and Pant had put on a record 204 runs for the seventh wicket. Pant remained not out on 159 and could probably have reeled in Brian Lara’s 400 if he had been allowed to bat out the innings. It was at this point that Kohli decided enough was enough, and declared the innings closed at 7/622. 

Like yesterday there were a few chances that fell just out of reach of fieldsmen or short of fieldsmen which was as frustrating for the fans watching as it was for the players. The bowlers tried hard but they lacked penetration, they lacked consistency, they lacked aggression and they lacked purpose. Australia’s four bowlers have had an enormous workload in the last week, and you can completely understand why they looked tired and sore and running out of petrol on the field. Their lack of wickets is a combination of excellent batting, unresponsive pitches and a touch of misfortune that is not helped by wayward lines and lengths too often to keep pressure on the batsmen. If questions are to be asked about the bowling attack, and they have been by several commentators in the last few days, then it should be as a whole rather than individually, and it should also take into account these other factors. 

With ten overs to bat, Usman Khawaja and Marcus Harris had differing periods. Harris looked assured and found the gaps in racing to 19 not out, while Khawaja was more nervous and less intent, and also gained himself a life when Pant dropped a fairly simple chance off Shami in the fourth over. Perhaps he could be forgiven after his lengthy batting display but he needs to take those. Khawaja was still there on 5 not out at stumps with the score at 0/24. 

What do the final three days of this series hold in store for us? Australia trails by 598 runs needing to win to square the series. It can’t be done. It’s impossible. Right? Anyone remember Adelaide in 2006? At the end of day two, Australia was 523 runs behind with nine wickets in hand against England. Australia won that Test by six wickets. That Australian team is a country mile ahead of this Australian team, but it just shows that it has happened before, and could always happen again. 

There is nothing in this wicket for the bowlers, and it looks like this surface should still be perfect for batting on tomorrow. There will be a lot of spin bowling tomorrow but there is little rough to speak of so it should not be impossible to defuse. Australia’s under pressure top six will not have a better chance to show their wares than tomorrow on the third day in Sydney. Whether the game can be won or not, Australia’s batsmen need to go out and bat the day out and put on a good score. 4/320 should be an aim and an achievable score, given Bumrah and Shami do not have the pace support of Ishant in this Test. They need to be positive and back their abilities. If they achieve this, then a winning result, no matter how unlikely, is still on the table. It’s a big day for their own Test futures as well as the team’s future. If they fall over again, then the immediate future of Australia’s Test side in really in the balance.