Australia take 48-run lead on tricky M Chinnaswamy wicket
Bangalore: Shaun Marsh (66, 197b, 4×4) and Matt Renshaw (60, 196b, 5×4, 1×6) struck contrasting half centuries on an engrossing day of cricket to help Australia take a first innings lead of 48 against India in the second Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here, Sunday.
After resuming the second day on 40 for no loss, the touring side reached 237 for six at stumps on the second day against India, who were bundled out for 189 in their first innings, Saturday. Wicketkeeper batsman Matthew Wade (25 batting) was unbeaten with Mitchell Starc (14 batting) at the other end.
It was an inspired bowling performance from India, who gave away only 197 runs in 90 overs but without much luck. The touring side, who lead the four-match series 1-0, lost two wickets in a hard-fought morning session against a rejuvenated India but recovered through a 52-run stand between Renshaw and Marsh.
The left-handed Marsh enjoyed some luck, being handed his first reprieve when he edged paceman Umesh Yadav (1/57) to wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha on 14 but India made the mistake of opting against a review of the umpire’s not out verdict. Marsh was then given out leg before against Umesh on 44 but the 33-year-old successfully overturned the decision on review.
In the next over, paceman Ishant Sharma (1/39) bowled a no-ball with replays confirming Marsh would have been out lbw if not for the illegal delivery. India’s frustrations were heightened with edges from the batsman falling short of their fielders. Marsh finally departed, caught off Umesh, but not before he had added another 57 with Wade for the sixth wicket.
Earlier, India depended heavily on off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (1/75) to weave some magic. He provided the breakthrough, spinning one around David Warner’s (33, 67b, 3×4) bat to hit his off-stump.
The fall of Warner spurred on the Indian side as they came hard at Renshaw and Australia captain Steve Smith (8, 52b), with an exchange of words between opposing players forcing the umpires to intervene to calm the situation.
Ishant’s hostile spell of fast bowling troubled Smith but Australia managed to keep India at bay with a steady second-wicket stand of 30. Ravindra Jadeja (3/49) gave India the second success of the morning with Smith’s dismissal.
The 20-year-old Renshaw, who scored 68 in Pune, was dropped by Kohli off Umesh on 29 and went on to complete his third half century in Tests. Renshaw was outsmarted by Jadeja two balls later, after hitting him for a maximum, when the bowler got one to spin past the batsman for Saha to complete the stumping. Jadeja grabbed a third wicket when he dismissed Peter Handscomb (16, 30b, 2×4) with Ashwin completing a juggling catch at mid-wicket.
Matt content with visitors’ batting
Australia are hoping to chase as little as they can in their fourth innings against India on a difficult pitch, opener Matt Renshaw said here Sunday, adding that the touring side were content with having batted for the entire second day.
The Bangalore pitch is providing inconsistent bounce and turn for the bowlers. India were bundled out for 189 in their first innings and a bigger first-innings lead will only boost the touring side’s confidence.
“Hopefully, not too many (to chase) because we know that the fourth-innings chase is going to be quite hard out there,” Renshaw said. “The Bangalore pitch was more challenging than in the first Test, where the ball just turned sharply. “It was really challenging to score off both the quicks and the spinners. It was just a grind,” said Renshaw.
“But as I’ve said, we just needed to bat the whole day and we’ve managed to do that. I think every run is vital and we sort of felt like we were just about to get on top of the game when I got out. So it was quite frustrating from that point of view.”
Youngster laughs off Kohli’s toilet sledge
Kohli was on a sledging spree as India fought hard on the field in their attempt to restrict the Australians. After frequent exchanges between Kohli and Steven Smith, the India skipper tried to unnerve Renshaw by reminding him of the ‘toilet break’ he took in the Pune Test. The opener handled the pressure situation rather well. “I was just trying to enjoy it and laugh at what (Kohli) was saying because some of it was quite funny,” said Renshaw.
Pujara backs batting line-up
Indian batsmen have been outwitted by Australian spinners in the ongoing Test series but Cheteshwar Pujara Sunday insisted that there is ‘nothing wrong’ with their batting line-up.
Pujara said they should not be labelled bad batsmen after failure in three innings. “Most important thing was we did not have a big partnership. We kept losing wickets. There is nothing wrong with the Indian batting lineup. We are known to play better against spinners, apart from last three innings. We will have a better gameplan in the second innings. We are confident that we will do well,” Pujara said after second day’s play.
The middle-order batsman insisted they have not lost initiative and actually the bowlers did a good job Sunday. “It was not easy for the fast bowlers as odd ball was staying low. They have put in a lot of hard work. Spinners did very well. You can see the run-rate, they were not able to score many runs. In a way it was victory for us. We bowled tight lines, even the lengths were very good. We bowled well and got six wickets but they did not score many runs.”
Asked how the Indian players were keeping fresh since it has been a long season for them, Pujara said there were enough breaks in between. “We are still enjoying this game. The kind of success we had in the last year, and part of this year, we want to produce more good results and forget the last Test match. I am confident that we will come back in this Test match.”
Ganguly surprised with Oz spin dominance
Kolkata: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly Sunday praised the Australian bowlers, saying that he has never witnessed two spinners wreaking such havoc against Indian batsmen as Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe.
Lyon returned astounding figures of 8/50 Saturday during the opening day of the second cricket Test in Bangalore, the best by a touring bowler in India. In the first Test O’Keefe took 12 wickets — six in each innings — to bring an end to the hosts’ record unbeaten streak of 19 matches.
“I have never seen two spinners putting so much pressure from both ends before for Australia. They are bowling really well,” Ganguly told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of a cricket academy by former Bengal medium pacer Shib Sankar Paul.
Ganguly had predicted a 4-0 whitewash by India of the Aussies ahead of the Test series. But Australia have won the first tie convincingly and are looking good in the ongoing second Test.
