IND vs AUS:
On a slow turner, spinners shut Australia to 177 as skipper leads hosts strong reply.
Just after Rohit Sharma clumped Nathan Lyon over mid-wicket, the off-spinner stared suspiciously at the surface. The pitch might have stared back inexpressively at him. Lyon had beaten him three balls ago, some balls before that were scudding low as well, but the 22-yard patch of intrigue and interest seemed to be more benign when Sharma rampaged to an unbeaten 56 off 69 balls, taking India to 77/1 at stumps, exactly a century of runs behind Australia’s total.
Perhaps, this was a case of batsman’s skills providing the pitch a harmless makeover. Perhaps, Australia’s batsmen made it look harder than it actually was. Perhaps, Sharma’s cavalier approach was the way to bat on this low-bounce, slow-turning deck. Maybe, Australia were a fraction overcautious in phases in the first session. Maybe, India’s spinners simply bowled better, tighter and sharper, though without any doubt this was a challenging surface to bat.
It was a challenging but not an unplayable surface, and none of the 11 wickets, barring that of KL Rahul where the ball gripped and turned and clouded his judgement, originated from the surface playing wicked. Ravindra Jadeja would later say: “This wasn’t a rank turner. It was slow and had low bounce, compared to first-day pitches (in the subcontinent). I felt defending wasn’t difficult today.” He, though, fired a warning: “Defending would be difficult in the coming days.”
NewsSportsCricketIndia vs Australia: After Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma ensures India seizes control of Nagpur Test on Day 1
On a slow turner, spinners shut Australia to 177 as skipper leads hosts strong reply
Just after Rohit Sharma clumped Nathan Lyon over mid-wicket, the off-spinner stared suspiciously at the surface. The pitch might have stared back inexpressively at him. Lyon had beaten him three balls ago, some balls before that were scudding low as well, but the 22-yard patch of intrigue and interest seemed to be more benign when Sharma rampaged to an unbeaten 56 off 69 balls, taking India to 77/1 at stumps, exactly a century of runs behind Australia’s total.
Perhaps, this was a case of batsman’s skills providing the pitch a harmless makeover. Perhaps, Australia’s batsmen made it look harder than it actually was. Perhaps, Sharma’s cavalier approach was the way to bat on this low-bounce, slow-turning deck. Maybe, Australia were a fraction overcautious in phases in the first session. Maybe, India’s spinners simply bowled better, tighter and sharper, though without any doubt this was a challenging surface to bat.
It was a challenging but not an unplayable surface, and none of the 11 wickets, barring that of KL Rahul where the ball gripped and turned and clouded his judgement, originated from the surface playing wicked. Ravindra Jadeja would later say: “This wasn’t a rank turner. It was slow and had low bounce, compared to first-day pitches (in the subcontinent). I felt defending wasn’t difficult today.” He, though, fired a warning: “Defending would be difficult in the coming days.”
There were only two instances of natural variation playing bit-part roles in dismissals, like the wickets of Steve Smith and Pat Cummins. But other than those instances, the bowlers should feature in the credit role. A variety of approaches worked. The grind and aggression of Marnus Labuschagne and Smith in the first session, wherein they soaked the early dangers and stroked some glorious shots in their 82 run-association. Labuschagne especially looked unalarmed — he drove Ravichandran Ashwin, bowled from around the stumps he played inside out through extra cover for three before he paddle-swept him for a four, Smith gorgeously drove Axar Patel through the covers. It was the classical method, classical as the batsmen too are.
