Australia vs. India, cricket
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Jan 10 2015, The Times of India (Delhi)
TIMES IN AUSTRALIA - DOWN AND OUT?
Partha Bhaduri, The Times of India
It took willful intent from both sides to bring this game momentarily alive. After three and a half days of meandering cricket on the flattest of surfaces, including the rare offering of a wagging Indian tail, there finally followed a contest brief between bat and ball at the SCG. Then Joe Burns arrived and smashed India's hopes out of sight, allowing Australia to gallop to a 348-run lead at stumps. It was a mad scramble for ascension and Australia came out on top on the day. Unlike the dark clouds and prospect of thundershowers looming over the city, the entertainment in the middle was a welcome change after the tedium of the past few days.
Sixes rained, wickets fell, and Ravichandran Ashwin (50 runs; 4105) had his say. It was not enough, however, to make any significant difference to his side, even though the pitch mercifully deigned to offer disconcerting turn and variable bounce.
The series won, the Aussies, already 97 ahead after India closed shop at 475, were in attacking mode, looking to dangle the carrot of a 300-plus target for India on the last day . Kohli, all passion and positive energy and seeking a way for India to claw back into the game after his early dismissal in the morning, believed there yet could be a twist in the tale.
But Australia scored at 6.27 per over throughout their 40 overs, the last 10 of those going for more than eight runs each as Burns blazed to a 33-ball half-century . Amid the carnage were the old constants: Smith and Rogers again scored half centuries, and Umesh Yadav obligingly sprayed the ball.
Dramatic scenes followed as Virat Kohli decided to throw the new ball to Ashwin in the second over of Australia's innings. Warner fell edging to first slip, playing back to a length ball and the spin and bounce doing the rest. Watson under-edged one on to his stumps.
Five Australian wickets fell before bad light dominated, three of them to Ashwin, but it was Australia which ticked all the boxes: Smith scored 70 from 71 balls, going past Don Bradman as the highest scorer in all India-Australia series. Anything overpitched or marginally short was punished, a lot of runs coming behind square.Ashwin was reverse swept and tonked over cover for maximum.Yadav , either short or wide or stray ing down leg, was pulled and swatted away on the on-side as four boundaries came off the seamer's first over. Only the late inswing from Shami prevented further damage. Rogers too flung his bat around and brought up his sixth consecutive half-century .
A chastened Kohli spread the field, and it was not until he had the courage to crowd men around the bat again that Shaun Marsh fell. The Indians, however, had not accounted for Burns, who batted on this turning pitch as if it was the Gabba of his teenaged days, adding 86 with Haddin to probably take it beyond India's means: The highest successful chase at the SCG is only 288.
Burns took on India's best bowler, Ashwin, tonking him for three sixes, and hit four consecutive fours off Yadav late in the day, gliding to third man, flicking and pulling and generally making a mockery of the attack. Kohli could only give three overs to Yadav, but those yielded 45 runs.Now-regular wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha was twice a victim of nerves, botching up a run-out chance and missing a stumping to give Burns a reprieve.
Earlier, Ashwin and a resolute Bhuvneshwar Kumar helped the last four wickets add 123 runs as India hung around batting as much time as they could, but with the pitch playing tricks, will it be enough to see them through? Kohli, for one, will be looking to give the Aussies at least some anxious moments.
2014- 15: Individual performances
Jan 12 2015
While the likes of Kohli, Vijay and Rahane came out with flying colours during the Test series against Australia, a few other batsmen, and almost all the bowlers, were found wanting. Gaurav Gupta rates the performance of India's Test team.
1991-92 tour
