India v Australia: first Test, day three – live | Australia cricket team

LUNCH – India lead by 223 runs

WICKET! Axar bowled Cummins 84 (India all out 400)

140th over: India 400-9 (Axar 84, Siraj 0) The 400 is up for India! And it’s Mohammad Siraj who notches the milestone – his first run from 19 balls. Axar Patel late-cuts the next Cummins ball for a single.

139th over: India 399-9 (Axar 84, Siraj 0) Axar Patel deserves a maiden century. The India No 9 has only a fifty from his eight Tests so far but his innings here – calm, strategic, at times spectacular and intensely annoying for Australia – has shut Australia out of the game and given him the strut to call himself a bowling allrounder at last. He adds another two to his total from this Lyon over.

138th over: India 397-9 (Axar 82, Siraj 0) Cummins has had enough humiliation. Australia’s captain takes the ball himself, replacing Nathan Lyon in a bid for this tenth wicket. India now lead by 220 and it will take a monumental batting performance from the visitors’ top-order to avoid defeat and salvage a draw. For now, Cummins staunches the recent gush of runs with a maiden.

137th over: India 397-9 (Axar 82, Siraj 0) Heave-ho goes Axar Patel! Todd Murphy tossed it up but Axar simply skipped into place and launched it into the bleachers without leaving his crease. This innings is now 137 overs old and Australia are wearing every one of them like a bruise.

136th over: India 391-9 (Axar 76, Siraj 0) India have 70 runs from the 22 overs of this morning session and Australia have taken two wickets. It seem like honours even until you remind yourself of the 144 run lead India started with. The home side are about to hit 400 for their first innings and Australia are hitting the wall.

135th over: India 385-9 (Axar 71, Siraj 0) As Australia’s grimace at another boundary from Axar Patel – this one a handsome heave over mid-on from Murophy – the mind wanders to ask what’s going through David Warner and Usman Khawaja’s heads right now. They’ve spent the best part of two days in the field chasing leather. Now they’ve got to rebound from dismal first digs to chase down 209 runs for Australia to simply break even.

134th over: India 385-9 (Axar 71, Siraj 0) Can Lyon bag a bunny before lunch? Instead he spins it too far, for both Siraj and wicketkeeper Carey, and it runs down fine leg for four. Lucky Lyon has no hair because he’d be yanking it out.

133rd over: India 380-9 (Axar 70, Siraj 0) India lead by 203 runs but Todd Murphy has 7-113 from his 45 overs. Can he claim eight wickets on debut? That was a fun, fantastic innings by Shami – 37 runs from 47 ball with three sixes.

WICKET! Shami caught Carey bowled Murphy 37 (India 380-9)

132nd over: India 380-8 (Axar 70, Shami 37) India’s lead has hit 203 runs and things are now getting very ugly for the Australians. The last three overs have gone for 6, 6 and 14 as Mohammed Shami and Axar Patel run riot. Yet Pat Cummins doesn’t panic. He persists with Lyon and Murphy and Boland’s wait goes on. Apart from his sole over to start the day and switch the ends, Cummins hasn’t bowled either. I know the ball is mushy and the pitch is a spinner but I surely that’s a bit weird.

131st over: India 378-8 (Axar 69, Shami 36) Over the fence again goes Shami! Murphy tossed that straight onto the tee for Shami and the big No 10 took out his one iron and cannoned it into the grandstand. Then he doubles the dose – stepping down and slog-pulling the very next ball over the fence. Clearly enjoying himself, Shami gives the final a heave too. This one doesn’t connect but he gets enough edge on it for it to fly over Carey and run to the rope.

130th over: India 363-8 (Axar 69, Shami 22) With a sweet pull shot to the rope and a quickly-run two by Patel, Murphy is on the verge of his century, although 6-99 at 2.2 runs an over looks a whole lot better than Nathan Lyon’s 1-115 from 45 overs. Adding insult to those numbers is No 9 Mohammed Shami cutting him to the rope with glee. Six from the over and India are now 187 runs in front.

As the players segue their smoko into official drinks, Niall Connolly has been in touch on the saga of the venue for the third Test:

“Promising debut by Todd Murphy and who knows, maybe we’ll get to day 5 with something to work with. But onto the 3rd Test. What a tragedy it would be to lose the opportunity to play amidst the sublime Himalayan jewels at Dharamsala. I hope something can be done to save that game. Maybe HH the Dalai Lama can pick up the phone and speak to someone. It was wonderful seeing him greet the players last time.”

128th over: India 352-8 (Axar 63, Shami 16) If this is “moving day” then the movers are on smoko. India are calmly tapping singles, Australia are struggling to find the energy to finish this innings off and even the schoolkids are starting to drift as the Nagpur heat adds to the torpor. Might be time to bring Scott Boland in from the shade of the outfield and the shame of his dropped catch a few overs back and give him a chance at a first wicket… and redemption.

127th over: India 349-8 (Axar 62, Shami 14) Mild appeal for caught behind. Normally I’d put a screamer (“!”) on that phrase but it’s so mild as to be almost apologetic. Murphy tossed his fifth ball up outside off and Axar had a wild swipe at it. A noise was heard but the umpire was unmoved. So were most of the men in baggy green caps, but Cummins interpreted ten shrugs as a flicker of hope and reviewed. Replays show daylight between bat and ball and the burr on Snicko is bat hitting pitch. It’s also a sure sign Australia are getting desperate.

126th over: India 349-8 (Axar 62, Shami 14) Lyon leaks a single as the lead hits 172. India have added 28 runs this morning. Where does Pat Cummins turn next?

125th over: India 348-8 (Axar 61, Shami 14) The VCA Stadium has a shrill soundtrack today – it’s the Nagpur schoolkids back for more cricket education. And they’re loving their heroes Shami and Axar stretching the lead toward 200. Perhaps a few will remember the deeds of young Todd Murphy the way youngsters of yesteryear recall the deeds of fellow-spinners Peter Taylor (6-78,v England in 1987 at the SCG) and Clarrie Grimmett (6-37 v England in 1925) at the same venue? What do you reckon? More likely they’ll just remember the massive six Mohammed Shami just put into the outer reaches of the galaxy.

124th over: India 340-8 (Axar 60, Shami 7) With India’s lead now 163, Nathan Lyon continues… and his fifth ball misses both edge and off bail by a whisker! Good bowling by Lyon. He doesn’t have the returns of his young protege Murphy but he’s still bowling well and tosses up a maiden in his 42nd over.

123rd over: India 340-8 (Axar 60, Shami 7) Todd Murphy is bowling his 40th over of Test cricket and he has 6-85. Albert Trott has the best ever figures on debut for an Australia – 8-43 v England at the Adelaide Oval in 1895. And captain Pat Cummins is third on the list with his 6-79 v South Africa in Johannesburg in 2011. Murphy bowls out a maiden.

122nd over: India 339-8 (Axar 59, Shami 7) Dropped catch! Just when we were wondering if India would up the ante or slowly turn the screws, Shami stepped down and swiped Lyon hard and high. Scott Boland was in the deep with not a lot of ground to cover but the ball fell through the shadows of the grandstand so it went from glare to gloom very quickly and the big quick made a real mess of it. Now it’s his head in his hands not the ball.

121st over: India 336-8 (Axar 57, Shami 6) For a young man on debut, Murphy has bowled very cleverly. He’s varied his length and hit good areas each time. The fourth ball here is vivid proof – it rushes onto Shami and he prods it away but it’s spinning so viciously it scoots back on impact with the turf and almost rolls into the bottom of off stump. Close thing!

120th over: India 335-8 (Axar 56, Shami 6) After Axar tips and runs the first, Shami wallops Lyon for two and then four. Not messing around is big Mo. He gets a bit cocky on the next and there’s a huge appeal for LBW. This looks close and the Australians review… but to no avail. Despite taking the back pad it has spun too much and hit outside the line.

119th over: India 328-8 (Axar 55, Shami 0) Todd Murphy has six wickets on debut and Mohammed Shami has strolled out with a glint in his eye that says ‘I’m here for a good time, not a long time’. That body language bears out when he cracks Murphy’s second ball straight down the ground. Luckily for Australia Murphy gets a left paw to it and stops a certain four.

WICKET! Jadeja bowled Murphy 70 (India 328-8)

118th over: India 328-7 (Jadeja 70, Patel 55) Lyon hits his century! Unfortunately his hundred runs count toward the enemy and he’ got jut one wicket in return from his 39 overs. That over was a mixed bag. He strayed onto leg and Axar swatted him away for a single. The third was wide and Jadeja cut it long for another run. Let’s see what Murphy can summon from this crumbling pitch…

117th over: India 325-7 (Jadeja 68, Patel 54) Strange decision by the Australians there. Cummins and his cronies have been very good with their reviews so far but it’s unclear if they were appealing for a catch or a stumping and neither Carey or Lyon appeared to be pushing hard for it. But they went upstairs and got a firm no to both forms of dismissal. Here’s Todd Murphy into the attack and he’s right on the money, landing it flat and fizzy on a penny outside off at 90kph. He repeats the dose four more times before Jadeja pushes at the sixth for a run.

116th over: India 324-7 (Jadeja 67, Patel 54) It’ll be Nathan Lyon taking the second over. Cummins must’ve been tempted to throw the ball to his wicket-taker Murphy but instead the elder statesman has been given his dues. And maybe it’s the right move because there’s a huge appeal for caught behind. On field decision is ‘not out’ but the Australians are reviewing … I didn’t hear a snick or detect any deflection but maybe they’re seeing and hearing stuff I ain’t. They ain’t. The third umpire rejects the review. NOT OUT. Lyon bowls out a maiden.

115th over: India 324-7 (Jadeja 67, Patel 54) Pat Cummins delivers an old fashioned ‘sandshoe crusher’ to start us off but the second is wider and Axar works a single off his hip. Jadeja adds another to his total as well with an awkward backward defence shot that edges past slip. Axar works another single from the last to take three from the first over of the day. Captain Pat won’t be happy with that. He improved on his horrors of Day 1 yesterday but every run is worth two out here and leaking three from the first isn’t the start he wanted.

Players are on the field, Nagpur sun is high in the sky, field is set and Pat Cummins has the ball and looks cherry ripe to rip in. Let’s play, shall we?

David Warner’s on the telly talking tough about his prospects with the bat in the second innings. He says India’s batsman showed the Australian batters how to do it and the secret apparently is to “apply the right application.” Of course! That must be what Ravi Jadeja was doing to his spinning finger on Day 1…

For those who came in late, here’s Geoff Lemon’s wrap of Day 2…

Preamble