Key events
42nd over: Australia 88-1 (Head 53, Labuschagne 29) India’s intensity has dropped significantly since they got news they were heading to the WTC final. The Hindi chatter has risen in volume and merriment too, as Head takes two from Patel and then follows it with a smart late cut for FOUR. That’s his fifty and a good one it’s been. Given Head’s success at the top of the order and David Warner’s steep decline it will be hard not to keep him as opener for the Ashes.
41st over: Australia 82-1 (Head 47, Labuschagne 29) Head shimmies one around the corner for a single leaving Labuschagne to survive a weird appeal. Marnus threw his arms in the air after that ball zipped past the bat but Bharat has taken the bails off and squawked for a stumping. Replays show both feet grounded and perhaps one in Bharat’s mouth after that time-wasting effort. Labuschagne makes amends, stepping back to flatter ball from Ashwin and cutting sweetly through cover to register a FOUR, his third of the innings.
40th over: Australia 77-1 (Head 46, Labuschagne 25) Axar Patel bowls a rudimentary maiden to Labuschagne but Marnus looks like he wants to be there at the end so the weapons stay holstered, the bat is five foot wide and it’s a maiden. Australia now trail by 14 runs.
39th over: Australia 77-1 (Head 46, Labuschagne 25) Sweep and a miss! Travis Head has been disciplined so far and the bogey shot has been firmly under his baggy green cap… until now. Ashwin drew him out but dropped it short and Head put a big hoof down the wicket and reached for it via the sweep. But he missed and it caught a bit of shirt before narrowly missing the stumps.
38th over: Australia 77-1 (Head 46, Labuschagne 25) News just in: New Zealand have won the first Test against Sri Lanka by two wickets, thus ensuring India’s safe passage into the World Test Championship final at Lords against Australia. Meanwhile back in Ahmedabad, Marnus Labuschagne has driven Patel through extra cover. Nice shot but he only gets two for it.
37th over: Australia 75-1 (Head 46, Labuschagne 23) Welcome back, folks! An intriguing second session awaits. India bowled superbly in the first two hours and if they do so again, and get just reward for their labours, this Test may yet have some twists. Travis Head doesn’t look fazed. He jabs a single from the first ball after lunch leaving Labuschagne to fend off a ball that grips and bounces. Kohli goes crazy with an appeal at slip but he was unsighted and Ashwin looks at him like stern schoolmaster and shakes his head. Just two from the over.
Chris Murdoch has been in touch…
“Hey Angus, If we can’t organise lead up matches, could we at least play 5 Tests? For mine the series, as a competition between these two teams, has become more interesting as the series has gone on. I’ll be sorry, regardless of the result of this one, to see it end.”
You and me both, Chris. But we’ll get a “fifth Test” between Australia and India in the form of the World Test Championship final in June PLUS we have three ODIs between these nations starting on Friday. That should prolong the summer vibes before the footy scarves come out of the shed (if they haven’t already).
LUNCH Day 5: Australia 73-1 (Head 45*, Labuschagne 22*). Australia trail by 18 runs
As the players take the 96-step stairway to the dressing-rooms, both teams will be smiling, I’d venture. Australia have chiselled 70 runs for the loss of just one wicket and India have attacked with vim to give themselves every chance of wickets. A draw seems most likely but Australia ain’t out of the woods just yet.
India will also enjoy the news that New Zealand have rallied in Christchurch and now have Sri Lanka on the ropes, needing just 38 runs to win the first Test with five wickets in hand. If the Black Caps ice that win, India are officially a lock for the World Test Championship on June 9 against Australia in London and this Test gets a sequel of sorts on the grandest stage of all.
Will the Aussies break the shackles after running down this lead? Or will India put the fear of Ganesha into them with a clatter of fast wickets? We’ll find out after the break when this road of a pitch hosts the penultimate session of the series.
36th over: Australia 73-1 (Head 45, Labuschagne 22) Last over before Lunch and it’s Yadav spearing it in at Head. He squirts an attempted yorker fine for a single off the first ball leaving Labuschagne to flat-bat the next five and reach the sanctuary of the lunchtime buffet intact. Enjoy your Gujarat thali, Marnus!
35th over: Australia 72-1 (Head 44, Labuschagne 22) Weird but effective! Labuschagne leapt out to Ashwin’s first ball and tried to defend with both pads at once. Instead it squirted off the bottom edge and got him a single. Big appeal against Head on the fourth ball and Ashwin likes it so much India will review. It definitely hit Head’s front pad and caught him in front, as his bat snagged slightly on the back of the pad as it came down. Onfield decision is NOT OUT but India will review. Replays show it not turning enough so the decision will stand.
34th over: Australia 70-1 (Head 43, Labuschagne 21) India feel the need for speed. Umesh Yadav is replacing Ravi Jadeja at the Adani end. This is his first over for the innings and he’ll be hunting for a hint of the reverse swing that got him wickets in Indore. It’s been a rollercoaster series for the 35-year-old wannabe policeman. Yadav’s coalminer father passed away on the eve of the third Test in Indore and his daughter was born on the eve of this Ahmedabad Test. Despite such momentous events Yadav has played both games and bowled well, if a tad errantly. He gives away just two from his first over today.
33rd over: Australia 68-1 (Head 41, Labuschagne 21) India are bowling well but Australia are fighting hard. Head and Labuschagne take another three from this Patel over to make this partnership 55 runs from 135 balls, a good recovery after the early loss of nightwatchman Matt Kuhnemann.
32nd over: Australia 65-1 (Head 40, Labuschagne 19) Close but no donut, Ravi! Jadeja gets a straight ball to bite out of the rough and swish past the edge of Labuschagne’s angled bat. Super ball! This pitch has been a road most of the time but occasionally a speed bump pops up like that to give the batters a scare.
31st over: Australia 65-1 (Head 40, Labuschagne 19) Dangerous! Head swooshed at Ashwin outside off and was beaten for pace. But he returns the dose on the next ball driving pat deep mid-off for a well-struck FOUR. And he flashes again at the next, and he’s beaten for pace by Patel but he’s flashed hard enough to get a bottom edge on it and send it squirting to fine leg for another FOUR. Good over for Australia. It bring up the fifty partnership between these two and takes the deficit down to 26 runs.
30th over: Australia 57-1 (Head 32, Labuschagne 19) Slow, straight, fast, flat, floaty, wide. Ravi Jadeja is throwing down a mixed bag at varying speeds, anywhere from 75-95kph. But Head get him away through midwicket for a run and Labuschagne leaves one that’s too close for comfort to off stump. He shakes his head and looks to the heavens for an explanation. The answer? Take two from the last and give the strike back to Travis Head for a bit.
29th over: Australia 54-1 (Head 31, Labuschagne 17) Head punches Axar Patel’s first ball to long-on for a run. There’s an appeal for LBW next ball and it looked close but replays showed the impact outside the line so good call by Sharma not to review that one. Australia now trail by 37 runs.
28th over: Australia 53-1 (Head 30, Labuschagne 17) Arms go up but the ball stays down. It was a slightly dicey late cut by Labuschagne but he sliced it fine enough and flashed sufficiently hard to land it at Kohli’s feet and it gets him two runs from Jadeja’s excellent eighth over.
27th over: Australia 51-1 (Head 30, Labuschagne 15) Head chops, Sharma changes. After that lovely lofted six in the last over India captain Rohit Sharma has brought Axar Patel back into the attack. He bowled a maiden with his first and only over so far and he starts around the wicket to the right-hander Labuschagne before switching to over the wicket. Patel is delivering at a flatter trajectory to Ashwin but without the fizz. Just a single from the over ensues.
26th over: Australia 50-1 (Head 30, Labuschagne 14) UP AND OVER! Head was never going to be tied down for long and sure enough, after a period of containment, he skips down and dispatches Ravi Ashwin over the long on fence. SIX! But he retreats into his shell for the next five ball. Fifty up for Australia. They trail by 41 runs.
25th over: Australia 43-1 (Head 25, Labuschagne 14) It’s an enthralling passage of play as Australia fight for every runs and India hunt for wickets. Australia make it 41 runs from 19 overs with a well run two by Head.
24th over: Australia 42-1 (Head 23, Labuschagne 13) Big appeal by Ashwin! It hit Labuschagne’s front pad but he was backing away and it looked to be going down leg stump. India don’t review and rightly so as replays show a fifth stump line. Head swishes at Ashwin’s next ball and there’s OOHs and AAHs all round but no noise on Snicko and that’ all that matters. A maiden unspools.
23rd over: Australia 42-1 (Head 23, Labuschagne 13) “C’mon lads. C’mon LADS!” cries ‘keeper Bharat. But it’s c’mon Aussie as Travis Head bring the deficit to 50 by smashing Jadeja down the ground for a lovely FOUR. The next ball is a beautiful riposte – it jags back low and lethal and Head has to chop down to keep it off his pads. India are mixing up their lengths and Australia are hopping around like black cats on white coals.
22nd over: Australia 37-1 (Head 18, Labuschagne 13) A lively morning! India have removed the nightwatchman Matt Kuhnemann courtesy of a dodgy LBW but Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne have held steady to chew up 15 overs and add 30 runs. They now trail by 58 runs. And it look like Rohit Sharma isn’t going to die wondering today. He has brought back his big gun Ravi Ashwin from a new end and sent Axar Patel back to his field spot after just one over. He’ out there to watch Labuschagne go over the top again for FOUR. Nice use of the feet by Marnus. He swung with the spin and didn’t try to overhit it, just two bounces and into the rope. Australia chipping away at this deficit. It’s now down to 54.
21st over: Australia 33-1 (Head 18, Labuschagne 9) Jadeja is back at Ashwin’s end and Labuschagne takes an easy single. Travis Head does much better, leaning deep into the crease and driving past mid off for a powerful boundary. Jadeja brings him forward to the next – it’s a desperate lunge not a confident hot-step – and it hits pad first but the India appeal is half-hearted at best.
20th over: Australia 26-1 (Head 13, Labuschagne 7) Sharma pulls a switcheroo. Ravi Jadeja is getting a rest at this end after just two overs and left-arm twirler Axar Patel gets a whirl. Although his late-order batting has been brilliant, Patel’s exciting bowling has played second fiddle this series. Last I looked, he had just one wicket from the four Tests and was still hunting his 50th career scalp.
19th over: Australia 26-1 (Head 13, Labuschagne 7) Good duel hapoening here between Head and Ashwin. The latter giving full vent to his attacking instincts, the former reigning his in to play the responsible anchor innings his side needs. After a run of maidens, we finally get a single as Head bunts and runs. Labuschagne does much better, skipping down to Ashwin and lofting on the up to plonk it just short of the boundary rope. FOUR!
18th over: Australia 21-1 (Head 12, Labuschagne 3) There’s a distinct echo in the Narendra Modi Stadium today. That happens when you’ve got 132,000 capacity and only 2000 show up. It also means the consistent backdrop to every batting stroke is bright orange seats. Not that anyone will take photos of that over as Labuschagne blocks out another maiden from Jadeja.
17th over: Australia 21-1 (Head 12, Labuschagne 3) Head rushes forward to negate the spin of that Ashwin ball but the second step had to be much quicker than the first to do it. Ashwin loves it and sends the next ball down slower and it skews slightly off the bat but not enough airtime for a cry of ‘Catchit!’ Head goes back to go hard at the next one but he chops straight to a fielder and can’t score. Another maiden.
16th over: Australia 21-1 (Head 12, Labuschagne 3) India make their move, resting seamer Mohammed Shami and bringing Ravi Jadeja into the attack. They have three fielders around the bat for Head and are chuntering madly between deliveries to keep the energy up and sow seeds of discontent in the batters. Head doesn’t mind. He drives down the ground and it misses the stumps and Jadeja’s outstretched hand to allow a single. It allows Jadeja to tempt Labuschagne forward with a ball that pitched on middle and then jagged away from the bat. Watch out Marnie! Australia trail by 70 runs.
15th over: Australia 20-1 (Head 11, Labuschagne 3) Ashwin has Labuschagne on the hop here. He is pitching into the rough and finding spin and skid, varying his flight and pace to keep the batters guessing. Labuschagne doesn’t look very comfortable but he survives the maiden over.
14th over: Australia 20-1 (Head 11, Labuschagne 3) Lavish leaves by Labuschagne are the order of the day for the first three. But Shami makes him look a goose on the fourth ball, angling it back in and almost taking the edge. In this series, from eight innings, Labuschagne has 181 runs at 30 and has never bested the first innings 49 he scored at Nagpur. This is the 28-year-old’s first tour of India and he has perhaps over-thought the conditions, evolving every innings while moving further and further from his natural game. But he gets off the mark here with a cutely clipped three off his toes to cut the margin to 71 runs.
13th over: Australia 17-1 (Head 11, Labuschagne 0) “Lovely lovely Ash!” says the wicketkeeper KS Bharat. And indeed, Ravi Ashwin is bowling a lovely line, trying to pin Head within his crease but the South Australian has his feet moving and he leans back to leg to punch through offside. That sort of dancing won’t displease Ashwin and he keeps Head pinned for a maiden.
12th over: Australia 17-1 (Head 11, Labuschagne 0) Head takes two from Shami’s first ball to move into double figures. And then he cuts square for a single. Head looks confident as always but that confidence has undone him in the past. When it comes off it is beautiful to watch. When it doesn’t it can look decidedly ugly. Will Head let his bat have its head? Or will Head pull his head in? Time will tell. Labuschagne plays out four dots.
11th over: Australia 14-1 (Head 8, Labuschagne 0) Australia are one wicket down and India have their tail up. What can Marnus Labuschagne bring to the rescue mission? The world’s No 1 batter has not had a happy series so far and chopped on cheaply in the first innings. Can he find himself runs today for a silver lining to a stormy tour? Let’s hope he has better luck than Matt Kuhnemann who has been given out despite replays showing it was missing leg stump.
WICKET! Matthew Kuhnemann LBW Ashwin 5 (Australia 14-1)
Ashwin magic! The wily spinner floated it a little flatter, dropped it a little faster and sent it skidding through and it shot past the bat into the pad. Kuhnemann played around it and really didn’t have a hope… particularly when Travis Head broke the bad news that he wouldn’t be wasting a review on a nightwatchman.
10th over: Australia 14-0 (Head 8, Kuhnemann 6) Shami has the speed gun twitching at 135kph and he gets Kuhnemann twitching at a ball outside off. Lovely stuff by the veteran seamer and danger signs for Australia. Kuhnemann performs extravagant leaves to the next two. It’s a tough assignment at the best of times, being a nightwatchman, let alone against the new ball. But in a move of reckless foolhardiness or accidental bravery, he takes a single from the last to retain strike to Ashwin.
9th over: Australia 13-0 (Head 8, Kuhnemann 5) It’s believed Usman Khawaja’s leg injury will see him will bat at No 7 today. We may find out for sure shortly because India have a ring of close-in fielders breathing down Matt Kuhnemann’s neck and yammering at any ball that doesn’t hit the middle of bat. He does well to squeeze Ashwin away on the leg side off for a run and get Head on strike.
8th over: Australia 12-0 (Head 8, Kuhnemann 4) Mohammed Shami is rumbling in and Head straight away takes him on, clipping a ball on leg stump to the rope. Valiant attempt to save it don there but unsuccessful. Head registers his first four of the day. Good test for Head today. Will he play his natural game and attack? Or curb his naturally aggressive instincts and defend?
7th over: Australia 8-0 (Head 4, Kuhnemann 4) With six overs to navigate last night and Usman Khawaja injured in the field, Australia have an un familiar opening partnership at the crease: middle-order barnstormer Travis Head and three-Test tweaker Matthew Kuhnemann as nightwatchman. Their job was to survive and they did. What’s the job brief today, I wonder? It will be Head facing up to Ravi Ashwin for the first over of the day and to get us underway Head drives through the offside to take a single. Next ball Kuhnemann edges past Kohli at slip for a four. Australia trail by 83 runs
And here’s Geoff Lemon on King Kohli’s return to form…
For those who came in late, here’s a wrap of Day 4…
Preamble
Howdy cricket lovers and thanks for joining us for day five – yes, DAY FIVE – of the fourth Test between Australia and India. Angus Fontaine here to call the final day of what has been a weird, wonderful, always entertaining series.
With 1,054 runs and 20 wickets over four days, this Test has been an anomaly. Prior to this, across three matches, we’d had 91 wickets across seven days. Those Tests were played on spinning wickets but this one has been played on a road. Yes, it has given us glorious centuries by Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green on day two and yesterday a famous 186 by Virat Kohli – his first Test ton in 1206 days – but has it given us a contest? Today will give us our answer.
After Australia posted 480, India replied with 571 – a lead of 91 runs. So, with one day to play, the equation today is pretty simple, right? India must attack and take 10 wickets to win and Australia must defend those 10 wickets for a draw.
But nothing in this series has been cut and dry – except the pitches which have been cut and dried by the Board of Control for Cricket in India to maximise the home side’s advantage and scupper any chance of Australia winning.
That fiendish plan worked a treat in Nagpur and Delhi when Ravi Ashwin destroyed Australia’s batting to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. But the plan backfired in Indore when Steve Smith’s men turned the tables and won by nine wickets. With the series still up for grabs, the BCCI have rolled out a road to ensure, at worst, a high-scoring draw and, at best, a series victory.
The other key factor here is the invisible “fifth Test” looming between these nations – this one to be played in London in June between the two top-ranked sides on the planet for the World Test Championship. Australia have already qualified but India need to win or draw this Test to meet them in the WTC final.
The team vying to steal India’s spot is the seventh-ranked Sri Lanka who are currently touring New Zealand in a two-Test series. They need a 2-0 victory to displace India and are currently looking good to take the first Test.
So there’s plenty at stake, not least the pride of the nations these sides represent. Will Australia attack and chase the win, however unlikely? Or will they defend to save the draw? And will India attack to win the Test? Or defend to save the draw and risk Sri Lanka beating New Zealand twice in a row?
It’s a head-scratcher alright. But the men with the answers will be out there shortly to sort it out and give us one more glorious day of Australia-India cricket, so buckle ‘em up and batten ‘em down.
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