Cummins v Rahul
The mini-battle of the day. Pat Cummins used the bouncer to dismiss KL Rahul in the third Test. On a more helpful pitch in Dharamsala, he was at it again, peppering the Indian opener with short balls, mostly directed at the body, tempting the batsman to hook or pull. Rahul, to his credit, did well to bend and sway out of the way, and whenever Cummins erred in length, or gave him width to cut, he capitalised on it. A glorious square cut by Rahul off Cummins was one of the best shots of the day, so at that stage, it looked like Rahul was winning the battle. A few words were exchanged as Cummins went back to his mark. Cummins continued to dig it in short, and Rahul nearly fended one bouncer to short leg. After another bouncer was awkwardly fended towards cover, Cummins muttered something again, for which Rahul nodded. The next ball was expectedly short, but not on the body. Bowled wide outside off stump, Rahul swished at it and the ball ended up taking the toe-end of the bat before tamely lobbing to mid-off. It was a tennis forehand gone horribly wrong. Rahul, then on 60, had given it away and his frustration was evident when he dropped his helmet just after crossing the boundary rope on the walk back to the dressing room. Whatever Cummins said to him the ball before must have had an impact.
Lyon breaks slumber
It’s been a funny old series for Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon. After his 8 for 50 in the first innings of the Bangalore Test, he went 75.2 overs without a wicket, including a wicket-less second innings in Bangalore. His wicket of Cheteshwar Pujara in Ranchi broke the spell. He may have been hampered by a large swelling in his bowling hand, but it had healed in time for the Dharamsala Test. He bowled tidily before tea today, bowling 14 overs for 31 runs. We don’t know what he had at tea, but if his drink was spiked, it certainly worked. Lyon was a different bowler from the first over after the break, getting Pujara out caught at forward short leg. Pujara was drawn to the pitch of the ball but he ended up gloving it to his pads. Karun Nair and Ajinkya Rahane were both taken aback by the extra bounce and ended up edging behind, Rahane’s dismissal in particular proving that the pitch had plenty of bite for the spinners. R Ashwin was trapped lbw to one that turned considerably. Lyon, who looked like he couldn’t buy a wicket, suddenly had four.
Renshaw’s horror
Matt Renshaw would do well to stay off Cummins’ path for the rest of the evening. Renshaw had a bad time at first slip today, dropping two catches off the fast bowler. KL Rahul got away on 10 when the ball flew off the edge and went past the gap between Renshaw and the wicketkeeper. This was the tougher of the two chances as the ball really took off. Renshaw was a bit too late to react when he moved to his left. Cummins later had his revenge, but Rahul had already added another 50 runs. The second drop was off Wriddhiman Saha, batting on 9. Renshaw had it covered but the ball spilled off his palms. Cummins kept his frustration in check. Two fine deliveries, zero wickets. How much will the Saha let-off cost Australia?
DRS brain-fades
It’s ironic that in a series in which the Decision Review System (DRS) has been such a talking point, it made its first appearance in this match only late on the second day, in the 76 over of the India innings. It wasn’t a great DRS day from the players’ perspective, with Australia suffering a hat-trick of failed reviews. Rahane padded up to a ball from Steve O’Keefe but replays showed that it was missing the stumps by a big margin. Saha was hit on the pads trying to sweep Lyon but the ball was clearing the stumps; soon after, an appeal for caught behind showed the ball cruising past Saha’s bat. R Ashwin reviewed the lbw appeal against him but the ball tracker showed it was hitting the stumps so he had to go. Full marks to the on-field umpires.
Probing seamers
Australia got only one wicket in the morning session but given the way they bowled, they deserved more. They were denied Rahul’s wicket when he was let off at first slip. Cummins and Josh Hazlewood created chances by landing the ball on the cracks, getting it to deviate. Rahul and M Vijay had some close calls early on and it was thanks to the discipline shown by the seamers.
