For a rare occasion in his Test career, stump microphones captured Pat Cummins grunting in delivery stride during the final session of day two in Nagpur.
It was the guttural, striving sound of an Australian captain trying to drag his side back into the contest against India after a dire start to the match, and in terms of effort in genuine adversity, Cummins’ team have had few better days since he replaced Tim Paine.
Pat Cummins defeated Rohit Sharma with the second new ball.Credit:AP
Temperatures hovering around 35C and a superbly composed century by India’s captain Rohit Sharma forestalled a rush of wickets, but in the cut and thrust of each session between two high class teams, this was Test cricket very near to its best.
A late partnership from the left-arm spin pair of Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, taking advantage of Australian fatigue in the closing 90 minutes of play, finally allowed India to wriggle clear. Steve Smith, who grassed three difficult chances all up, dropped Jadeja from the day’s penultimate ball.
And the harsh reality, epitomised by the desperation in Cummins’ vocal effort with the second new ball, was that India did not cede enough of their former advantage to have anything other than the much preferred position.
Unquestionably, the tourists had overestimated the amount of poison in the pitch. This was best illustrated by how dearly India’s middle and lower order sold their wickets. Australia’s last five were shot out for 15 on day one; already, the hosts have scrounged 153 from theirs.
The Australians kept their composure throughout, even as numerous edges fell tantalisingly short and a pair of DRS verdicts fell in favour of Jadeja by the same sort of margin from which he benefited when the umpires raised their fingers for his left-arm spin on day one. But there was pain evident beneath the touring side’s masks of indifference at day’s end.
History gives an indicator as to why, for it is very sharply against Australia in the event of a loss. Never against India and only three times in the past 100 years have Australian sides won Test series from 1-0 down. Two of them (the 1930 and 1936-37 Ashes series) had Don Bradman in the side; the other (the 1997 Ashes) featured Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.
Australia’s standout, of course, was Todd Murphy. From his first over of the match, Murphy looked like he belonged. Varying his seam positions to extract greater side spin or skid while dropping onto a demanding length, Murphy asked consistent questions of India, and flagged only slightly as the shadows grew long – 36 overs are already the most in an innings in his young career.
True, he benefited from a couple of fortunate moments, as a fretful Cheteshwar Pujara swept a legside ball to short fine leg, and Virat Kohli glanced the first delivery after lunch into the juggling gloves of Alex Carey. But it was little more than Murphy deserved in finding ways to keep at India’s batters all day, to join Cummins, Scott Boland and Nathan Lyon in all having taken five-wicket hauls on debut.
Wicketless though he was, Boland delivered some of the finest spells of his career, and on other days would doubtless have claimed two or three victims at least. His lines and lengths with a hint of reverse swing were immaculate all day, to the point of genuine surprise when he allowed Axar Patel something like a half volley in the evening session.
Cummins, too, offered much better staff than he had produced when trying too hard for effect on the opening evening. Moving the ball subtly at good pace, his spell with the second new ball was capped by the away seamer that plucked out Rohit’s off stump, the ball after Steve Smith spilled a chance at second slip.
If there was anything in the way of disappointment from Australia’s display it was from Lyon’s relative lack of penetration. There were glimpses, including the snappy off-break to confound Surikumar Yadav on debut, of what Lyon had produced on the 2017 tour. A handful of deliveries to Jadeja also offered biting turn off a teasing length.
Nathan Lyon’s dismissal of Suriykumar Yadav was his lone wicket of the day.Credit:Getty
But for most of the day, Lyon drifted too full and too straight, allowing the hosts to reach the ball on the half volley or turn it to the leg side with something like impunity. Figures of 1-98 were a poor return for someone with Lyon’s natural gifts in these conditions.
As if to underline the fact, there was a perceptible shift in power balance between the spinners. Murphy bowled one over to start the day, before Lyon took the ball without success for the rest of the first hour. But Murphy returned to take wickets either side of lunch, and Cummins then preferred him to Lyon with the second new ball.
Rohit, Jadeja and Patel all prospered through sound fundamentals of defence and attack. Stretching fully forward to get outside the line of the off stump, or rocking right back to play the ball late, they gave the Australians some idea of what will be required to get back into the match when their time comes to bat again.
Unavoidably, though, there is a sense that the formidable trio of Jadeja, Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin will use this pitch to greatest effect with runs in the bank. The sound and fury of Australia’s efforts on day two may ultimately signify nothing.
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