Delhi: David Warner is battered and bruised and his future in the baggy green hangs in the balance as Australia’s bold new approach with the bat was not enough to overcome their spin woes in the second Test.
The veteran finished the day off the field nursing a sore head and arm after a rugged innings which has raised more questions over his place in the XI.
After selectors made an extraordinary gamble by recalling Travis Head for his bowling and blooding Queensland bolter Matthew Kuhnemann as a third frontline spinner, the visitors batted with similar dare.
Thrust into the spotlight: Matthew Kuhnemann.Credit:Getty Images
Despite the spin-friendly conditions, Australia’s total of 263 appears on the light side, but they are at least in the game thanks to decent hands by Usman Khawaja (81) and Peter Handscomb (72 not out) pushed their innings into a third session for the first time this series.
In reply, India were 0-21 at stumps, after Rohit Sharma overturned a bat pad call to Nathan Lyon in the final over of the day.
Handscomb is vindicating his horses-for-courses selection with his organised defence and nifty footwork allowing him to prosper in conditions that have brought generations of Australian batters undone. He bore a resemblance to the late great Dean Jones for more reasons than just batting in a floppy white hat.
But Warner’s lean run is reaching a flashpoint. Selectors have made huge calls in the first two games, and another major decision awaits if Warner cannot arrest his form slump in the second innings.
Mohammed Shami after removing David Warner.Credit:Getty Images
Proactive and brave have been the buzzwords around the Australian camp this week, but the tentative and hurried manner in which Warner batted was at odds with this style.
At no stage did Warner appear comfortable during an innings where he was struck on the helmet and arm by Mohammed Siraj, blows which prevented him from taking to the field.
The hit to the arm left Warner, who has a high pain threshold, wincing as he received treatment from medical staff. That he stayed out there showed that the heart is willing but at 36 the reflexes are not as sharp as they once were, not to mention his timing.
After taking 21 balls to get off the mark, Warner struggled for just over an hour to make 15 before nicking off playing down the wrong line to Mohammed Shami.
Spin has proven to be Warner’s Achilles heel on the subcontinent, but India can now be confident of success with pace.
Warner said during his horror 2019 Ashes he was out of runs, not out of form, but he has been out of runs for a long time. In 24 innings since the start of last year, Warner has made 607 runs at a modest 26.39, passing 50 on only three occasions.
His sole century was the epic 200 he made in his 100th Test, against South Africa in Melbourne, which stands out as an aberration rather than the turning point for a late flourish.
The glass half full approach to Warner’s knock was he shielded the middle order on a testing track.
From a position of strength at 1-91 shortly before lunch, the visitors lost batting aces Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith in quick succession to the genius of Ravichandran Ashwin.
In three balls, he deceived the superstar duo with deliveries which pitched in near identical positions but behaved completely differently. Labuschagne was undone by spin, trapped in front on review, while Smith was caught behind feeling for a ball that did not spin back.
No player displayed the bravery asked by the coaches more than Khawaja, whose strokeplay, though streaky at times, spread the field and prevented India’s spin masters from dictating proceedings.
With a first century in India beckoning, his luck ran out when KL Rahul, at full stretch to his right, held on to a one-handed screamer.
Handscomb’s sureness at the crease shepherded the tail, garnering priceless lower-order runs.
He was aided by a purposeful knock from Pat Cummins, who heeded his message to the batters by taking the bowling on to make 33.
The day started in dramatic fashion when Australia unveiled three specialist slow bowlers for the first time since the Chittagong Test against Bangladesh in 2017.
A left-arm finger-spinner who does not command a regular spot in the Queensland side, Kuhnemann was not named in Australia’s original 18-man touring party but suddenly finds himself thrown into the fray – and taking the new ball – for arguably the team’s most important game since the 2019 Ashes.
Injuries to Cameron Green and Mitchell Starc forced selectors into naming a side which has Cummins as the sole frontline quick.
It is a massive risk for Australia but Green’s unavailability has severely impacted the balance of the side with no recognised second seam option in the top six.
The team has taken the front foot in explaining the reasoning behind their bold moves. Head’s omission last week created much debate back home as he had been in career-best form, and his immediate recall is likely to be a significant talking point as well. His part-time off-spin played a significant part in his return.
“Team selection here was driven by two factors – the conditions and the personnel available,” selector Tony Dodemaide said before play.
“The key things, Greeny didn’t quite make it. Starcy isn’t quite 100 per cent as well and the other thing driving the key point between Renners and Heady was really we thought we were short of fifth bowling support in Nagpur.
“So we feel as Heady even though he’s an off-spinner that goes the same way that he’s a more robust option for a fifth as a chop out as required.”
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