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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Sport
Jonathan Howcroft, Geoff Lemon, Adam Collins & Sam Perry

Australia v India: second Test, day four – as it happened

Murali Vijay of India is bowled by Nathan Lyon.
Murali Vijay of India is bowled by Nathan Lyon. Photograph: Richard Wainwright/AAP

And here’s day four’s match report:

Stumps: India 112-5, needing 175 more to win

Australia armwrestled their way into clear ascendancy today, after a grinding early partnership between Usman Khawaja and Tim Paine set them up. Both batsmen managed to cobble together what may be a match-winning partnership - withstanding a barrage of near-fearsome Indian pace bowling. They eked out one’s, two’s, and multiple blows to the hand and body to eventually give Australia the edge, before a flurry of wickets saw India storm back into contention. 190-4 quickly became 207-9 - yes, Australia lost 5-17 - before a crucial 36 run partnership between Lyon and Hazlewood took some sting out of India’s ambition. For India, Shami was the destroyer with 6-56, ably assisted by Bumrah and Sharma in particular.

Starc and Hazlewood kicked things off with the ball for Australia, leaving India 13-2 at one point, before a steady partnership between Kohli and Murali Vijay threatened to bring India back into it. However, cometh the hour, cometh the Goat - and it was Nathan Lyon who dismissed Kohli, who to that point had batted impervious to the fact seven wickets had fallen for fifty-odd runs prior to his arrival. From there, India batted positively, but without the requisite precision to give themselves much hope tomorrow. Murali Vijay followed soon after, before Rahane gave it away, slicing one from Hazlewood to point.

There’ll be plenty of talk about the wicket and its fluctuating character, as well as on field verbals between Paine and Kohli, but ultimately it’s been hard-nosed cricket that has secured Australia the advantage here. They’ve hung in there through the tough batting periods a little better than India, and should be able to make the most of their advantage tomorrow.

Thanks for joining me this evening, we’ll catch you back here tomorrow.

40th over: India 112-5 (Vihari 24, Pant 9) Starc it is; he bowls to Pant. The first strays down leg. A waste. The second is short, wide and left. Another waste! That means he’s due an unplayable one. Pant plays and misses! He hung the bat out there, tempted fate for an edge, but the ball took clean air. Three to go. Pant’s forward, it hits high on the bat - and hard on the bat, it splayed in his hands - but rolls safely to cover. Two more. Another skewed drive rolls harmlessly to mid-off. Will there be anything memorable to finish with? The field moves. Short leg comes in (why now? Why not before?) A bit of chat to Pant. “Good circuit on a Monday night in Perth” says one of the Aussie players, Marcus Harris, I think. It’s an excellent yorker, but Pant digs it out. That’s all she wrote for the day. That’s stumps. A few thoughts to follow.

Nathan Lyon of Australia prepares to throw to the wicket of Hanuma Vihari (right) of India on day four.
Nathan Lyon of Australia prepares to throw to the wicket of Hanuma Vihari (right) of India on day four. Photograph: Richard Wainwright/AAP

Updated

39th over: India 112-5 (Vihari 24, Pant 9) Pant gets two after an inside edge behind square, and then rashly, wildly tries to slog Lyon over midwicket and it falls just short of the man in the ring. Wow. The last ball to Vihari rears at Tim Paine and hits him on the shoulder, but Vihari survives. There’ll be one more in the day. I’m guessing it’ll be Starc.

38th over: India 109-5 (Vihari 24, Pant 6) Pant gets a leading edge from Starc from another that moves too much for him, contorting his body to midwicket as the ball sprayed to cover - but it landed safely. A leg gully comes in for Vihari, who’s - dare I say - looked pretty comfortable for the last half hour. Is there a flurry to come before the close? Starc is wayward to finish. Pant will face Lyon.

Nathan Lyon of Australia bowls during day four
Nathan Lyon of Australia bowls during day four Photograph: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

37th over: India 106-5 (Vihari 24, Pant 3) Lyon lets Pant off strike straight away (deep point again), leaving Vihari to negotiate a man in close. Lyon then gets one to hit a crack, sending the ball the other way - but sufficiently wide so as not to trouble Vihari. Lyon goes around the wicket to finish, and James Brayshaw relays that RT Ponting suggested he do just that, albeit off air. Why off air, Ricky? Why off air?

36th over: India 105-5 (Vihari 24, Pant 2) Starc now, over the wicket to the left-handed Pant. He beats him with a conventional away swinger to begin with, before hitting him on the thigh pad next. Too quick, and Pant stumbles a little. ‘Ohh!’ bellows the crowd, full of Monday afternoon Emu beer, I hope. The next is better than the first, swinging past Pant’s full face - too quick, too much movement. Pant then comes forward and is rewarded for enterprise, finding a single between cover and mid-off. I’m watching Channel Seven, and Ponting has found a fairly glaring error in Pant’s technique - his back foot actually backs away, in the conventional sense. It might just be this scenario, which would be understandable - but it’s surprising to see that from a Test seven.

35th over: India 100-5 (Vihari 20, Pant 1) Lyon returns, and so do the ooh’s and ahh’s. “Six tonight,” yells captain Paine, an entirely reasonable ambition. Vihari chokes a drive that Hazlewood does well to stop at mid-off, bringing Pant on strike. It’s an anticlimax, as Lyon drags it down and Pant gets a single to deep point.

Apparently they were substituting Vi-ha-ri for Zombie. Not bad.

34th over: India 98-5 (Vihari 19, Pant 0) Rahane was beautifully set up by Hazlewood there: he pushed him back, back back, before giving him width, and creating the mistake. Pant comes in - how does he play this?

WICKET! Rahane c Head b Hazlewood 30 (India 98-5)

Rahane slaps it square and he’s caught at point! Another ordinary dismissal, but very well set up from Josh Hazlewood, who directed a series of bouncers and rib-ticklers early in the over to unsettle the Indian middle order bat. He then threw a wide one out there and Rahane couldn’t resist - he leant back, zero weight moving forward, and threw his hands at it. It flew at head height to Travis Head, who took it comfortably.

33rd over: India 98-4 (Vihari 19, Rahane 30) Looks like Vihari and Rahane are trying to rein things in a little as we approach stumps - the game is in another little lull right now. Australia are probably waiting for a mistake, too. Phil Withall has a call for what’s next, saying: “One more wicket tonight and this is done. However there’s still hope for India, very slim hope but hope all the same...”

I’d just about agree, though it would take something monumental for India’s batsmen to pull this one out.

One from Cummins’ over; it’ll be Hazlewood to continue.

32nd over: India 97-4 (Vihari 19, Rahane 29) We’re getting into late-stage territory now - there’d be around four overs to go. The Hoff continues with a very straight line before a rare, well-directed bouncer is just evaded by Vihari. That was better from Hazlewood - I think they’ve again been out-bumped by their Indian counterparts. The Aussies have been too full. He pushes him back sufficiently to surprise him with a full one - it gets Vihari on the pad but it’s doing too much. How does he finish? It’s full again, Vihari drives positively, but he can’t time it.

Josh Hazlewood of Australia is seen on day four of the second Test match between Australia and India.
Josh Hazlewood of Australia is seen on day four of the second Test match between Australia and India. Photograph: Richard Wainwright/EPA

31st over: India 97-4 (Vihari 19, Rahane 29) Cummins is back, and lord, what a shot from Vihari to welcome him to the attack. Wrists, leaning on it, whip through the ball and it hurtles to the mid on boundary. Cummins replies with a bouncer but it barely clears off stump. Vihari had ducked, and it legitimately passed him at him height. There’s a single down to third man, before Cummins delivers a bouncer so short it’s called wide. Good effort from these two batsmen to withstand the Australia’s post Kohli fire - their partnership is building nicely. Australia are trying to stay patient, though Lyon looks most likely.

30th over: India 89-4 (Vihari 14, Rahane 29) Can these two see out the day? Still a fair way to go, but their enterprise - combined with a little luck - has seen them move the score along healthily. Hazlewood keeps charging in as the shadows come across the crease - we’re about due for some pitch demons, judging by the rhythms of the match. He can’t find any though, think he might be a bit short as Vihari evades easily.

29th over: India 89-4 (Vihari 13, Rahane 28) Lyon was very good here. Rahane looked very mixed up - coming down the wicket early to defend, only to leave? The ball spun up from his pad and took his glove, but landed safely. He then gets an outside edge to one after leaving his crease, and it runs away for four! Rahane follows up by cutting somewhat more assuredly through point, and gets three for it. Streaky, all in all.

28th over: India 82-4 (Vihari 13, Rahane 21) Rahane calmly pushes through cover for a couple early in Hazlewood’s over, before a head-directed bouncer draws another half appeal from the Aussies that eventually comes to nothing. Rahane then pops one up to the very vacant on-side and gets off strike, leaving Vihari to see out the finish. Hazlewood gives him a beauty and Vihari is stuck on the crease, edging one that arrives to Handscomb at second slip on the bounce. Hazlewood will want to bowl more at Vihari, I’d say.

27th over: India 79-4 (Vihari 13, Rahane 18) Lyon bowls an over in about 35 seconds. Both Vihari and Rahane are clearly trying to use their feet, and both manage to pick up a single from doing so. A slight lull in between some huge dismissals earlier, but I’m sure Rahane especially will provide some fireworks soon.

Updated

26th over: India 77-4 (Vihari 12, Rahane 17) Australia’s miser logs on and goes to work - Hazlewood hitting high up on the bat and conceding few. There’s a half shout as Vihari tries to evade one that climbs over his shoulder, but no review.

25th over: India 75-4 (Vihari 11, Rahane 16) Counterpunching here, as Vihari goes 4, 2, 0, 4 in a sweep-a-thon to Lyon. The Australian then gets wider and beats Vihari who’s getting very deep when going back-and-across to defend. Hazlewood will replace Starc, interestingly.

24th over: India 65-4 (Vihari 1, Rahane 16) Starc resumes after drinks, and he’s around the wicket, no doubt winding up for one of those zero-ing yorkers, or searing out-duckers. Starc around the wicket my favourite Starc, for mine, attacking the stumps with pace. One of these deliveries gets to 149.2km/hr. Meanwhile the camera pans to Paine, who’s gesturing for one to hit Rahane’s gloves and pop to him. It doesn’t happen, but it might soon.

Paine with a few words here...

23rd over: India 64-4 (Vihari 0, Rahane 16) I say the below about Rahane, and then start salivating about what Pant might get up to next. It’s another miserly over from the Coonabarabran local, however, with minimal fireworks. That’s drinks, and time to catch my breath.

Australian bowler Nathan Lyon (left) reacts after dismissing Indian captain Virat Kohli (right) for 17 runs on day four of the second Test match between Australia and India.
Australian bowler Nathan Lyon (left) reacts after dismissing Indian captain Virat Kohli (right) for 17 runs on day four of the second Test match between Australia and India. Photograph: Dave Hunt/AAP

Updated

22nd over: India 62-4 (Vihari 0, Rahane 14) Well, at one point here Rahane slashes at Starc as hard as humanly possible and gets himself six for it. It briefly looks to be sailing to Mitch Marsh (officially known as ‘sub:’ for these purposes), but clears him pretty comfortably. He’ll get a run a ball hundred here or go soon. Vihari just digs Starc out to finish.

21st over: India 55-4 (Vihari 0, Rahane 7) Lyon’s pressure does the trick again. Was just noting that Vijay had been looking to attack, almost indiscriminately, and so it was here as he lurch-drove at a Lyon stock ball, chopping it on. No doubt that was influenced by pressure. It doesn’t help the idea that India are supremely vulnerable once Kohli goes - a few shots from both batsmen looked a little eyebrow raising. Starc’s ready at the other end.

Also this:

WICKET! Murali Vijay b Lyon 20 (India 55-4)

Bowled him! Vijay attempts an expansive drive through the off side from Lyon’s bowling, and chops on. Lyon put it in that dangerous area again, and there may have been a hint of some footmark influence, but on second thought: not really. An ordinary, ordinary shot in that situation. The ball didn’t do a bunch, it was just a loose, almost aimless drive to a ball that Murali Vijay was nowhere near. The wheels are coming off.

20th over: India 54-3 (Murali Vijay 20, Rahane 6) Rahane has to deal with Starc now. There’s an especially good leave as one misses off stump by a wispy hair, before he nearly chops on from one that rushes him. Rahane then goes into one day mode, slapping Starc over point in stand-and-deliver fashion - probably because he’s nervous, getting sledged, and has a tonne of adrenaline. I’m all for it.

Updated

19th over: India 49-3 (Murali Vijay 20, Rahane 1) Will that prove the key moment in the match? It’s the GOAT again - and how often does he do it? The ball looked innocuous enough, but sometimes they’re the ones that do the trick. Rahane gets off strike and Vijay defends the rest. There’s a notable rise in chat around the bat - Australia will try and go hard here, I’d imagine.

Updated

WICKET! Kohli c Khawaja b Lyon 17 (India 48-3)

Lyon gets Kohli! He floats one up, Kohli comes forward to defend, plays for spin and it holds its line. He gains a healthy-enough edge and it carries to Khawaja and first slip, who claims it comfortably, about 30 cm from the ground. Huge, huge moment. Kohli looks at the wicket for a fraction of a second before leaving the scene. Pressure right on the visitors now.

18th over: India 48-2 (Murali Vijay 20, Kohli 17) Starc resumes, and the large majority of his deliveries are left, before an inside edge gets him a run.

Gary Naylor comes through on Twitter: “Interesting to hear Tim Paine greet every delivery from Nathan Lyon like it’s Warne to Gatting,” he says. “Is this an example of how sportspeople continually fool themselves that the world is how they want it to be and not how it is?”

I thought everyone did that, not just sportspeople.

In all seriousness, it’s better than Nice Gary.

Which reminds me of this:

Updated

17th over: India 47-2 (Murali Vijay 20, Kohli 16) Kohli finds a single on the legside and Lyon picks up his battle with Vijay. The opener is trying to be busy, mixing up sweeping with some straight defence, and some feet thrown into the ring too. It’s a good tactic to disrupt Lyon’s rhythm, but it doesn’t result in runs. Partnership up to 34 between Vijay and Kohli - they’ve batted excellently so far.

16th over: India 46-2 (Murali Vijay 20, Kohli 15) Again, minimal blood and thunder (need blood and thunder), with Cummins happy to keep that dry fourth or fifth stump line to Vijay. But then, on Ponting’s commentary cue, Cummins bowls one in his half, but Vijay’s easily under it. Mr Blue Eyes, the 140km pace bowler who finishes cryptic crosswords in 30 minutes and praises his Dad in commercials, resumes the full line but Vijay is defending him with ball-machine ease. He creams the next one square through the offside and only an outstretched Lyon prevents four. A ‘good hand’, as they (maybe) say in goalkeeping parlance.

Pat Cummins of Australia bowls on day four of the second Test match between Australia and India at Perth Stadium in Perth, Monday, December 17, 2018.
Pat Cummins of Australia bowls on day four of the second Test match between Australia and India at Perth Stadium in Perth, Monday, December 17, 2018. Photograph: Richard Wainwright/AAP

15th over: India 44-2 (Murali Vijay 18, Kohli 15) Lyon has some footmarks to hit, though they look fairly small at this point. He’s got a short leg and a man at ‘45’, meaning he can attack with a straight and have both catchers and protection. Kohli is happy to absorb the over - there’s no runs but he looks comfortable enough. India have built, albeit slightly.

14th over: India 44-2 (Murali Vijay 18, Kohli 15) Deep point out now for Kohli, who gets a single there from Cummins’ bowling. Clamping Kohli’s momentum must be the thinking there. It doesn’t stop Vijay driving for more runs later on - he beats cover and point to get himself two runs.

Got to say the wicket doesn’t look anywhere near as threatening as it did last session. Admittedly there are two highly skilled batsmen at the crease but we’re not seeing the misbehaviour we’d become accustomed too - not recently, anyway.

13th over: India 41-2 (Murali Vijay 16, Kohli 14) Lyon into the attack now. Will we see any wicket misbehaviour here? And what’s this? Vijay has the broom out! He first laps him around the corner, for no run, then sweeps firmly, again for nothing. Vijay then rehearses a reverse sweep - the camera pans to Lyon, who smiles, then gestures his invitation to do just that. Vijay does not oblige, defending the last. Lyon starts with a maiden.

India’s batsman Murali Vijay ducks a bouncer during day four of the second Test cricket match between Australia and India in Perth on December 17, 2018.
India’s batsman Murali Vijay ducks a bouncer during day four of the second Test cricket match between Australia and India in Perth on December 17, 2018. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images

12th over: India 41-2 (Murali Vijay 16, Kohli 14) Cummins builds a few dots early, before Kohli gets his body weight forward and drives straight. Starc comes across from mid-on and saves a run, though. Good cricket. Kohli then can’t get to a hook quickly enough as one screams past his head and Paine takes it fully outstretched above his head. So many of those takes this match.

Cummins is then too straight and it’s easy pickings for the maestro, who flicks him clinically through midwicket for four.

Warren Buttigieg asks: “If India can just work hard here for 30-40 minutes, how much does the complexion of this match, and with it Kohli’s legacy, shift? If Australia work hard here and remove him plus one more, and can finish the match, how exciting will the build up to a live Boxing Day test be?!”

Grade cricket taught me that the game is nothing if not a battle to simply work hardest, Warren.

11th over: India 37-2 (Murali Vijay 16, Kohli 10) Sumptuous driving from Kohli from Hazlewood’s bowling. Pierces mid-off and cover, gets three for it. “It just looks easier, doesn’t it?” I said out loud to no one in my house, given my wife is upstairs bathing my seven month old child. “What?” she replied from upstairs. “Nothing,” I mumble.

Another drive now, this one from Vijay. Not that full, on the up, through the off side, and it’s four. Profitable over for the visitors, who don’t seem to have experienced too many pitch demons these last ten minutes.

10th over: India 30-2 (Murali Vijay 12, Kohli 7)

Cummins plies tight lines to both Vijay and Kohli here, bowling to two slips, a fourth slip, a gully and a short leg. Vijay tucks another one, before the last ball sees Cummins beat Kohli with one that dies off the wicket, then spins its way out of Paine’s grasp; the keeper conceding a disappointing bye.

In an earlier email to my esteemed colleague Adam Collins, Bob wrote:

“Hi Adam,

According to the mathematical progression of innings so far in this Test - 326-283-243 - India will be out for between 200 and 203. We’ll see.”

As reasonable a prediction as any!

9th over: India 27-2 (Murali Vijay 10, Kohli 7) Hazlewood is just a study in areas, but he doesn’t fund much natural variation in the wicket early on here. He tries to bring bat pad into play with Vijay half way through the over, but he tucks him around the corner comfortably. He then beats Kohli on the inside, the ball slamming into the captain’s inner thigh. Hazlewood will stay there and wait patiently, I’m sure.

8th over: India 27-2 (Murali Vijay 10, Kohli 7) Shot, Murali Vijay. First ball from Cummins: leans forward, stands tall, and caresses it wide of mid off for four. Held his pose, as you would. Next one is a good leave, in the sense that it was close!

Later on Paine does well to avoid concede four byes.

Gary Naylor (g’day Gary), writes: “Is some of that Aussie optimism about wrapping things up tonight fostered by an anxiety that batting in the morning is a lot more straightforward than in the afternoon @sjjperry? If captain and vice-captain are still to be dismissed, well...”

Think it’s the old arrogant reflex to quick bowling in Perth, myself, but that’s a fair point too.

7th over: India 22-2 (Murali Vijay 6, Kohli 7) Hazlewood from the other end, and already noticeable how hungry Kohli is to get forward. He sniffs out Hazlewood’s first and aggressively defends on the front foot to mid-on. It’s top defending - he won’t be caught on the crease too often. Some word on Grandstand about the stump mic’s on ultra-amplification, you can hear the scratch of the batsmen’s spikes, presumably in a bid to catch any of the verbal byplay we’ve seen so far. Kohli leaves a couple before pulling Hazlewood for four. Think it got on him a little more quickly than he’d anticipated - hitting fairly high on the bat - but any successful cross-bat shot on this deck is to be admired. You just can’t give him anything. As though to underline the pace in the wicket, Kohli leaves the last but it manages to catch the face of the bat as he raises it, but it bounces harmlessly to second slip.

6th over: India 18-2 (Murali Vijay 6, Kohli 3) Cummins starts after tea - Ponting commenting immediately that Australia ‘fancies the matchup between them’. He’s straight into that fourth stump, rising trajectory, and Kohli controls a fend wide of gully and grabs himself three. Short leg comes into play and Cummins targets the ribcage straight away - Vijay’s struck on the glove, always noticeable by the hand quickly releasing its grip from the bat. Amazing how often we’ve seen that in this match. I’ve never seen top order batsmen reveal so much off stump since Mitchell Johnson ran riot a couple of years ago. Vijay plays and misses to finish. Huge twenty minutes for India here, I feel.

Australia back on top...

Well, what a Test it’s been, and it promises more. Wherever you are around the world, a big hello and welcome to the final session here in Perth. In classic Australian style, the conversation seems to have turned to whether this might be over tonight. The theory rests on the idea that Australia’s momentum will continue, but that would fly in the face of Perth’s rhythm so far. As soon as Australia edge in front, the visitors come back in a hurry. They have Kohli, and, well, you know the rest.

If India is to balance the momentum ledger, they’ll have to grind themselves there. About 30-odd overs remain in the day - it’s enough for them to work themselves into a position, but its similarly enough time for Australia to destroy their chances.

There’s just something about the final session in Perth. The Wild West’s lengthening shadows somehow make the ball dance that little bit more. It’s where the big guns come out to play, and it doesn’t get much more fierce than Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins matching up on Virat Kohli and co. Can’t wait to bring it to you - please send through your impressions so far too - it’s @sjjperry on Twitter or sam.perry.freelance@guardian.co.uk

Shouldn’t be long now.

Australia v India - 2nd Test: Day 4
Australia v India - 2nd Test: Day 4
 Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

TEA: India 15-2 (chasing 287)

6th over: India 15-2 (Murali Vijay 6, Kohli 0) Vijay solid in defence then edging Hazlewood on the bounce to the cordon. But does well as the break nears, defending the rest with a straight blade. What a session. TEA!

After a relatively quiet first two hours, it all happened in a hurry in those two hours. Eight wickets fell in the middle session: the final six for the hosts then India’s first couple as a result of some superb fast bowling. Shami finished with six for the visitors, four of those earned in a fierce post-lunch spell with the pitch doing all sorts. If that theme continues, eight more wickets might fall after tea, which would get Australia the win tonight. Life moves fast. For all that and more, I’ll hand you over to Sam Perry. Bye for now!

Updated

5th over: India 15-2 (Murali Vijay 6, Kohli 0) Starc to Vijay, leaving then fending; beaten by another Starc ball that spits! The bouncer is too high and the yorker legside, the opener able to help himself to one. Kohli again has one ball to deal with to see off the over and it thuds into his thigh pad. Fantastic work from the Australian new ball pair. They will get one more in before tea.



4th over: India 13-2 (Murali Vijay 5, Kohli 0) Kohli has one ball to face from Hazlewood and it is a misdirected bouncer. No booing or jeering or any of that as he the Indian captain walked out, in case you were wondering. One or two overs for India to get through before tea will be called. Probably two.



WICKET! Pujara c Paine b Hazlewood 4 (India 13-2)

Tremendous delivery from Hazlewood in the channel that Pujara had to play from just short of a good length, the ball lifting a treat before tickling the outside edge. Paine does the rest, taking the catch in front of his eyes.

3rd over: India 9-1 (Murali Vijay 5, Pujara 0) Blimey, watch that go! Starc, hitting the crack, sends tempting delivery way over Paine to the rope for four byes. Closer to Vijay’s stumps later in the set, he leans into a drive that spits out behind point but along the ground, getting a boundary for it. A fierce bumper follows, the opener just underneath it. Plenty of commentary on the radio and twitter about Shane Warne right now. This was what Starc said when asked about his comments, the former leggie calling his second new ball spell “atricious” in Adelaide, adding that his spot should be under question.



2nd over: India 1-1 (Murali Vijay 1, Pujara 0) Hazlewood from the southern end, Vijay off his pair down to fine leg with a single. First ball to Pujara at this end hits him on the glove. Ouch. Expect more of that. The patient number three knows the drill here, calmly leaving and defending the rest.

Mitch Marsh, meanwhile, is an absolute ripper.

1st over: India 0-1 (Murali Vijay 0, Pujara 0) Pujara with two balls to deal with... leaves them both. Starc is bowling very quickly. A wicket maiden. To answer my own tweet from when they walked out, if divine intervention was what Rahul was after, it did not work. Now for Murali Vijay, who is on a pair.

WICKET! KL Rahul b Starc 0 (India 0-1)

Through him! Fourth ball! Rahul was leaving then playing then neither by the time the ball arrived, it hitting his glove before bending back the off-stump. Starc is pumped and Australia are very much away.

The players are on their way! KL Rahul and Murali Vijay to open for India, Starc with the ball in his hand. PLAY!




India will commence their innings at 14:34 local time. There are a minimum of 42 overs remaining today.

AUSTRALIA ALL-OUT 243! INDIA SET 287 TO WIN! WICKET! Starc b Bumrah 14. (Hazlewood 17*)

At last! Around the wicket, Starc missed and Bumrah hit. The last pair put on 36. They are now racing off Perth Stadium to take the new ball in ten minutes.

93rd over: Australia 242-9 (Starc 14, Hazlewood 16) Shami has been taken off after his ropey over, the man with four wickets since lunch replaced by the veteran Umesh Yadav. But the result is no different, Hazlewood once again having enough room to free his arms and play over point, picking up three this time, Starc then giving him the strike back with a quick single. When the bouncer comes it is too short, flying so far over his head that a wide is signalled. It gets better: Hazlewood’s single to the point sweeper (yes, they have a man on the rope for him now) gave Starc one ball to deal with, which also deflected to the rope through the cordon off an edge. The partnership is 35 (!!) and lead 285. What a different world this would be had they sorted out Starc with one of the 17 balls they sent down at him before scoring.

92nd over: Australia 232-9 (Starc 9, Hazlewood 12) Four more! Just as he did in the previous Shami set, Hazlewood made room to cut behind point, smashing Ishant to the rope. A single to cover makes the lead 275, Australia adding 100 of those today.

“Yes, but they’ll be diving headfirst into the advertising hoardings trying to save one run later,” replies Gary Naylor to Louis Cameron. “
They do that when a match is petering out into a draw or the batting side need 10 off 6 overs in an ODI.”


91st over: Australia 227-9 (Starc 9, Hazlewood 7) India are letting this slip to an extent, giving up nine runs through this Shami over as he strained for a seventh wicket. It’s hard to criticise the man who got the party started after lunch but he can’t give a half-tracker to Hazlewood nor a full toss to Starc. Both were given the treatment, this final wicket stand now 20 and the lead 270 all of a sudden.

A lot of chat on twitter about the chest contact (of sorts) between Kohli and Paine earlier on today. I suspect we’ll be writing more about that at stumps.



90th over: Australia 218-9 (Starc 5, Hazlewood 2) Ishant brought on for Bumrah to try and finish the job. He can’t do it here, Hazlewood giving the strike back to Starc with a flash down to third man, the Indian attack-leader spraying the final ball waaaay down the legside to gift Australia their seond batch of four byes this session. I feel for Pant there, it should have been wides.

Interesting perspective from Louis Cameron, the former Victorian Sheffield Shield quick who has made a very successful move into the press box.



Five wickets in that hour. 5/23 to be precise. Shami nabbed four of those in a truly dangerous spell, Bumrah the other with one that went underground to Cummins.

“Here’s some new, swing talent out of Manipur, Rex Singh, grabbing 10 for 11 in 9.5 overs,” emails Ravi Raman. Wonderful footage.

89th over: Australia 213-9 (Starc 5, Hazlewood 1) Six very handy runs for Australia. To begin, Starc hacked his 18th delivery out to midwicket for a single, Hazlewood doing something similar out to cover for his own first run. Back to Starc, he stayed in his stance and swung through the line of the final Shami delivery, whacking it over mid-off for four! That’s the perfect time for the hosts to have a drink after a crazy old third hour. The lead is 256.

88th over: Australia 207-9 (Starc 0, Hazlewood 0) Resourceful batting from Hazlewood, who is getting out the way by default. But when the yorker comes from Bumrah, he gets down to it just in time before pushing to mid-off from the front foot to finish. The lead is an even 250, which Australia would have taken this morning, I reckon. India might’ve too.

For those who enjoy the youtube wormhole of freaky pitches, here is one.



WICKET! Lyon c Vihari b Shami 5 (Australia 207-9)

Making room for himself the ball after copping the whack, Lyon spoons a catch to the man at deepish point. Shami did it nicely, hitting the seam short of a length and earning his sixth wicket in the process.

87th over: Australia 207-9 (Starc 0)

Updated

Lyon hit. We have a delay after the Australian number ten tried to hook and missed. He’s on his feet after the ball hit the side of his helmet near the shoulder. The medical staff are going through the process in the usual way. That was more about Shami’s raw pace than the variable bounce.

86th over: Australia 203-8 (Starc 0, Lyon 1) Lyon holds his pose, clipping Bumrah fine to get off the mark with a single. He looks a lot more certain than Starc, who is keen (for very good reason) to get out of the way or swing, depending on whether the ball is in his half. He survives. More importantly, the strike returns to Lyon, who is very much the lower-order man in form.

85th over: Australia 202-8 (Starc 0, Lyon 0) “This is exactly why Tim Paine deserves a lot of credit for having the guts to bat first,” notes Simon Katich on SEN. Remember, that was far from certain on that opening morning when the pitch was as greener as any we have seen in this country since Hobart in 2016. Shami to Starc this time around who can’t find a sixth scalp, the big quick strategically managing to only play and miss at balls missing his woodwork.

“What a game,” emails Amod Paranjape. “This is going to be a battle of nerves. India have only four batsman to work the chase. (The bowlers and the Openers DO NOT COUNT).” As Tim Paine said to Kohli yesterday, they’ve got to bat on it last. Amusing expletive redacted.



84th over: Australia 202-8 (Starc 0, Lyon 0) Not great bowling from Bumrah to Lyon, missing his mark with a full toss then a sprayed delivery Pant can’t get his diving left glove to, running away for four ever so valuable byes.

“Afternoon Adam.” G’day, Phil Withall. “I was thinking at the end of the morning session that India would need something special to get a sniff of getting back into the match. Seems they’ve got it. There seems to be something about the lunch break that reinvigorates them, it’s not the first time in this series that they’ve come out and raised their game. How I wish my lunches produced the same effect.”

Well, I can vouch for the vegetarian curry we had in the lunch room, which is probably the same tucker they had in the sheds. Delightful.

How about those last two wickets... an exercise in contrasts:


WICKET! Cummins b Bumrah 1 (Australia 198-8)

Big call, but this could be over today. That has all-but rolled along the ground to Cummins. Bumrah gets the reward, which is only right given how wonderfully he has bowled. Australia lead by 241 but they won’t be getting many more, that’s for sure.

83rd over: Australia 198-7 (Cummins 1, Starc 0) Hooley dooley, another screamer, the new man Starc somehow getting his body out of the way and Pant getting a single glove to it to prevent four byes. This is electrifying fast bowling from Shami, who has a potential eight-fa on the shelf now.

“New ball, old song,” writes Dan Osborn. You can too, of course. Is it the best song about Perth though?” I’ll open that up and have a think myself.

Let’s give it a spin between overs.


WICKET! Khawaja c Pant b Shami 92 (Australia 198-7)

Another unplayable! Shami goes short, finds what must be a crack, and it leaps at Khawaja’s throat. He did his best to get out of the way but it kissed his glove on the way through with Pant doing the rest. That’s three in three overs for Shami since the interval, now with five wickets to his name.

82nd over: Australia 197-6 (Khawaja 72, Cummins 1) A correction from my colleagues, Shami used the old ball for his hat-trick attempt before taking the new one. Bumrah gets his chance with it now, forcing Khawaja to play, the number three getting off strike with a push to midwicket. With one chance at Cummins, Bumrah goes for the yorker but turns into a full toss, well handled.

“After watching the video of the Bumrah bouncer it seemed clear that Harris instinctively wanted to protect his head/face with gloves but training kicked in to prevent any chance of the ball hitting bat,” emails Mike Blackburn in relation to the delivery that hit the opener yesterday. “This is too heavy a price to pay. Surely there must be rules allowing for “self-defence”?

A point made by players from the pre-helmet era is that a bit part of their game was avoiding contact with the head from short balls. There really isn’t a good answer. But let’s just be thankful for helmets and how they keep improving.

Updated

81st over: Australia 196-6 (Khawaja 71, Cummins 1) Not to be. Shami finds Cummins’ edge with the hat-trick ball - the fourth of the series, Andrew Samson tells us on SEN - but it goes to ground and runs away for a single through about fifth slip. The new Kookaburra is darting around to Khawaja but he is so well set, steering a push out to cover for three, moving him into the 70s. Cummins to face again for one ball, and he is hit in the shoulder by another nasty short one. This is no fun for the lower order.

80th over: Australia 192-6 (Khawaja 68, Cummins 0) Bumrah, for about a millionth time over the last four days, beats the bat with is first ball to Khawaja. “Watching the replay of the Paine dismissal,” says Damien Fleming on SEN, “it was an absolute brute of a delivery.” Small mercies for the hosts, knowing that they get to bowl last on this. Shami, it is also noted on the call, will be sending his hat-trick ball down in the next over with the second new ball. Handy! Khawaja gets through the rest of the probing set.



WICKET! Finch c Pant b Shami 25 (Australia 192-6)

Caught down the legside next ball! Of course, Finch was returning after retiring hurt yesterday so he doesn’t record a duck but Shami will be a hat-trick in his next over. What a start! There’s nothing special about the delivery but Finch did shuffle a long way over, understandably so with his injured finger. Shami has four. Game on.

79th over: Australia 192-6 (Khawaja 68)

Updated

WICKET! Paine c Kohli b Shami 37 (Australia 192-5)

Shami finds the crack with a bumper and Paine has no chance, hit on the gloves when trying to take evasive action, the ball ballooning up to Kohli in the cordon. The captain is gone from the fifth ball of the session. And sure enough, the visitors let him know about it on the way off as well.

The players are back on the field! Remember, you can drop me a line at any time, via email for old money or twitter the new. Shami has the ball in his hand, running away from us at the northern or broadcast end. Khawaja (67) is up the business end. PLAY!

Updated

Afternoon, everyone. Hang on a moment, aren’t Australia meant to lose the crucial first sessions? I’m sure I’ve written about 27 pieces about this over the last four years. But here we are, two days in a row with the home side putting in brilliant early shifts. With a lead of 233, the situation is now urgent for India and Kohli, who looked every chance to lose the plot through the second hour of play. This should be fun. Strap in.

We are now deep enough into the year that I can listen to this at least four times a day.

Lunchtime challenge – Viv Richards in art

Here’s something for you to chew on over the lunch break. Just make sure to direct your replies to Adam Collins, who will be taking over from me during the interval.

Let’s revisit an email from Robert Wilson a couple of days ago.

“I’m thinking of writing something jubilantly celebratory about Viv Richards. I am big with it, gravid and ready. What form would you advise? Epic poem? Philosophical treatise? I confess that, at the moment, I’m leaning towards Viv; The Musical.”

A few suggestions came in already. Kandukura Nagarjun was plumping for the treatise. “It would have to be something with gravitas, so no musical. My first instinct was Viv: Ubermensch in the style of Nietzche, but Viv: Man and Superman may be better. The Superman part is obvious. But the ‘Man’ part would be more interesting - Black Pride, the Bob Marley influences, the swagger... and the flaws.”

For Brian Withington, “Recommend Robert Wilson looks to the heroic couplet in iambic pentameter as the only suitable medium worthy of Sir Vivian. I’ll leave you to sketch in the details and knock together an illustrative verse or two...”

But for Adam Donen: “Not that Robert Wilson, I presume? Obviously, if you are, musicals are a pretty solid genre for you. May I recommend boosting the sport’s profile in Europe by opening Viv: The Musical in Berlin, where it would sell out with your name on the poster.”

To clarify, we’re not talking about that Robert Wilson, who is an avant-garde theatre maker responsible for some of this work:

Collection of images from Robert Wilson’s theatre works.
Collection of images from Robert Wilson’s theatre works.

We are dealing with another that Robert Wilson though, the acclaimed novelist. So I would suggest, why not combine the two Robert Wilsons? Why not have a Robert Wilsoff?

Anyway, send your artistic ideas, poetic verses, or potential collaborations through to Adam, and I’ll catch you tomorrow.


Updated

Lunch – Australia 190-4, lead by 233 in the third innings

Excellent session for the home side, after wickets tumbled last night. Australia added only 58 in the session, but didn’t need to do much more than that. More importantly, zero wickets. Paine and Khawaja kept battling on. This pitch is cracking lengthways, some balls are keeping low, and there’s still good bounce and carry for others. So chasing anything in the fourth innings will be hard work. A target of 233 is already up in the difficult category, and even if wickets clatter after the break it’ll still end up somewhere north of 250. Get to 300 and it’s really game over.

Nick Parksinson agrees on email. “Khawaja sounds like he was streaky for large parts of the morning, but the big scores that you make when you’re streaky are more important than the scores that you make when you’re batting on a flat pitch and seeing them like beachballs.”

Updated

78th over: Australia 190-4 (Khawaja 67, Paine 37) Last over before the break. Khawaja takes most of it. Single to fine leg. Paine on strike, and nearly pops up a catch! With two balls to go, Ishant got one to duck back into him and Paine gets a leading edge to the leg side. Short midwicket is there, but the ball goes just square of him. The Australians have survived!

77th over: Australia 189-4 (Khawaja 66, Paine 37) Same pattern as a couple of overs ago: a Khawaja single first ball, then five blocked out by Paine. Shami the bowler. Australia have so nearly batted out a session without losing a wicket. This is a vital effort.

Updated

76th over: Australia 188-4 (Khawaja 65, Paine 37) Vihari carries on, bowls too wide, and Paine whacks him for four. Cover drive. The lead is 231, and this match is slipping from India’s grasp. No wonder Kohli is pissed off.

Sankaran Krishna emails in. “When you have to bowl someone like Vihari at one end for as many overs as India are doing, you are reducing your chances of getting a wicket by fully 50% - and probably more if you take into account how it lets the batsmen just recover and recoup between every other over from the other end. Kohli’s team selection ever since he ousted Kumble has been the weakest part of his captaincy. His aggression works to make him a great batsman but a lousy captain. India going in with 4 fast bowlers was always an absurd proposition.”

I agree that no spinner was a bad call, but it’s easy to be wiser after the event than when you’re looking at a green pitch on day one.

Updated

75th over: Australia 182-4 (Khawaja 64, Paine 32) Shami bowls a maiden. But more importantly, I’ve had an email in. “Not only should I be working harder, I should probably not be googling Shelley references either. But where is the fun in that?”

The important part, Percy Bysshe aside, is that this email is from one Carl Jepsen. Wait a minute, is this a pseudonym?

Is this... Carl(y Rae) Jepsen?

Is the greatest musician of the 20th century a cricket fan? Is she emailing the OBO? Is this a brush with fame beyond even that of the great Robert McLiam Wilson?

I need to sit down for a minute. If you’re not familiar with her work, here’s your primer.

Ben Jones of CricViz is reading this post over my shoulder.

“I’m surprised she uses email, to be honest,” he mutters.

74th over: Australia 182-4 (Khawaja 64, Paine 32) Khawaja takes the one early against Vihari, but Paine is happy to block and leave the rest. Lunch is 10 minutes away.

73rd over: Australia 181-4 (Khawaja 63, Paine 32) Shami starts a new spell. Paine cuts him for four. Social media is getting very excited over the Paine-Kohli chat, which was quite polite. “You’re both captains,” was Gaffaney’s reminder after the exchange. “Keep your cool, Virat,” was Paine’s final word, thrown back towards the slips. He’s pleasant, Paine, but he’s no pushover.

72nd over: Australia 177-4 (Khawaja 63, Paine 28) They’re going at three an over very consistently. Vihari isn’t plugging much.

71st over: Australia 174-4 (Khawaja 62, Paine 26) Some fairly polite chat going on between Paine and Kohli out there. Chris Gaffaney moves them on. Bumrah is still trying but Australia score three singles from his over. The lead out to 220.

“Afternoon Geoff!” exclaims Rowan Sweeney, who is two minutes early by Perth standards. “The more I see of Tim Paine, the more I’m growing fond of him. These plucky late order innings remind me a lot of Ian Healy – not the most talented member of the team, but values his wicket highly, and typifies the phrase ‘You only fail when you stop’. Assuming Steve Smith makes it back to the Test team, is it certain he’d regain the captaincy? Paine would be stiff if so.”

Well, Smith is banned from leadership positions for another year after his playing ban ends. So he won’t be eligible until April 2020. CA may want to get him back in the role to prove that now everything is fine and resolved and done with. But I can’t see why anyone would be in a rush. He wasn’t up to the mark as a leader the first time around, and there’s no reason he has to be. Why not just let him be a very good player and let him play?

70th over: Australia 171-4 (Khawaja 61, Paine 24) Vihari is being handled easily thus far. Tap tap tap, singles ahoy. The lead is out to 215.

69th over: Australia 168-4 (Khawaja 60, Paine 22) Bumrah round the wicket to Khawaja, trying to threaten with that line just outside off, but India cannot find a way through. Beats the bat a couple of times, draws a couple of close leaves, but still Khawaja stands. “My name is Uzzymandias, king of kings...”

68th over: Australia 168-4 (Khawaja 60, Paine 22) Vihari spinning on. Khawaja taps a single. Paine opens up for a full-blooded cover drive and gets one to the sweeper. Khawaja leans back for a very pretty late cut for three runs to third man. Just the one slip as a catcher, the rest of the field is largely containing. Do I count five in the deep? Seems pointless when Australia will happily take the single and have no need to clear the boundary.

67th over: Australia 163-4 (Khawaja 56, Paine 21) Bumrah returns from the northern end of the ground, jerking in like a wind-up toy, then unleashes projectiles in a manner that is decidedly not recreational. Nearly nails Paine leg before wicket, but there’s an edge involved and a newly restrained Kohli opts not to review. Maiden.

66th over: Australia 163-4 (Khawaja 56, Paine 21) A first trundle for Hanuma Vihari, the off-spinner. How useful might Jadeja have been in these conditions? And with the bat. A couple of singles from the over.

65th over: Australia 161-4 (Khawaja 55, Paine 20) Khawaja isn’t dominating, but he’s taking the game away from India. Drives another three runs through cover. The lead is out to 204. With the pitch now keeping low, you’d think that India need to rattle through Australia within 50 runs.

Half century! Khawaja 52 from 155 balls

64th over: Australia 157-4 (Khawaja 52, Paine 20) Still no luck for Ishant Sharma. Beats the edge, has one ball keep low and creep under the bat, then another keep low and take the toe, on the bounce to the keeper. So he tries a straighter line, hoping to threaten the stumps, but with the angle from round the wicket Khawaja drives it away through midwicket for three.

63rd over: Australia 154-4 (Khawaja 49, Paine 20) Leg bye off the pad, then a single for Khawaja from Umesh.

Interesting one, that. I think he’s seen in a very similar way to Mark Waugh, actually. In that he’s a pretty batsman, looks great, and it often feels like he’s given an innings away softly when he’s in command. But he’s actually tough as old boots when he decides to be. This innings today an example, the hundred in Dubai another.

I think he gets a pretty good run with the media though. He’s criticised at times, but whenever he does well it seems that he’s lionised. People love seeing him succeed. So I’m not sure he’s that hard done by. Perhaps he thinks that he is though – he’s often a very prickly customer in press conferences and interviews, as though he has a chip on his shoulder or is on the defensive.

Updated

62nd over: Australia 152-4 (Khawaja 48, Paine 20) Ishant doing what Ishant does. Bowling a ripper past the outside edge, then a plonker down leg side for Paine to glance a single.

61st over: Australia 151-4 (Khawaja 48, Paine 19) Umesh Yadav, right arm around the wicket to the left-handed Khawaja, but he’s playing with relative ease now, on the back foot and hopping up to drop a delivery from back of a length into the covers. As easy way to find a run and get off strike. Paine does the same to the leg side, the exact same region of turf as a right-hander. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat, four singles and the team 150 comes up. Drinks.

60th over: Australia 147-4 (Khawaja 46, Paine 17) Another run for Khawaja to cover, he’s sneaking up on that half century with the slow and ageless assurance of a Nargun. Ishant is looking for the inswing that makes him dangerous, getting a little as he tests out Paine on the front foot. Lovely bowling, the batsman equal to it. The lead is 191.

“Morning Geoff,” chirps Ian Forth. “I took my son to a Shield game one Saturday many years ago. At the ticket booth i asked for entry and was given two tickets for the stadium tour. “Oh, you want to see the match!”. There were fewer than 100 inside so we had 99,900 seats to choose from. Brad Hodge and Dave Hussey both got centuries from memory. It was great and my son loved it.”

I often used to head to the MCG on a summer afternoon as a teenager and take my packed lunch and a book, and stretch out on one of the bench seats and very idly keep half an ear on the cricket. It was a very relaxing way to spend the day. Obviously I had a wild adolescence.

59th over: Australia 146-4 (Khawaja 45, Paine 17) Another dicey over goes by for Australia without cost. Umesh to Khawaja, beat the outside edge once, then beat a half-hearted pull shot that was nowhere near the ball. A real get-out shot there. There’s a single off the last ball.

Updated

58th over: Australia 144-4 (Khawaja 44, Paine 16) Ishant on in a double change. A wild one down leg at first, then a nasty one that whacks Paine in the hip. Those hurt where there’s no padding, artificial or otherwise. Khawaja leaves the rest in the channel.

57th over: Australia 143-4 (Khawaja 44, Paine 16) Umesh Yadav on to replace Bumrah, so another little victory for the batting pair. The forecast isn’t predicting high temperatures but it’s still very hot out there in direct sun. So far it looks a decent time to bat and a tricky one to bowl. Last night in the dim light under clouds the bowling seemed a lot more menacing.

“What happened to Aussie machismo?” asks Simon. “Didn’t Steve Waugh once bat one-handed with his fractured left arm in a sling ? Man up Finchy! (Seriously though, glad he wasn’t hurt too badly – fun player to watch).”

56th over: Australia 142-4 (Khawaja 44, Paine 15) They’re hanging in and building the lead ever so slowly. A couple of singles in Shami’s over, and the most dangerous overs of the morning have been negotiated, the freshest ones from rested bowlers while the batsmen are getting set.

55th over: Australia 140-4 (Khawaja 43, Paine 14) Should have been run out! Crazy run from the Australians, Khawaja chops Bumrah just to the leg side of the pitch and went for it. Bumrah picks up and throws on the spin, falling over. Never easy. But had he hit, Khawaja would have been short. Those near things have to fall your way in these close situations. The Aussie lead is out to 183.

54th over: Australia 139-4 (Khawaja 42, Paine 14) Another maiden for Shami, though a bit lucky when Paine’s drive hit Khawaja. A bit unlucky when Paine misses a waft outside off stump.

53rd over: Australia 139-4 (Khawaja 42, Paine 14) Paine off strike first ball. Booming swing from Bumrah in this over. But it came after the ball passed the batsman, hooping away towards slip. He brings the line back in tighter, striking the pad! But via the inside edge. Right in front of off stump, that could have been trouble.

52nd over: Australia 138-4 (Khawaja 42, Paine 13) Shami to Khawaja, another maiden. Beats the edge once, then takes an edge that bounces just in front of slip. Good start from both ends for India.

51st over: Australia 138-4 (Khawaja 42, Paine 13) Bumrah looking good, getting the ball to zing through now. A couple of false shots from Paine, one of which earns him four runs as the edge bounces through the cordon gap.

AP emails in: “Video evidence suggests if the on-field decision had been not out, the 3rd umpire couldn’t have found conclusive evidence to overturn that either, Yes? Did the onfield umpires unwittingly influence this Test at a crucial point, by not giving the batsman benefit of the doubt?”

Well, no. Because the umpire thought it was out. Unless you want umpires to give every decision not out and let the third umpire decide all of them. This decision was like any decision for caught behind or lbw. The standing umpire saw it live, made a call, and then the video review looked for evidence to overturn it. There was nothing conclusive.

50th over: Australia 134-4 (Khawaja 42, Paine 9) Shami from the other end, his first ball keeps low but is wide of Usman’s off stump. So is most of the over, which is duly left alone.

49th over: Australia 134-4 (Khawaja 42, Paine 9) Bumrah to start the day, which is a good move. He was so good yesterday, and a bit unlucky – caused a lot of false shots and appeals. Each batsman squeezes out a single at one stage in the over.

Right then. Australia 175 in front. Four wickets down. Khawaja on 41 and Paine on 8. India need wickets. Sun is shining. Let’s go.

The news just in is that Aaron Finch has been cleared to bat today. Presumably he’ll come out at the fall of the next wicket. And may just try to clear the pickets and swell the lead fast. That could be fun.

The catch

Alright, let’s do this. Might as well put my cards on the table. First, these kind of catches will never meet agreement. I’ve already had people emailing saying that you can clearly see that it bounced, and clearly see that it didn’t. There are still images on Twitter that make it look dodgy, because literally every close low catch has a couple of frames that can make it look dodgy. If they didn’t, then the batsmen would walk and the umpires wouldn’t check it. All low catches look a bit dubious, at best, on television screens, and even worse in still images.

I think it was out. And I wrote an article last night rhapsodising over Kohli’s innnings. I would have loved to see him go on. So there’s no bias one way or the other, which is the absurd thing that a lot of fans will say. Check out Harsha Bhogle’s Twitter, for instance – he’s being attacked by self-appointed ‘patriots’ because he had the temerity to explain how the decision-making process currently works in international cricket. Now he’s apparently a fifth columnist. (Most newspapers these days can’t afford one columnist.)

The reason I think it’s out is because it was a hard edge, and the ball flew very flat and direct. It wasn’t looping down to the ground like a lot of low catches are. Watching it live I thought it was clean, and live-action replays looks clean. Handscomb dives across with his hand on the ground by the time the ball arrives. There is a bounce, because it bounces off his fingers. The still images online are all of a moment when he has fingers underneath the ball.

Now, can you categorically say that there’s no turf between the fingers that touches the ball at the same time? You can’t, because there’s no way to track that sort of detail. All we do know is that a good bit of his hand was around the ball, and the catch would likely have been taken even if the turf wasn’t there. It looked clean enough, so the umpires were happy to give a soft signal that it was out. And the replay didn’t show anything conclusive to overturn that.

For those saying the soft signal shouldn’t exist, the alternative is to go back to what we once had, where every single low catch was given not out, and players effectively have immunity if the ball is taken near the ground. The reason we brought in things like the DRS was to overturn decisions that were clearly wrong. Ones that are line-ball, there’s injustice to be corrected.

Updated

One other thing I can tell you – the overnight intrigue has not translated into interest at the ground. Perth Stadium is deserted. I walked in only a few minutes ago and the footpaths and ticket gates had the merest handful of people using them. Inside the ground, it’s nt quite the MCG during a Shield game, but it’s not much better. A smattering of people at the members’ end across a few tiers, but the population on the arena – camera crews and players warming up and groundsmen and hangers-on – are in danger of outnumbering them. There are massed empty banks of seating through the other three quarters of the giant continguous grandstand. I know it’s a Monday morning, but it’s also a week shy of Christmas at the debut of a top-class venue, and the fourth day of a gripping contest.

Something ain’t right.

I’d like it formally entered on the record that I was a Lemon for decades before Liz was even invented. Other than that, thanks JP. Big day yesterday alright for the news faff that surrounds the cricket. I thought that Tim Paine was shrewd enough to use the less brusque appellation ‘big head’, knowing that he was close enough to the stump mic to risk being picked up. But Howcroft hears ‘dickhead’. I suppose it’s the insult version of the Handscomb catch. All that faff aside, we had a brilliant day’s Test cricket yesteday. India’s pace bowlers were outstanding. Finch looked in great touch, suddenly, until his injury. Khawaja battled hard. Kohli was supreme. R. Pant was exciting. For a day, we actually did have it all.

Right, that’s enough from me for the time being, over to the maestro Geoff Lemon, my second favourite of all the Lemons (sorry mate, Liz Lemon 4 eva). Reporting from the Perth press box I’m sure there will be some juicy updates on all the overnight drama.

One story you might have missed during yesterday’s action was the reopening of the Monkeygate controversy. In an interview with Adam Gilchrist for Fox Sports, to be aired tonight, Andrew Symonds indicates Harbhajan Singh later apologised to him for the diplomatic crisis, apparently going so far as to break down in tears.

“He actually broke down crying, and I could just see that was a huge weight off his shoulders,” Symonds says. “He had to get rid of it. We shook hands and I gave him a hug and said: ‘Mate, it’s all good. It’s dealt with’.”

Shortly after Cricinfo’s Dan Brettig published the transcript of Symonds’ comments, Harbhajan responded, pointedly questioning their accuracy.

More to come on this one, for sure.

Updated

Waiting for Godot it is not, but the stump mic picked up an entertaining exchange between competing skippers yesterday evening.

Kohli: “If you mess up it’s two-nil.”

Paine: “You’ve got to bat first, dickhead.”

As a reasonably recent migrant to Australian shores I love the local application of “dickhead”. Delivered with quickness - the “ck” almost morphing into a “g” - and the disdainful downward inflection make it so satisfying; both playful and cutting. In the heat of battle I thought it was a choice riposte from a captain facing the impossible job of being both a sporting alpha and conciliatory prince charming.

Virat Kohli and Tim Paine exchanged words late on day three of the second Test in Perth.
Virat Kohli and Tim Paine exchanged words late on day three of the second Test in Perth. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

However, this analysis from @CricProf suggests Harris’ leave, while obviously a bad one, perhaps wasn’t that gross a miscalculation.

An excellent point has been raised by email from David Marshall. “Any discussion on Harris’ disastrous leave yesterday, and whether there was any concussion from the earlier knock on the helmet? I didn’t hear much discussion on 7 about it when the wicket fell.”

I think this is definitely an issue that requires following up. Are cricket’s concussion protocols adequate? We know it’s a major issue in contact sports around the world - is cricket doing enough? It doesn’t seem too wild a theory to suggest Harris’ judgement could have been impaired by the fierce blow he received earlier in his knock.

Finch’s injury has diverted attention from what promises to be a thrilling couple of days of Test cricket. All results remain possible with the prospect of a nail-biting fifth day conclusion.

That Australia hold the upper hand owes a lot to the contentious dismissal of Virat Kohli, caught by Peter Handscomb off the bowling of Pat Cummins. There is far from unanimous agreement about the cleanliness of the catch but once the soft signal indicated it was out, replays failed to prove conclusively that the decision should be overturned.

My two cents: out. I look forward to the deluge of correspondence informing me I’m wrong.

Finch’s retirement yesterday curtailed a promising opening partnership with Marcus Harris and opened the door for India to regain a foothold in a match that was sliding out of their control.

Here’s Geoff Lemon’s report from Perth on yesterday’s action, putting Finch’s misfortune in context.

Here’s the second of those two net session scares. It would seem more work is required on that swivel-pull against some friendlier bowlers before it’s next unfurled against Test-calibre opponents.

An aspect of the concern for Finch is due to this not being the first time this summer the ODI skipper has been struck on that part of his body. Mitchell Starc has injured him twice before in net practice, almost preventing Finch from appearing in the pre-Test ODI series.

Here’s vision of one of those incidents and Finch discussing his recovery and injury management.

So, to the first order of business, how is Aaron Finch’s right index finger? Not as bad as first feared.

Following the conclusion of play yesterday Australia’s coach, Justin Langer, explained that x-rays revealed there is no fracture and Finch could bat today if required. “It’s not fractured, which is really positive for us,” Langer told SEN Radio. “He was playing so well. It’s nice to have Finchy being able to bat, hopefully, in the second dig. Every run here is very important.”

Preamble

Good morning everyone and welcome to live coverage of day four of the second Test from Perth. We’re firing up slightly earlier than usual to allow plenty of time to get through all the talking points from yesterday’s action.

What talking points, you might be asking? Well, there’s Aaron Finch’s dodgy digit and Virat Kohli’s dubious dismissal for a start, and we could venture into the reopening of old wounds once thought securely locked away in a safe marked Monkeygate: do not touch.

I’ll be with you for about an hour or so, after which Geoff Lemon will perform this task with much greater wit. Until the handover, you can join in via Twitter (@JPHowcroft) or email (jonathan.howcroft.freelance@theguardian.com).

Aaron Finch’s finger sent alarm through the Australian camp on day three of the second Test.
Aaron Finch’s finger sent alarm through the Australian camp on day three of the second Test. Photograph: David Woodley/Action Plus via Getty Images

Updated

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