Day One goes Australia’s way
To say that the home side is in a dominant position after day one at the SCG is a complete understatement. Again riding something of an emotional wave after the unveiling of a plaque in honour of Phillip Hughes near the players’ race, each Australian batsman seized upon the opportunity to feast on an underdone Indian attack.
The surprise of the morning was that Chris Rogers was able to match it with David Warner in the scoring stakes, though Rogers fell five short of what would have been a magnificent hundred in what is likely to be his final Test on Australian soil. He hit 13 boundaries in a sprightly knock but Warner went a few better with 101 from 114 including 16 fours.
Their wickets felll at 200 and 204, but Australia stablized after the double-blow to the point that Steve Smith (82*) and Shane Watson (61*) are now locked in a 144-run unbroken stand at stumps. Smith’s been a little more fluent than his partner but both benefited from a docile Sydney pitch and some truly uninspired bowling from the Indians.
With 1-88 from his 28 overs, Ravi Ashwin was clearly the best for the tourists. Umesh Yadav was belted for 6-per-over and save for Mohammad Shami’s effort to get Rogers to drag on, they can take away little from this day that they’ll be pleased with. Bhuvneshwar Kumar looks blatantly hobbled. Why he played is therefore anyone’s guess.
My thanks go to Geoff Lemon for his efforts earlier in the day and also to all of you hardy emailers for your contributions. We’ll see you bright and early tomorrow for all the action on day two.
Stumps on day one - Watson dropped with two balls remaining
90th over - Australia 348-2 (Watson 61, Smith 82)
Yadav’s been belted today, so it’s sort of symbolic that he should be given opportunity to finish it all off for his side. Watson and Smith, meanwhile, appear locked in a competition to avoid strike because there is something tactical about the way they both nudge singles.
Yadav bends his back to send down a wild bouncer, but it’s called a wide so he has to pursue a more conventional line of attack to a probably-nervy Watson. Finally Yadav produces an absolute jaffa - the best ball in hours - but Watson’s thick edge flies straight through the hands of Ashwin at first slip. It was a howler, that one, and a rather unfortuantely apt finish to a shambolic day for the tourists. Oh dear.
All they’ve caught today is hell from the local batsmen.
89th over - Australia 341-2 (Watson 56, Smith 81)
As if we needed reminding, Nine flash up a graphic of Steve Smith’s scores for the summer and with this undefeated 81 here, it’s starting to look like a long-distance phone number, national codes and all. It’s almost monotonous now, though we shouldn’t take his form for granted.
“It’s not a great wicket if you get 2 wickets” says Shane Warne of this pitch, possibly before copping a stiff-arm to the back of the head from a producer. We’ll have one more over before the close of play.
@rustyjacko Is it just me or is Smith beginning to look faintly embarrassed? I saw AB bat against the Universities & he had that same look.
— Robert McL Wilson (@Funbob2001) January 6, 2015
88th over - Australia 337-2 (Watson 55, Smith 78)
Yadav continues with whole-hearted effort but little of the guile that we saw from him in brief patches earlier in the series and indeed during his 14-wicket haul on the last Indian tour of 2011-12. Watson picks him off for three and then Smith gets two down to fine leg and the bowler looks as listless and uninspires as most of his teammates.
Meanwhile, Wendy Cowling is in the house. “Yes, it has been hard not to nod off - like watching “Midsomer Murders”. However, I’ve just heard (and presumably you did also) the most extraordinary encomium of Dhoni from Clarke. (If one of Geoff’s correspondents can use “moribund” I can use encomium). According to M.Clarke Dhoni is an extraordinarily nice fellow who kindly stepped aside from this Test so as to give a “young fellow” a chance at wicket-keeping in Australia. Then followed a strange discussion of Indian styles of wicket-keeping - apparently some Indian w.k’s have a tendency to stand (as opposed to crouching?). It is these small, exciting digressions in the commentary that keep one going - more or less.”
I think everyone could do with a spell (or perhaps a drink?) right now, commentators included.
@rustyjacko Nice time to bat, says Warney. I agree. India could throw rocks at this pair, and they'd deflect them with disdain. Too easy.
— sarah jane bacon (@sportzzzgirl) January 6, 2015
87th over - Australia 330-2 (Watson 52, Smith 74)
Kumar continues at half rat-power and now has a man in short on the drive for Watson. The bowler is really hobbling now, begging the question as to why he’s still trundling away in the low 120s and also why he was picked in this game at all. Put plainly, he doesn’t look up to it.
Might delete and re install the app, it's going delirious. #AUDvIND #redzone pic.twitter.com/yC72pjh5tI
— Josh Conway (@ConwaySport) January 6, 2015
86th over - Australia 330-2 (Watson 52, Smith 74)
Now Umesh Yadav is back. He always brings with him the possibility of a wicket ball but far more likely, boundary balls. Smith dispatches one to the fence with a crisp cut shot out past point. He’ll be hoping for a few more overs of that dross before the close of play. The tourists will just want to get off the ground as quickly as possible.
“It’s all fine,” says Robert Wilson. “I’ve worked out what the Indian team is doing. This is like the surprising longueur in an old screwball comedy that you greatly love. You find yourself thinking, I remember liking this more the first time. But then Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell come on and all is well. The little dull bit is petrol in the tank for the glory to follow. Mark my words, the meet-cute is coming in the last couple of overs. We’re gonna roar.”
“Chris Rogers is clearly Hepburn.”
85th over - Australia 326-2 (Watson 52, Smith 70)
Perhaps in a tactical masterstroke but perhaps just because he’s bowling at roughly the same pace as the spinners were earlier, Bhuvi Kumar asks wicketkeeper Saha to stand up to the stumps to Watson, which is a slightly unconventional move with the new ball. Is there no better option than this? Really?
84th over - Australia 325-2 (Watson 52, Smith 69)
Shami’s mediums are so military he might as well be playing camouflage fatigues. That might have made him a bit harder for Chris Rogers to spot too, I guess. He’s picked off for two singles in this over and looks about as likely to take a wicket as he would bowling left-handed.
“This is more like the travelling Indian team I know and loathe,” says Josh Hines. “”I wondered what was with all that spirit in Adelaide and Melbourne.”
83rd over - Australia 323-2 (Watson 51, Smith 68)
Kumar keeps on keeping on and again the Aussies are watchful when they might afford themselves a few more expansive strokes. There’s a single for each of the batsmen here but their gaze now appears fixed on tomorrow morning. Can the Indians strike in the face of any complacency?
82nd over - Australia 321-2 (Watson 50, Smith 67)
Compared to his mate Bhuvi Kumar, Mohammad Shami looks like Waqar Younis right now. He tries to coax Watson forward and into a faulty stroke but the Australian possibly has one eye on the clock and the over count now because he won’t budge.
81st over - Australia 321-2 (Watson 50, Smith 67)
The increasingly lame Kumar continues with his right arm lethargic. Smith shows either pity or indifference for much of the over before slamming the final delivery down the ground for an authoritative boundary. He’s strolled to 67.
Reader Robert Wilson is equally dozy. “What a score to wake up to,” he says. “It seems the Indian bowlers and I have missed a lot of action (They’re dreadful snorers). The boys will pep up once I get some café au lait into them.”
It might need to be something a little stronger than that.
Watson brings up his half-century
80th over - Australia 317-2 (Watson 50, Smith 63)
It’s been at least half an hour since Mohammad Shami had a bowl, so now it’s time for his sixth spell of the day. Watson creams a drive to the right of Ashwin at cover and though he reels in a terrific stop, it’s crocked that dodgy hand of his again and he’s straight off the ground. That is a good summary of India’s day; even the good stuff has been bad.
Watson brings up 50 by turning Shami around the corner to fine leg. It came off 99 deliveries - surprisingly few given his early struggles - and featured 5 boundaries. At the risk of understatement, if he doesn’t cash in for a century now he never will.
Poor Bhuvi. Does not look match fit. Bowled 2 balls in last over at 115 & 119 kph.
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) January 6, 2015
He really doesn’t look right.
79th over - Australia 315-2 (Watson 48, Smith 63)
Kohli opts for pace after drinks, hauling Bhuvi Kumar back from purgatory to unleash his offerings at around the 119kmph mark. Smith does well not to hit a boundary off a rank half-tracker and Watson also manages just a single, so Kumar gets away with a decidedly tepid over.
78th over - Australia 313-2 (Watson 47, Smith 62)
Now Raina is granted a hefty deployment of fielders in close on the leg side, though what he hopes to achieve with a rank long-hop is anyone’s guess. Watson celebrates the arrival of the drinks card by biffing that one to the deep mid-wicket boundary like a video game character on hyperdrive.
Watson was struggling before. Now he’s on the verge of a half-century. Indian bowlers can be the making of such men as him.
Smith and Watson bring up their century partnership
77th over - Australia 309-2 (Watson 43, Smith 62)
Watson gets the early single against Ashwin and with one of his own, Smith brings up the century stand between the pair. Perhaps that frees Watson for what comes next, but you really should sweep Ravi Ashwin to the fence at deep backward-square if he bowls two feet outside leg stump, I suppose.
That gets Mark Nocholas talking about “gym bodies” or something lalong those lines.
Joey, do you like movies about Gladiators?
76th over - Australia 302-2 (Watson 37, Smith 61)
If what is good for the goose is good for the gander, perhaps it’s worth saying something about the supposedly-attacking Kohli placing 7 men on the leg side to Smith here. It’s hardly inspired stuff, even if it’s stifling the run rate on a temporary basis. The overall run rate is now a smidgen under 4.
75th over - Australia 300-2 (Watson 37, Smith 59)
By the way, are any of you Sydneysiders watching this at home? At my guess and looking at the crowd, a lot of you are. Tuesday is perhaps not the stuff of scheduling dreams, but you’d have expected a few more through to day.
Smith turns Ashwin to leg to bring up Australia’s triple century and they’ve gone long at a decent clip in the last 10 overs - 4.3 per over, actually.
74th over - Australia 298-2 (Watson 37, Smith 57)
Is Raina even bowling spin anymore? They looks like slow seamers to Smith, the kind of thing you rarely see at Test level. He does though manage to pull off the unlikeliest of Test maidens. That’s better than most of his mates today but the Australians are hardly quivering in fright.
73rd over - Australia 298-2 (Watson 37, Smith 57)
It’s a shame that Ashwin is India’s only hope at the moment because he probably needs a spell. He gets away with a full toss to Smith but there’s a heart-in-mouth moment when Smith flicks a glance a couple of yards past the grasping hand of the man at leg gully.
Stat: Shane Watson is averaging infinity at the SCG in 2015. To think there are people who want him dropped
— Matt Goss (@mattgoss_) January 6, 2015
72nd over - Australia 295-2 (Watson 36, Smith 55)
One thing the tourists are achieveing right now is to really rip through some brisk overs with the two spinners in operation. Perhaps that haste is clouding Kohli’s judgment a little though, because for all his shouting and gesticulatng in the field it’s all a little aimless and pedestrian. Watson waits patiently and then pounces, cutting late against Raina to pick up his third boundary out to deep point.
71st over - Australia 290-2 (Watson 32, Smith 54)
Shane Watson is growing into this innings a little now. He waits a few balls before picking off the single against Ashwin and his body language seems to have inflated a little in this mini-spell of dominance. There’s a single for Smith as well and Ashwin, India’s primary hope of a wicket in the immediate future, is struggling to apply pressure.
70th over - Australia 288-2 (Watson 31, Smith 53)
Steve Smith needs to be careful he doesn’t get haphazard here because for all the disdain in hammering Raina over the bowler’s head, it’s a shot fraught with risk and only just evades two converging fieldsmen. He picks up three but also possibly steels himself to tighten up a bit against the part-timer. There are runs galore out here and both batsman might be conscious of leaving them behind.
@rustyjacko Asking Warner to face 175+ deliveries is like asking Ian Healy to commentate instead of barrack - neither appears capable.
— Andrew James (@AndrewJame5) January 6, 2015
Smith brings up a nonchelant 50
69th over - Australia 284-2 (Watson 30, Smith 50)
Never fear, Ravi Ashwin is still here. Finger-looking issues (as opposed to finger-licking issues created by the presence of KFC) dealt with, he’s back. Smith brings up his 50 with barely an acknowledgement to the crowd, emphasizing the point that he’s hungry for a big one here. Watson might be too because he’s finally put the foot down against Ashwin and hammers him over cow corner for a boundary. The tourists are under hostile attack here.
68th over - Australia 277-2 (Watson 25, Smith 48)
Fans of park-grade off-spin should tune in now because Kohli’s had to give Suresh Raina a spell. Watson celebrates by biffing him through mid-wicket for his first boundary of the game and then cuts forcefully for two more. Watson was in a funk only moments ago, but now he looks like the proverbial kid in the lolly shop.
67th over - Australia 271-2 (Watson 19, Smith 48)
Watson takes his time to get off strike against Ashwin, but he’s at least looking a little more solid this time around. Smith drives uppishly to the final delivery but the inside-edge doesn’t carry as far as the hands of short mid-on. With that, Ashwin trots off the ground for some kind of treatment. Looks like he’ll have to have a spell now too.
@rustyjacko I'm starting to get suspicious about Watto's scoring today. Has he been given a target of balls to face to stay in the side?
— phil withall (@phil_withall) January 6, 2015
If he is, Warner should be given one as well. At the risk of looking a gift horse in the chompers, he still hasn’t managed to make it to 175 deliveries in a Test. He has a real weakness between the scores of 100 and 200, Warner. He should knuckle down a bit I reckon.
66th over - Australia 270-2 (Watson 18, Smith 48)
Is Kohli trying to out-funk the absent Michael Clarke? Now he throws the ball to Umesh Yadav. So Shami had a one over spell from the members end and Kumar the same. Maybe he just has a short attention span. Maybe it’s a piece of genius that is yet to reveal itself fully.
Watson turns Yadav forcefully through mid-wicket for three but Murali Vijay really should have cut that off for a dot ball. Following the earlier script, Steve Smith subsequently cashes in by clipping gracefully off his pads for four more through mid wicket. If India have a plan to this pair, it’s pretty hard to follow right now. Straying towards leg isn’t cutting it.
65th over - Australia 261-2 (Watson 15, Smith 42)
For those of us wondering why Watson doesn’t get after Ashwin here, Nine helpfully pull up the Brisbane dismissal in which he charged down the track and biffed the spinner straight into the hands of mid-on, then at Melbourne when he perished sweeping. He can’t shelve every shot through, surely?
Watson gets off strike with one, which is probably his best ploy right now because it gets the balletic Smith on strike. He only takes one ball to skip down the track and cream another boundary through cover. How easy is that?
64th over - Australia 256-2 (Watson 14, Smith 38)
Virat Kohli appears to have seen enough for Mohammad Shami yet again, because he’s immediately replaced by Bhuvi Kumar, an unfortunate absentee from earlier in the series but not exactly impressive so far today. Watson plays the latter with a confidence that would look imposing in the nets but is less so with the reality of fieldsmen cutting off each stroke. He’s a batting robot today, old Watto.
Finally Watson finds a gap, stroking a cover drive for three after Kumar had strayed so wide he couldn’t help but adjust the stroke from the limiting confines of traditional positioning. Smith compounds that with four down the ground to that ludicrously-short boundary. Even with Watson struggling, it might be a long afternoon for the tourists you’d think.
63rd over - Australia 249-2 (Watson 11, Smith 34)
Smith’s a little more proactive to Ashwin than his partner before, dancing down the track first ball and awkwardly catching a leading edge but then moving ever-so-slightly onto the back foot to crunch a cut shot through point for four from the next. Watson prods a single off the final delivery to keep the strike, but he’s really plodding along at the moment.
62nd over - Australia 243-2 (Watson 10, Smith 29)
Shami appears again after tea for what feels like his 750th spell of the series. Last Test Dhoni changed him more often than Colin Miller used to hair colours. At least he provides Smith with an awkward moment here, jagging one back off the seam, rapping the batsman on the knuckles and watching the ball slide inches past the stumps.
Smith works a single to square leg and that’s the only scoring action for the over.
61st over - Australia 242-2 (Watson 10, Smith 28)
That man Ravi Ashwin gets us under way and he’s still got three men in close on the leg side when he bowls to Watson, which is immediately proven a judicious call. Ashwin bowls relatively straight, turning towards leg and providing Watson with plenty to think about. He probably needs to be aggressive if he wants to get rid of those hovering men, Watson, but he’s prepared to wait for now.
Meanwhile, there’s been more awkward moments of congress, this time imagined.
@rustyjacko Buck's arm guard has got things living in it. It could bump uglies with Punter's Baggy Green and make beautiful babies together.
— sarah jane bacon (@sportzzzgirl) January 6, 2015
What is the way back for India?
Ravi Ashwin, Ravi Ashwin and then a little bit more Ravi Ashwin, methinks. The way he’s bowled today - and the struggles of the pacemen at the other end - kind of make you wonder wehether the tourists wouldn’t have been better off picking two spinners, unhelpful conditions or not.
Meanwhile, both teams are now back in the middle for the final session and we’re moments away from the first delivery.
Good times in the ABC commentary box...
Big Henry has seen enough today. Sorry to bore you mate... pic.twitter.com/8PbxO9uykY
— Ed Cowan (@eddiecowan) January 6, 2015
Afternoon OBOers
Russell Jackson here, filled with trepidation after that introduction from Mr Lemon. What if I don’t rock you gently? What if I fumble? What if I don’t know what I’m doing and we bump heads? I feel like I’m 16 again...
Speaking of adolescence, there’s been a youthful exuberance about Australia today, even among the old stagers. Chris Rogers went as close to stroke-for-stroke with David Warner as a 37-year-old with an antique arm guard can be expected to. How unlucky he was to fall 5 runs short of his first century of the summer.
Warner was imperious and excitable and respectful all at once, but you already know that. Advantage Australia, it’s safe to say. India? Hmm, not so great.
You can get me on russell.jackson@theguardian.com or on twitter @rustyjacko with all of your comments, quips and observations. Let’s do this thing.
Tea - Australia 242-2
A couple of wickets in the session provided some buoyancy for the Indians, getting Warner just after he’d reached a century and Rogers just before he had. But they can’t stop leaking runs, and a partnership already worth 38 between Australia’s third and fourth batsmen has rapidly deflated what joy the Indians had found. They’ll resume after the break with 350 in the day well and truly in their sights. For India, Ravi Ashwin has bowled well and looks like he’ll be a handful later in this match.
That’s it for me, a pleasure calling with you and I’ll be back on Day 3. After the tea break, the loving arms of Russell Jackson will rock you gently home.
60th over: 242-2 (Watson 10, Smith 28)
For once something less than full throttle by Smith, who just wants to get to tea. He plays out Kumar’s over with no interest in scoring, and that is that is that is that is that.
59th over: 242-2 (Watson 10, Smith 28)
Clobber. Not so cool now, Cool Guy, says Smith as he uses that powerful bottom-handed grip to smear a full ball from Raina over midwicket for four. Watson had previously taken a single, and Smith follows up with one of his own.
58th over: 236-2 (Watson 9, Smith 23)
“Just shows you what form does. Budgies.” I think that’s what Shane Warne just said? I don’t even know anymore. Glenn McGrath keeps talking through my earpiece about James Hardie. I don’t care, Glenn. I just don’t care. Michael Clarke is making the weird decision to talk about bowling and field placements.
Watson blocks out several Kumar deliveries before a late single.
57th over: 235-2 (Watson 8, Smith 23)
“One of the things about the Sydney Cricket Ground is that you feel like the crowd is on top of you,” says Warnie, who has historically been fairly keen on that. Watson finally moves off 7 with a single on the drive. Smith flicks Raina for two through square.
56th over: 232-2 (Watson 7, Smith 21)
Normal service resumes as Yadav strays down leg and Smith glances him for four. The Australian TV commentary has been talking about a bank for the last 12 minutes, so thanks for all that information guys. Also, when listening to the TV call using one of the little radios in the ground, they replaced the annoying TV ads with annoying Cricket Australia ads. Considerate!
55th over: 228-2 (Watson 7, Smith 17)
Watto is thinking too hard, I can hear it from here. He really doesn’t want to get out cheaply after this start, so he’s trying to be defensive and cautious rather than just relaxing into his game. Raina is bowling in the shades because he is a Cool Guy, he has been watching a lot of Tom Cruise from the 80s. It’s a maiden.
54th over: 228-2 (Watson 7, Smith 17)
Yadav finally bowls a tight over, some regularity with his line outside the off stump mixed up with a good yorker that Smith keeps out. Maiden.
53rd over: 228-2 (Watson 7, Smith 17)
India’s team changes have given them a couple of part-time spinners to share the load, and Suresh Raina comes on for his first stint. He starts it like a part-timer, with a short wide pie that Smith cuts for four. Then a single. Smith suddenly has 17, and is cruising off onto another batting adventure seamlessly joined to the others he’s enjoyed this summer.
52nd over: 223-2 (Watson 7, Smith 12)
Umesh Yadav is bowling trash today. Sorry Umesh. There’s a lot to like about him sometimes but today he just keeps pinging the pads, and they keep working him around. Seven runs from ones and twos in this over, and he’s gone for 66 from 10.
51st over: 216-2 (Watson 4, Smith 8)
Ashwin to Watson and they’re playing some mind games. They started with a very short mid-off and mid-on a couple of overs back. Now they have six on the leg side, clogging up midwicket and leg slip and all kinds of places, while bowling on Watson’s pads. He doesn’t bite, and it’s a maiden.
50th over: 216-2 (Watson 4, Smith 8)
A minor milestone for the bowling (and commentating) side as well, with the 50th over ticking by. Umesh Yadav bowls too much on the pads, and the batsmen work him for ones and twos without trouble.
49th over: 212-2 (Watson 3, Smith 5)
Then a watchful over against Ashwin, Smith just taking a single. It’s rebuilding time. Watson’s hit a few decent shots straight to the field. When the openers have been so dominant it puts quite a lot of pressure on the next two to do well.
48th over: 211-2 (Watson 3, Smith 4)
Time for a breather, as Shami bowls a maiden to Shane Watson.
47th over: 211-2 (Watson 3, Smith 4)
Watson off the mark thanks to a misfield at midwicket that gives him three runs, then Smith off the mark coming down the pitch to Ashwin to loft four - he didn’t get great contact, but it went high over mid on and had just enough on it after pitching to get to the rope.
46th over: 204-2 (Watson 0, Smith 0)
So a double-century partnership, but suddenly Australia have to reset. Two batsmen on nought. A couple more wickets would shake things up.
WICKET! Rogers 95, b Shami
Arrrgh, Rogers! He’s been so set on cracking a hundred this series, and he’s made so many half-centuries, and he’s played so very well today. But he’s just fallen short, a ball after cracking Shami for another lovely straight drive. He tried to repeat the shot, got an inside edge and it smashed middle stump. As Rogers threw his head back in anguish and began walking off, the crowd rose in a century-worthy ovation. Poor bugger.
189 minutes, 160 balls, 13 fours.
45th over: 200-1 (Rogers 91, Watson 0)
That over began with some sort of shot from Rogers. Ashwin bowled outside off, having brought in that second slip, and Rogers late-cuts between the two slips. Then he tried to sweep, top-edged it into his helmet and was almost caught on the rebound by a diving Raina running back from slip.
That got them a single and completed a 200-run partnership. But no sooner than it was raised than - at last, at last - a wicket, and it was Warner who fell.
Shane Watson walks to the wicket. He cracks his first ball off his pads, but hits the short leg fieldsman and can’t get a run.
WICKET! Warner 101, c Vijay b Ashwin
Finally! A weird sort of no-shot from Warner, he just pushed at a ball outside off, and as it happens Kohli had just brought in a second slip. Another top-drawer innings from David Warner, but it has come to an end.
182 minutes, 114 balls, 16 fours.
Updated
44th over: 195-0 (Rogers 86, Warner 100)
Rogers faces up to Shami, then drives dead straight as he’s done several times today. This time he’s only getting two runs, then he’s playing the whip-drive behind point for three from the next ball.
Updated
43rd over: 190-0 (Rogers 81, Warner 100)
Rogers getting a little bogged down against Ashwin in this over: a thick edge along the ground, a couple of shots to the field. He finds a single from the final ball.
Phil Withall suggests “Maybe the Indians can take a tiny grain of hope (if such a thing exists) from the events in Wellington. The Kiwi boys have turned a seemingly hopeless position around and are grinding out a potentially match winning lead.”
Updated
Century! Warner 100 (108 balls, 16 fours)
42nd over: 0-189 (Rogers 80, Warner 100)
There it is, a huge roar from Warner in celebration as he pulls Shami through square leg for four and reaches his 12th Test century. He started with two hundreds in Adelaide, didn’t make many runs in Melbourne or Brisbane, but is back with a clearly emotional century on his home ground. This man is an extraordinary cricketer, a revelation of the game’s modern age.
Here are David Warner’s most recent scores.
115, 70, 66, 135, 145, 133, 29, 19, 58, 145, 102, 29, 6, 0, 40, 100*.
41st over: 0-183 (Rogers 79, Warner 96)
Rogers has been standing still the last few overs, but gets along with a single now. Warner does the same. Commentators keep calling for Ashwin to change ends to where he was bowling this morning, but not to be.
40th over: 0-181 (Rogers 78, Warner 95)
Ton Watch! The race is on. Kumar was lulled with three quiet balls, then David Warner pounces with a crisp on-drive that beats Yadav’s dive, then a beefy pull as Kumar gets short, and that also goes for four.
39th over: 0-173 (Rogers 78, Warner 87)
Now it’s just Warner in singles. Ashwin concedes only a run, as a slightly bored crowd are reminded about various rules and penalties on the scoreboard screens.
38th over: 0-172 (Rogers 78, Warner 86)
Just a Warner single from Kumar’s over, but he’s still going at 3.8 an over. India are just waiting now.
37th over: 0-1 (Rogers 78, Warner 85)
Shot. Ashwin loops one up, Rogers waits for it to float to him and pitch, then drives as late as he possibly can, away square for four. Then Rogers plays a careful dab behind point and gets three more runs, Warner hustling back. Rogers has moved to within one run of Warner, so Warner hits the pedal once more, lofting a big slog sweep against Ashwin over square before taking a single.
13 from the over, and suddenly the economical Ashwin is taking some tap as well.
36th over: 0-158 (Rogers 71, Warner 79)
Just a couple from Kumar’s over, worked off the pads by Rogers. This partnership is becoming demoralising.
35th over: 0-156 (Rogers 69, Warner 79)
Aww, there’s a shot. Ashwin has been playing a line outside the off stump, coming around the wicket. Warner decides to make use of that with a switch hit. He changes his feet over, doesn’t switch his hands but makes sweet contact with the switch-hit sweep. Momentarily becoming a right-handed batsman, he sends the ball through the left-hander’s third man.
34th over: 0-152 (Rogers 69, Warner 75)
Bhuvneshwar Kumar returns, and isn’t welcomed very kindly by Rogers. First there’s a straight drive, again right back down the pitch and smacked away for four. Then there’s a shot, nearly as straight with the front elbow high, but the bat face is opened enough to send that ball through cover instead. Rogers has not yet surrendered the pursuit of his batting partner.
There’s the Aus 150.
Updated
33rd over: 0-143 (Rogers 61, Warner 74)
Just the single from Ashwin’s over, he’s trying to bring the control back.
32nd over: 0-142 (Rogers 61, Warner 73)
Yadav is copping some stick today. He’s going for more than seven an over thus far, and starts this over with two boundaries to Warner. Both short and wide, both crashed square. Then a single to cover. Warner accelerates clear of Rogers once more.
Updated
31st over: 0-133 (Rogers 61, Warner 64)
Ashwin has changed ends, now bowling with the Churchill Stand at his back, and he’s looping them high in his first over after lunch. Warner takes one of the first ball, then Rogers square-drives the fifth ball away behind point. It’s half stopped, and keeps him to two runs.
Updated
30th over: 0-130 (Rogers 59, Warner 63)
So nearly a good over from Yadav. The dry line to Rogers kept him quiet, pushing and prodding here and there. But the last ball was too full and Rogers creamed it through cover to the verge. The supposed slow man is still keeping pace with the supposed dasher.
29th over: 0-126 (Rogers 55, Warner 63)
And we’re away after the Sandwich Interval. Shami is the starting man, and he’s bowling too straight and being worked away for a single and a brace through midwicket.
Lunch - Australia 123/0
It shouldn’t necessarily have been a dominant session for Australia, with catches dropped and chances missed, but it was. Chris Rogers was put down at slip but has gone on to another 50 in what will likely be his final Test match in Australia. David Warner survived plenty of dicey strokes in his first 30 or so runs, but has gone to lunch on the poignant mark of 63 not out. A plaque dedicated to Phillip Hughes was unveiled at the Sydney Cricket Ground this morning.
Australia will resume after lunch in a strong position, but a bit of interest has been generated by Ravi Ashwin, India’s tall off-spinner, in the last couple of overs, so we shall wait and see if India can collect themselves, find some spin, find some reverse swing, find some life and hope, and bring the challenge back to the hosts.
I’m Geoff Lemon, back with you in about half an hour.
28th over: 0-123 (Rogers 51, Warner 63)
Half century! Rogers sweeps Ashwin for two to raise his milestone. 55, 55, 57, 69 and 51* have been his last five innings this series. That took 91 balls. He finishes the over with a single, and that’s lunch.
27th over: 0-120 (Rogers 49, Warner 63)
Another symbolic moment in a series rich with them. David Warner nudges Shami behind square for a single to move to 63 not out. The mark has been acknowledged throughout the series, but today it’s different. Warner walks over to the spot on the adjoining pitch where Phillip Hughes fell last November, some patches of that pitch still visible under the regrown grass. At what would have been the batsman’s mark, Warner kneels and kisses the turf, and with that there’s a certain feeling of things coming full circle.
26th over: 0-118 (Rogers 48, Warner 62)
Oh, hello. There you are. Ashwin has come around the wicket and suddenly it’s a different game. Warnie reckons this pitch is dry and will spin later in the match, and on that evidence he might be right. A beauty, as Ashwin drifts in toward off stump, then straightens the ball right past Roger’s edge, directly toward his off stump, but it bounces enough to clear the bail. Great fortune.
Vernon Kringas is pulling no punches. “I find it staggering that such an accomplished and experienced batsman as Chris Rogers hasn’t got a clue how to score off decent spin bowling. He is moribund at the crease.” A little harsh, methinks, but points for vocab.
25th over: 0-118 (Rogers 48, Warner 62)
Four! A nice wide one from Shami, and Rogers launched into the square drive backward of point. So many four-balls.
24th over: 0-113 (Rogers 43, Warner 62)
Another less than stellar effort from KL Rahul, as Warner prods weirdly at a wider ball from Ashwin, turning away from him. It lobbed gently out to point, and Rahul was just backward of point and too slow to move. That ball looped out and hit the turf in front of his diving hands, but if he’d been faster off the mark then he would have got there. Test cricket hasn’t been much fun for him so far. Maiden.
23rd over: 0-113 (Rogers 43, Warner 62)
Kumar hitting the pad a couple of times but harmlessly. Two leg byes are the result, plus a Rogers single. All India can really do now is hold up the scoring and wait.
22nd over: 0-110 (Rogers 42, Warner 62)
Warner often seems slightly less dominant against spin than pace, but he has no problem swatting an Ashwin half-tracker to the square leg fence.
21st over: 0-105 (Rogers 42, Warner 57)
Just three runs from Kumar’s next over, but no threat. “Have the Indian team been taking Dhoni pills?” asks Wendy Cowling. “Surely Kholi won’t put up with the bowlers being inefficient and lackadaisical for much longer?”
I’m assuming tongue is in cheek there. Not much a captain can do if he doesn’t have the horsepower. A dead flat first-day pitch in bright sunshine doesn’t help.
20th over: 0-102 (Rogers 40, Warner 56)
Ravi Ashwin was bowling a quiet over there, but Warner didn’t like that idea. He comes down the wicket to the fifth ball, doesn’t get to the pitch of it but carries through with the shot, and drives it flat through cover, in the air but speeding away to the rope. Then he calmly takes the single to square next ball.
That’s the hundred partnership up by midday, in the space of 119 balls.
19th over: 0-97 (Rogers 40, Warner 51)
Half century. Warner just can’t help making runs at the moment. There’s another half century for him as he tucks Kumar off the pads for two. Warner looked shocking this morning but has still managed to trip over another 50.
18th over: 0-94 (Rogers 40, Warner 48)
This is turning into a procession, Warner on course for another milestone, Rogers as well, plus another hundred partnership for these two on the cards. Ashwin bowls a maiden to Rogers, which today is an event in itself.
@GeoffLemonSport Tests are wondrously unpredictable, but India seem determined to make outcome of this match inevitable from lunch on day 1
— Chris Langmead (@chrislangmead) January 6, 2015
17th over: 0-94 (Rogers 40, Warner 48)
A couple of singles from Yadav, then Warner crashes a short ball through cover! That was more a cut than a drive but it went well forward of square. He closes out the over with two more boundaries, the first one short at the ribs but he swivels and strikes it well, away behind square, then a decent ball on a length outside off but Warner gets forward to it and plays almost a checked drive that was just perfectly placed and splits the field at cover. He well and truly regains the lead.
16th over: 0-80 (Rogers 39, Warner 35)
Warner gets a single from Ashwin’s first ball, the spinner bowling from the Members end of the ground, then Rogers dots out the rest of that over.
15th over: 0-79 (Rogers 39, Warner 34)
Rogers is in fine fettle this morning. Gets a fuller ball from Yadav and takes four through midwicket with great crispness, and increases his lead over Warner.
14th over: 0-75 (Rogers 35, Warner 34)
Time for spin: Ravi Ashwin appears to bowl the first over after drinks. Rogers is able to get his cuts on, first a late one for two runs, then a squarer cut for a single. Plenty of flight from Ashwin. The pitch looks very blank, it must be said. Rogers sneaks back to the runscoring lead.
13th over: 0-72 (Rogers 32, Warner 34)
Yadav isn’t going for many, but Australia don’t really need him to. Rogers and Warner each work a single before Rogers takes the fifth ball through cover for three runs. That takes us to drinks, and a dominant if fortunate first hour for Australia.
@GeoffLemonSport T20 was supposed to create batsmen who can't build innings. Instead, it's created bowlers who can't take wickets.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) January 6, 2015
12th over: 0-67 (Rogers 28, Warner 33)
Shami was the boundary man in Melbourne, and he’s walloped by Warner from his first ball here. That was Warner’s first convicncing shot of the day, a mighty cover drive on the up, really bashed that ball away. They take a single then Rogers gets a short ball, not enough elevation on it, and he crunches the pull shot in a fashion more suited to his partner.
This was what Shami did so often last time around... The two or three boundary over that alleviated any pressure his teammates could build. But then he’s also had a number of chances missed this series, so he does create danger.
Shami isn’t prepared to give up the short-pitched attack, and Rogers pulls another run to backward square. 10 runs from the over.
11th over: 0-57 (Rogers 23, Warner 28)
Umesh Yadav replaces Kumar from the Clive Churchill end, and the over passes uneventfully as Warner takes a single from the fifth ball.
10th over: 0-56 (Rogers 23, Warner 27)
Warner’s befuddlement continues, swatting a defensive shot at a Shami ball that beats him comprehensively by seaming away. Then he’s edging to gully again. Finally he lays bat on one in the manner he intended, again waiting on ball to steer three runs toward third man. He’s overtaken Rogers again, the natural order is restored.
9th over: 0-51 (Rogers 23, Warner 22)
Just a single from Kumar’s over now, he’s tightened up considerably after a profligate start.
Updated
8th over: 0-50 (Rogers 23, Warner 21)
Dropped! Ach, that’s a shocker for India! They’ve dropped Dhawan, their usual second slip, and KL Rahul has taken his fielding position as well as his batting spot. Rahul has performed about as well there as he did with the bat in Melbourne, as Rogers gets a big edge from Shami which carries straight to Rahul and is put down. That was as straightforward as they come, as Rogers pushed hard at the ball with his hands in front of his body. That’s awful cricket, Rahul just went too hard at the catch as well.
Naturally, Shami serves up a short and very wide ball next up, and Rogers swats an inelegant cut shot for four. There’s the Aussie 50.
7th over: 0-46 (Rogers 19, Warner 21)
Just a couple of singles from Kumar’s over, as the Aussies relax a little. They’ve been scoring heavily without going that hard at the bowling. It’s just that Rogers has put a few away, Warner has had plenty of luck, and the Indian bowlers have sent down some raggedness.
6th over: 0-44 (Rogers 18, Warner 20)
Warner’s dicey innings continues with a big edge from Shami through third slip. India have two gullies instead. Warner gets four. Then bunts and runs a single to cover.
Updated
5th over: 0-39 (Rogers 18, Warner 15)
Rogers is all over this bowling, and is ahead of Warner. A deuce through midwicket from Kumar, then a four driven straight down the pitch.
@GeoffLemonSport is it to early to call the result. Indian body language already looking dejected. Could be a painful few days for them
— phil withall (@phil_withall) January 5, 2015
Updated
4th over: 0-33 (Rogers 12, Warner 15)
Warner is having a horrible over that is getting him lots of runs. Edges a dot ball to gully. Inside-edges two runs to square leg. Then an inside edge from a massive drive, past the stumps for four to fine leg. Plus Yadav threw in a bouncer that had Warner flinching but cleared the keeper for five wides.
Warne says Warner's going to go beserk on this flat belter of a wicket, which he assures us will also seam and spin to compliment the swing.
— Vithushan (@Vitu_E) January 5, 2015
3rd over: 0-22 (Rogers 12, Warner 9)
Now a first boundary for Rogers, as he drives a wide Kumar ball off the open face past gully. He blocks out the next three balls but cover-drives the fifth for four more!
Rogers ton. Yep, early, but I’m calling it now.
“Happy New Year Geoff,” says a conscientious Matt Harris - none of the rest of you bothered. “What’s your take on the weird selections for the Indian side? Mix it up because it’s a dead rubber? BCCI politics trumping good judgement? Has anyone ever deserved a promotion up the order less than KL Rahul?”
I can only guess they wanted to give some reserve players a run now that the series is lost. But surely their priority should be to win a Test and end with a respectable 2-1 scoreline? For that you need Aaron, best hope of shocking a few wickets. And you need Pujara, your most blue-chip bat after Kohli.
Rahul has been promoted because he’s an opener domestically, and looked shocking down the order. Plus Dhawan hasn’t done much for a while except when he came back from injury as a tailender in Brisbane. But why bring back Rohit at Pujara’s expense?
2nd over: 0-14 (Rogers 4, Warner 9)
It’s Yadav to commence from the Members End of the ground, the old pavilion at his back as Warner is defensively driving him for three runs. Yadav makes Rogers hop with a ball back of a length, before slipping in a fuller swinging ball that takes the batsman on the pad but would have just missed leg. They take the leg bye, then Warner tries an ambitious swat through square that he can only bottom-edge to slip. His next shot is more deft, waiting on the ball to steer a late cut to the third man boundary. Runs-a-many.
1st over: 0-6 (Rogers 4, Warner 2)
And we’re away. Bhuvneshwar is opening the bowling in Ishant’s absence. Good signs for Australia as Rogers taps the first ball away through midwicket for three. I’ve got a little feeling that Rogers could be set for a big one. Memories of the way he made the SCG his playground in the corresponding fixture last summer, perhaps. Kumar getting far too straight to these left-handers early, and with the minimum of fuss they’re able to collect three more singles to the leg-side.
Weirdness ahoy in the Indian camp as far as selections go. Saha in for Dhoni was expected. Pujara left out for Rohit Sharma? Is this a training drill? Dhawan left out and KL Rahul promoted to open. Nope. Suresh Raina in at 6 thanks to that decision. Then Varun Aaron hasn’t been included even after travelling back from India, and Mohammed Shami has been given another run despite bowling tripe in Melbourne. Ishant is also out, probably so he can rest, while Buvi Kumar is in. But only one spinner, unless you count Rohit as back-up.
Australia have only changed Starc for Johnson.
Australia
Chris Rogers
David Warner
Shane Watson
Steven Smith*
Shaun Marsh
Joe Burns
Brad Haddin**
Ryan Harris
Mitchell Starc
Josh Hazlewood
Nathan Lyon
India
Murali Vijay
KL Rahul
Rohit Sharma
Virat Kohli*
Ajinkya Rahane
Suresh Raina
Wriddhiman Saha**
Ravichandran Ashwin
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Mohammed Shami
Umesh Yadav
Ahoy sailors. The ship of cricket is about to set sail on the turbulent sea of an extended metaphor that I can’t be bothered pursuing. This is indeed Geoff Lemon on your horizon, chasing down your humble vessel with plunder on his mind. The mighty pennants of Australia and India are being held by several professional clothes racks out on the turf of the SCG, and as Billy Joel might have said had he been a different person, it’s a pretty good crowd for a Tuesday morning.
We stand poised for the fourth and final contest of what has been an excellent series. Admittedly the results haven’t been too far from what anyone predicted, with two Australian wins and a close-run draw thus far. But there have been changes and upheaval aplenty in the worlds of both Indian and Australian cricket in the past few weeks: the well known story of Phillip Hughes, of course; the rescheduled Tests, the injured absence of one Test captain, the retirement of another, and the emergence of two young captains going head to head in a run-scoring Thunderdome contest.
Now comes the time for chapter final. Get ready, strap on your pants, and let’s play.
Geoff Lemon will be here shortly to guide you through the opening exchanges on the first day of this fourth Test, a match that is sure to prompt some pretty raw emotions, given the recent tragic events out there in the middle.
Australia have made one change, with Mitchell Starc replacing injured paceman Mitchell Johnson in the XI that played the third Test in Melbourne.
He’s got a little hamstring strain. I think there’s no secret there’s a pretty big summer coming up. We want him to be fresh for the one-dayers and World Cup coming up. We don’t want to risk him.
Read the full story here.
