And one final thing: here’s the match report from Adam Collins in Ranchi.
It all started for Australia on day one with Matthew Renshaw and David Warner. Another 50 partnership. Then Steve Smith, batting forever and ever. Then Glenn Maxwell, the good news story, grinding out an atypical ton and reaching that milestone for the first time in Tests. The second Australian to do it in all three international formats. Smith’s 19th ton, 361 balls, unbeaten.
Then India. Runs from everywhere, bar their captain. Doing it without him, unworried. Grinding Australia into the dirt. Rahul and Vijay opening with fifties, then Pujara’s long-haul double hundred, and Saha’s down-the-order century addition. O’Keefe bowled 77 goddamn overs in the one innings. Maxwell bowled four. You do the maths.
At 152 behind after 210 overs in the field, you could have forgiven Australia for falling over. Especially at 2 for 23 overnight after a couple of overs late on Day 4. But no. They’ve been made of sterner stuff of late. One more long day of resistance, and the series is tied, with all to play for, in the final match.
The winner there will take the Border-Gavaskar trophy (soon to be renamed the Border-Kohli trophy in honour of good dogs everywhere), plus the series. We’ll of course be with you for all of it. See you then.
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Australia draws, the series is 1-1 going into the Dharamsala decider
What a performance from Australia. No touring side has batted out a fifth day draw in India since 2010/11, I’m reliably informed, but this sometimes fragile batting team has done it here. At four wickets down before lunch, with Smith and Renshaw done within four balls of one another, surely that must have been game over? But no. The erratic Shaun Marsh and the new boy Peter Handscomb batted through 62.1 overs to run down the clock, soak up the balls, and push Australia into the lead. Not a big one, but enough that India wouldn’t be able to chase it down. And even when Marsh fell, and Maxwell went quickly, there was not enough time left for India to force the result.
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100th over: Australia 204-6 (Handscomb 72, Wade 9)
Wide by Jadeja, and Handscomb punches another four. Takes his score into the 70s. They face out the over, then finally Kohli signals for the draw. The batsmen accept, and Australia have escaped.
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99th over: Australia 200-6 (Handscomb 68, Wade 9)
Smith lurks on the balcony. I don’t know why. Kohli is concentrating on the field. Ashwin is bowling. Wade is driving him through cover for four. The 200 is up. Starting to grasp the significance of this Australian performance, from where it began before lunch on this final day.
98th over: Australia 196-6 (Handscomb 68, Wade 5)
Handscomb is remaining oh-so-sensible and mature in the circumstances. No silly shots. Just another defensive over. Another Jadeja maiden. Apparently if Australia declared now India would need 44 from 2 overs. Or something.
97th over: Australia 196-6 (Handscomb 68, Wade 5)
Kohli has given up. I speculate. Watching him out there, his shoulders have finally slumped. Ashwin bowls on the pads and Wade punches four through midwicket. The lead is 44. Meaning that even if India ran through four more wickets in an over, they’d only have a couple of overs left to chase those runs.
96th over: Australia 192-6 (Handscomb 68, Wade 1)
Jadeja working away. Two singles, no real danger. “Let’s hope some of the England players are watching Handscomb and Marsh bat, eh?” emails Kevin Wilson. That seems like a turning of the tables, looking to Australians for tips on batting out a draw.
95th over: Australia 190-6 (Handscomb 67, Wade 0)
Wade in to weigh in. Defends two. Wicket maiden for Ashwin. His first from 28 overs.
WICKET! Maxwell c Vijay b Ashwin 2
Not that comfortable, ok then. Ashwin fires one in, Maxwell si trying to defend but goes with hard hands, gets an inside edge into his pad, it skips up to Vijay in close on the off side. Australia 38 in front with seven overs to play.
94th over: Australia 190-5 (Handscomb 67, Maxwell 2)
Jadeja. Handscomb edges into his pad. Then puches a single. Maxwell works another, he’s comfortable enough so far.
93rd over: Australia 188-5 (Handscomb 66, Maxwell 1)
Another appeal as Ashwin bowls, but Maxwell has been hit outside the line. Sees out the over competently enough, using his feet. He’s in the baggy green now, classic stuff.
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92nd over: Australia 188-5 (Handscomb 66, Maxwell 1)
Maxwellball. It’s that time. An appeal against Maxwell first ball as the contact may have been pad first. India’s players think about it but don’t review. Tension. He flicks a single to end the over.
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WICKET! Marsh c Vijay b Jadeja 53
Finally, India break a 124-run partnership that has saved a match for Australia. Floated down, Marsh plays yet another forward defence, edges to short leg and Vijay snaps it up. Australia 35 ahead with five in hand and 10 overs after this.
91st over: Australia 187-4 (Marsh 53, Handscomb 66)
That’s more like it! Spanked through square leg by Handscomb, as Sharma drops short and the in-touch batsman gets every bit of it, airborne but safe. Clunked.
90th over: Australia 183-4 (Marsh 53, Handscomb 62)
Another quick over from Jadeja, just the single from a Handscomb straight drive. That’s not going to get you to a hundred, feller.
89th over: Australia 182-4 (Marsh 53, Handscomb 61)
Finally, some pace. With an eight-over-old ball. Ishant Sharma hasn’t bowled for so long that he trips over his front leg and commando-rolls down the pitch in his follow-through. The Australians know this style of bowling better though. A Marsh glide to third man, a Handscomb flick to turn a dangerous full ball on the pads into a single to fine leg. With 13 overs left, should Handscomb hit out and go for a ton? Australia only 30 ahead. Risk-reward.
88th over: Australia 180-4 (Marsh 52, Handscomb 60)
Jadeja keeps wheeling away. Left-arm round the wicket to the right-handed Handscomb. Defending, then driving hard through cover. but there’s a man back there, no run. Nearly nicks the final ball as it spins away. But this isn’t India’s day. It ends up as another maiden. I’ll revise my 11 overs, this is actually the first of the last 15 overs required in the last hour. Should Australia declare and set India 60 from four overs? It would be pointless but fun. Like most limited-overs cricket.
Half century! Marsh 52 from 190 balls
87th over: Australia 180-4 (Marsh 52, Handscomb 60)
That warms the heart. Shaun Marsh gets a round of applause from Virat Kohli. Gets an equally unexpected round from various members of the Australian public. He’s done a job this series, first in Bengaluru and again here. Another long and determined innings. Raises the fifty with a straight drive after skipping down at Ashwin, finally choosing his preferred ball after seeing so many of them. 11 overs left at drinks, the last hour called by Gaffer Gaffaney, and Australia 28 runs to the good.
86th over: Australia 175-4 (Marsh 48, Handscomb 59)
Jadeja, another maiden. Gets one to bounce and rip and beat the outside edge of Marsh’s bat. But that’s it. For the last two sessions India’s bowlers have been all threat, no execution. Which is how you want your relationship with the Mafia to be.
85th over: Australia 174-4 (Marsh 48, Handscomb 58)
Another one-run over from Ashwin. 13 remaining. No sign of India’s quicks.
84th over: Australia 173-4 (Marsh 48, Handscomb 57)
“Gidday Geoff,” writes Roman from Thailand. “Following your posts on the Guardian website. Sounds like gripping & thrilling Test match cricket from two of cricket’s most combative & proud cricketing nations. Great to see! Should be an enthralling end to this Test.”
I think the end has more or less been decided now, though another dramatic Australian collapse could make it interesting. Handscomb works another single, and that’s it from the over.
83rd over: Australia 172-4 (Marsh 48, Handscomb 56)
Ashwin round the wicket, bowling flat and full at the left-handed Marsh. Gets through him, strikes him on the pad. India go for another wasted review. They love this stuff. Clearly that was going down leg. Gould the umpire again. Somehow, HawkEye is claiming that was clipping leg stump, when it looked like it would go six inches wide. But clipping is not enough to overturn the umpire’s correct call. Another maiden, but that’s just fine for Australia. Their lead is only 20, but they have only 15 overs to survive.
82nd over: Australia 172-4 (Marsh 48, Handscomb 56)
Marsh drives a single first ball, Jadeja into the covers. Handscomb isn’t exactly defending the rest, he nails one on the off side and one on the leg, but straight to the field.
81st over: Australia 171-4 (Marsh 47, Handscomb 56)
Except it won’t be India’s quicks with the new ball. It will be Ashwin at first. Inside edge from Marsh immediately. A couple of defensive strokes. Drives a quick single wide of mid on. Handscomb is struck from the last ball, almost in the stomach as he lunged forward in a crouching defensive position. Umpire Gould isn’t interested. Handscomb eschews the helmet at the end of the over for the baggy cap.
80th over: Australia 170-4 (Marsh 46, Handscomb 56)
Jadeja bowls the 80th. A maiden to Handscomb. A new ball will be available now, if India’s quicks want to use it. That might just help the Australians score more quickly though. The lead is up to 18. More importantly perhaps, the 80th over sees India get their reviews back. Get ready to burn, baby, burn.
79th over: Australia 170-4 (Marsh 46, Handscomb 56)
Ashwin. Marsh. Maiden.
I would write more but it would be a waste of internet ink.
78th over: Australia 170-4 (Marsh 46, Handscomb 56)
Handscomb finally living up to his billing as a good player of spin. He’s looked very comfortable out here today, and never more so than against a rare short ball from Jadeja. Crash. Cut shot. Four.
77th over: Australia 166-4 (Marsh 46, Handscomb 52)
Outlive. Outlast. Outmarsh. That is the Marsh motto, and he soaks up a Ravi Ashwin over like a washcloth on a kitchen spill.
76th over: Australia 166-4 (Marsh 46, Handscomb 52)
Marsh versus Jadeja. Defends, defends, defends. Gets a run when one ball keeps low and is edged on the bounce behind point. Fielded in the deep. Handscomb comes on strike, and gets a ball a bit like the Smith one. Except that Handscomb gets enough pad in the way. Jadeja appeals madly. But he’s bowling over the wicket, so he’s appealing madly for a ball that has pitched well outside leg. As he’s been appealing madly all day. It’s... kind of embarrassing. I don’t necessarily agree with the lbw law the way it’s written, but there’s no value in ignoring it completely.
Half century! Handscomb 50 from 126 balls
75th over: Australia 165-4 (Marsh 45, Handscomb 52)
Yadav continues. There’s that scent of desperation just starting to creep in. It’s like burning hair, distinctive and cuts through everything else. You never have to ask if it is what you think it is. He’s hammering the stumps, bowling yorkers to Handscomb, but the batsman is playing these ripping deliveries well, and when Yadav slips a bit too far towards leg stump, Handscomb works him through fine leg for four for the milestone. Handscomb has had a brief sojourn from making half-centuries, but now he’s back.
74th over: Australia 159-4 (Marsh 45, Handscomb 46)
Marsh is finding his way off strike easily enough now, working Jadeja to leg again. Handscomb immediately swaps back with a push to cover. Two runs from the over make it an expensive one by Jadeja’s standards.
73rd over: Australia 157-4 (Marsh 44, Handscomb 45)
Four! And Australia surge ahead. Yadav bowls straight, Marsh flicks behind square. That’s one of his best strokes, and he’s been very good today. Times it well enough to beat a weary Ashwin running around from a finer fine leg position. Marsh flicks a single towards Ashwin, straighter.
72nd over: Australia 151-4 (Marsh 39, Handscomb 45)
Jadeja will just attack the stumps all day. He has 3 for 34 from 29 overs. Marsh scrambles a leg bye after one hits him on the thigh, Handscomb was sharp to the chance for a run, and scores are level. Whatever Australia scores now, India has to knock off. That’s the only score, so its’ another maiden for the bowler. His 15th from what is now 30 overs. Absurd.
71st over: Australia 151-4 (Marsh 39, Handscomb 45)
Yadav to Handscomb and that is out. Except it isn’t. Isn’t given, that is. A fast fullish ball that cuts in off the pitch, beats the inside edge of the defensive stroke, and nails Handscomb on the back pad in front of middle. That is out, live, every single minute of every day. But Umpire Gould doesn’t give it. Thinks that the height may have spared Handscomb. Hit just above the knee roll, but he was way back on his stumps and it was his back leg. Kohli reviews, as you should, and misses out by about a millimetre. DRS shows it as umpire’s call, even though most of the ball is hitting most of the top of middle stump. Bad call for mine. A couple of balls later, Yadav gets one to keep low, and Handscomb jams down for a single. How close these margins. Marsh works a single from the last. The 150 is up.
70th over: Australia 149-4 (Marsh 38, Handscomb 44)
Ashwin to start things off. Nearly has Marsh stumped second ball, but the batsman just shoves the toe back behind the line before Saha gets the bails off. Just a leaning defensive stroke that dragged the batsman forward. Marsh faces out a maiden. The pitch is beginning to puff up.
Let’s have a look at the options. Australia could bat India out of the match. Australia could lose 6 for 11 again and India could knock off a few token runs. Australia could be bowled out after an hour at 60 or 70 ahead and leave India a tricky chase. Australia could be bowled out after an hour and a half at 60 ahead and leave India to make a crash-bash attempt to win. Australia could send Maxwell out to make a hundred from nine overs and then run through 10 Indian wickets in the last 20. Some of these things are more likely than others. But everything is on the table. Some things more on the table than others.
Hello friends, hello foes, hello family. Hello fingers, hello toes, hello ramblings. What a tasty scenario ahead of us. Thanks Russell, Geoff here, let’s do some cricketing. Drop me a line via the email on the left of screen, or the top if you’re on a phone, or twitter at me via @GeoffLemonSport.
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Tea on day five in Ranchi - Australia are batting beautifully
69th over: Australia 149-4 (Marsh 38, Handscomb 44)
And that is tea on day five. Australia’s Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb have survived the entire second session on a day-five pitch in India, which is a feat worthy of applause. The final over featured a flick to leg by Marsh, who trotted through for one, and Handscomb handled the rest with characteristic excellence, turning two runs to deep square leg and defending stoutly otherwise.
This has been the Victorian’s best innings of the series and what a time to produce it; backed against the wall with the series at stake. He finished it with a symbolic forward defence, leaning forward exaggeratedly to block with a perfectly straight bat and lift his team-mates to their feet in applause. The tourists trail by three runs and have six wickets in hand in the final session. The Australian I most envy? Geoff Lemon, who will issue you the final rites this absorbing Test.
68th over: Australia 146-4 (Marsh 37, Handscomb 42)
Some minor drama here as Handscomb skips down the track and misses an attempted flick to leg. It hit him in line but would have spun past leg stump, and the home side knew it. There is plenty of noise and puffs of dust in the Ashwin over, but no breakthrough. A positive for India: he got through it quick enough for Jadeja to bowl one more.
67th over: Australia 145-4 (Marsh 36, Handscomb 42)
If Jadeja and Ashwin play their cards right here this could be the first of three overs before tea, though it’s a moot point anyway with the Australian pair handling things so well. My worry, for Australia: a break in the momentum they’ve built in this session favours India and India alone. Another maiden for Jadeja. He’s collected those at will today.
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66th over: Australia 145-4 (Marsh 36, Handscomb 42)
With no offence to his dear Mum, Robert Lewis drops by now with a craptacular Ranchi anecdote in keeping with India’s bowling efforts in this session. “Just thought I’d drop by at this tense moment to tell you – apropos of nothing at all – that my Mum was born in Ranchi in 1923,” he writes. “She’s still going strong at 93. I visited the city in 1975, on my way back from Australia. I can remember almost nothing about it. Pretty dull place, really. Good bung lassi though.”
Patrick O’Brien has his eye on the clock: “If this match goes into an eighth day Australia should have a pretty handy 100 run lead,” he says. A single to Handscomb in this Ashwin over moves them a little closer, though the spinner also produced an absolute corker to beat Marsh’s outside edge with the final delivery.
65th over: Australia 144-4 (Marsh 36, Handscomb 41)
Vis a vis Michael Clarke’s soft ball insights of earlier, India now request a harder one. Ian Gould tells them to turn it up, and well he might. He also says no to a Ravindra Jadeja LBW appeal against Marsh, which wouldn’t have hit Wriddhiman Saha in his protective box if he was doing a star jump. India are getting a bit desperate now. Australia trail by just eight runs.
64th over: Australia 143-4 (Marsh 36, Handscomb 40)
Ashwin continues, and the Australians have 15 minutes to see off the pre-Tea threat. So often in this series a wicket has fallen with the end of a session in sight. Both batsmen will be desperate to avoid that fate. Another thing: I can’t help but feel as though denying Ashwin any wickets today could be a symbolic blow for the likes of Handscomb when he and his younger cohorts return for other Indian trips. Right now they’re blunting India’s spin spearhead on his own decks. Australia don’t have a history of doing that.
63rd over: Australia 141-4 (Marsh 35, Handscomb 39)
Scrap everything I said before: Jadeja has merely changed ends, so Ashwin might have been a fill-in. Or he’ll keep bowling and Ishant is gone from the attack. Kohli might as well throw Wriddhiman Saha the ball, to be frank. Handscomb is defending with aplomb and ever-alert to runs. Jadeja was jumping around like John Lydon earlier, and bowling with venom. Now he’s just another trundler.
62nd over: Australia 139-4 (Marsh 35, Handscomb 37)
Interesting. Ashwin didn’t set the world on fire earlier but now he replaces Jadeja – India’s biggest threat. KL Rahul is the man in Virat Kohli’s crosshairs in this over. He fields a ball at deep mid-wicket and sends in a woeful through to Wriddhiman Saha. It sails straight over the keeper’s head and runs away for four overthrows. Not great.
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61st over: Australia 134-4 (Marsh 35, Handscomb 32)
Like a faithful basset hound, Ishant’s long and longing face tell the tale of a bowler not being rewarded for his wholehearted efforts. He removed Matt Renshaw earlier in the day with a low skidder, but Handscomb does his Handscomb thing here and gets a single from the second delivery of the over. That forces the bowler to adjust for the left-handed Marsh. The Australian batsmen are settled, but the bowler is not. One thing Ishant does have going for him is reverse swing, and he bowls a gem of an in-swinger to Marsh, who is nevertheless solid in defending it. With 25 minutes left in this second session, Australia trail by 18 runs and the Marsh-Handscomb partnership is worth 71 from 31.5 overs.
60th over: Australia 133-4 (Marsh 35, Handscomb 31)
There is a little bit of a pattern developing here, and it works perfectly for Australia: Handscomb gets a single early in the over and Shaun Marsh absorbs the rest. He has two slightly hairy moments in this over, moving back and across to defend Jadeja and then getting a leading edge to a forward defence. Neither goes close to doing him in though, so wotevs, as the kids probably don’t even say anymore.
59th over: Australia 132-4 (Marsh 35, Handscomb 30)
Ashwin’s nightmare over a few minutes ago comes with repercussions; he’s banished from the attack and Ishant returns with some pace. With Marsh on strike the big quick has two slips and a short mid-wicket, and soon a short leg moves in too. None troubles Marsh too much, because he’s moving through this final day in determined silence, like Alain Delon’s ice-cold hitman Jef Costello in Le Samourai.
58th over: Australia 131-4 (Marsh 35, Handscomb 29)
There is a layer of comedy underlying this Australian effort, it has to be said. Remember a week ago when the travelling press was claiming skullduggery at their first sight of this pitch? How surreal it would be if Australia confidently bats out a final day spin onslaught in India. Maiden for Jadeja, though it’s not as pregnant with possibilities as his pre-lunch efforts.
57th over: Australia 131-4 (Marsh 35, Handscomb 29)
Ashwin errs too, offering up a full toss for Handscomb as the batsman advances down the wicket and batters the ball through mid-wicket for four. A few balls later Handscomb shuffles back and cuts hard through cover to get four more, then makes it three boundaries in the over with an imperious on-drive. Ashwin is bowling like a drain. Australia trail by only 21 now; only 40 minutes from tea they’re look increasingly capable of forcing a draw to keep themselves in the series. Let’s be honest: a winner-takes-all fourth Test is a dream scenario for all concerned.
56th over: Australia 117-4 (Marsh 34, Handscomb 16)
Marsh puts his foot down now, latching onto a rare bit of flight from Jadeja and driving square on the half-volley to claim a boundary from the spinner; they’ve been as rare as hen’s teeth today. I tell you what else is rare: Australians actually making things. A friend has just sent me a rather depressing video from inside the old R.M. Crockett cricket equipment factory in Melbourne’s west. It’s been converted into “warehouse-style” apartments. Of course it has.
55th over: Australia 113-4 (Marsh 30, Handscomb 16)
Marsh has an opportunity to hammer an Ashwin full toss into the heavens here but he’s set on defence, so merely pats it along the ground for a single to mid-on. A few more singles are handy runs, pushing Australia along to trail by just 39 runs. With that the partnership between Handscomb and Marsh is worth 50 from 156 deliveries.
54th over: Australia 109-4 (Marsh 28, Handscomb 14)
Jadeja welcomes Handscomb back from the drinks break with a straight and not entirely penetrating over, and the batsman punches a back-foot drive out to deep points to finish the over and retain the strike.
“I can’t help but agree with Julian Barrell (45th over),” writes Phil Withall. “I have a similar thing going with David Warner. I find, most of the time, his demeanour and aggressive batting style painfully self-centred and rarely in sync with the match situation. However, every now and again I find myself admiring his raw, brutal talent. On those occasions I find watching ten minutes of Geoff Boycott at his obstinate best a handy restorative.”
53rd over: Australia 108-4 (Marsh 28, Handscomb 13)
Ashwin has a slip, a leg slip and a short leg for Shaun Marsh, who continues with his reverse-Gooch pad work. I wouldn’t say he’s making batting look easy, but for Australia’s sake there is certainly a comforting level of security in his defence. Another maiden, and that is drinks.
52nd over: Australia 108-4 (Marsh 28, Handscomb 13)
It’s been an enigmatic series for Handscomb so far; he’s never looked significantly troubled by the bowling but he just keeps getting himself out once he’s in. On that note, he’s now in the danger period – 13 from 67 deliveries as Jadeja spins one past his outside edge. No nick. Maiden. Eleven maidens for Jadeja. The outfielders could have a stretch while he’s bowling.
51st over: Australia 108-4 (Marsh 28, Handscomb 13)
I spend a fair bit of time laying into Brett Lee and Matthew Hayden, so it is only fair to point out that Michael Clarke is growing into a quite shrewd analyst early in his TV career, because he offers insights beyond the bleeding obvious. In this over he’s talking about the softening of the ball, which is a step up from pizza toppings. It’s a maiden for Ashwin and continues a period of intense pressure, though Jadeja remains the real threat.
50th over: Australia 108-4 (Marsh 28, Handscomb 13)
With the pace threat gone, Peter Handscomb calls for his baggy green cap. At the risk of labouring the point, this manoeuvre hasn’t always come up trumps for his team-mates in this series. Jadeja has a slip, a silly point and a short leg, but no luck drawing a rash stroke from the Victorian. Maiden. Jadeja now has 10 of those in his 3-22 from 20 overs.
49th over: Australia 108-4 (Marsh 28, Handscomb 13)
Michael Clarke’s mooted Umesh-Ashwin switcheroo finally happens, and the batsmen have about ten minutes to get through before they stop for a drink, which is among many mini-milestones they’ll hope to tick off. Handscomb advances to the off-spinner and turns a single through mid-wicket, and there was one earlier in the over for Marsh.
48th over: Australia 106-4 (Marsh 27, Handscomb 12)
First delivery of this over from the returning Ravindra Jadeja draws an unhinged celebr-appeal from the bowler when Handscomb bends his front leg forward to pad up. It was a very hopeful shout, but Jadeja carries on as though he’s watching Shane Warne’s Gatting ball for the first time. If he actually takes a wicket he might combust. We’re half an hour and ten minutes from tea now, and Australia are set to face spin from both ends for the first time today.
47th over: Australia 106-4 (Marsh 27, Handscomb 12)
So yes, it was more Umesh in this over, and more of the same from him. The partnership is now worth 43 runs from 108 deliveries, which is putting Australia in a far better position to secure a draw than many of us expected two hours ago. In Marsh we trust? Australia trail by 46 runs, and India desperately need a wicket.
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Not out! Marsh survives
Not only was it hitting him outside the line of off stump, but it also pitched outside leg stump. Kohli chuckles and raises an apologetic hand to his bowler, who wasn’t entirely committed himself. A terrible review, really.
REVIEW! Virat Kohli thinks Marsh might have been trapped in front by Umesh
But he shrugs those infamous shoulders as his as he calls for it, which doesn’t fill India with hope. This is a speculative review at best. Marsh shouldered arms but it appeared to hit him outside the line of off stump.
46th over: Australia 105-4 (Marsh 27, Handscomb 11)
Ashwin continues with a maiden at the same end, so Michael Clarke will not get his wish just yet. As that is happening Ruth Purdue arrives with a question, which is so wide in its scope I have trouble offering much in the way of a coherent response. “Is Brett Lee the antithesis of Matthew Hayden?” she writes. They’re both the antithesis of informative commentators, I know that.
45th over: Australia 105-4 (Marsh 27, Handscomb 11)
The law of diminishing Yadavs continue to be proven here, with Umesh groaning his way through an unimposing over. Michael Clarke reckons Ashwin should be bowling from Umesh’s end, and Jadeja from Ashwin’s. Virat Kohli had a word to Ashwin at the end of the last over, so that may well happen. Australia trail by 47 runs now, so Kohli has some thinking to do. A 60-run chase in the third session is far from ideal for India.
Julian Barrell has a question. “When India last toured England I couldn’t stand Jadeja and all his rowing with Jimmy Anderson; but during our 4-0 thrashing last autumn I couldn’t help but start to admire his cricket and now I think he’s awesome and following him nail the Aussies is hugely satisfying. Anyone else feel the same?”
44th over: Australia 101-4 (Marsh 27, Handscomb 8)
Wonderful stuff here by the newly-confident Marsh, who takes half a little shimmy-step down the track to Ashwin and then cracks a quite sublime on drive to the rope to take Australia past 100. You don’t say this often, but I reckon it’s time to give Ashwin a rest. Ravindra Jadeja is the man for the occasion here.
43rd over: Australia 97-4 (Marsh 23, Handscomb 8)
Umesh continues to Marsh, who I’ve been describing in slightly unflattering terms of late. In actual fact, he’s starting to look a bit more comfortable against the paceman now, mainly I think because Umesh is angling it too far across him towards the slips. “He’s a very, very nice fella, Shaun Marsh,” says Brett Lee with typically searing insight. Marsh gets a very, very nice single, and that’s about it for the over.
42nd over: Australia 96-4 (Marsh 22, Handscomb 8)
Holy moly. Handscomb advances down the pitch to a full toss but he almost cracks it straight into the hands of the man at short mid-wicket, and the Indians around the bat are really whooping it up at the prospect of a wicket. Still, had he timed it, Handscomb would have just as easily smoked that for a boundary.
41st over: Australia 96-4 (Marsh 22, Handscomb 8)
Much like Steve Smith earlier, Handscomb leads India to believe he’s an LBW candidate with that shuffle across in front of his stumps. He almost refuses to use his front foot to the quicks, so Umesh is looking to send a low shooter into his stumps and almost succeeds but for an inside edge. To fuller balls outside off stump, Marsh is swishing his way through that lovely Trescothickesque leave of his. It’s a stylish leave, though not as stylish as the straight drives he cannons past Umesh when the paceman over-pitches. That’s four bits. Australia now trail by 56. Maybe they can make India bat again.
Handscomb dropped by Karun Nair!
40th over: Australia 91-4 (Marsh 18, Handscomb 7)
A drop! It was a tough but very gettable chance for Karun Nair at short leg. Handscomb was forward and flicking it towards the man under the lid. Nair keeps low enough, and shifts his hands to the right quickly enough, but the ball doesn’t stick in either mitt. Ashwin is a little cheesed but he knows it was no fait accompli. A single to Handscomb to finish the over relieves Marsh of his ongoing ordeal at the hands of Umesh Yadav.
39th over: Australia 90-4 (Marsh 18, Handscomb 6)
Umesh is coming around the wicket to Marsh and first up this over he tails one away from the left-hander’s outside edge. The other arresting sight early in the over is the neat queue of three helmets strategically placed behind wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha. They act as a warning for what’s to come in the next over. But to matters present: Umesh is bowling a treat in this over, and Marsh is doing nothing more positive than squirming his way through a thorough examination from the paceman. You wouldn’t be surprised if Umesh walked down the pitch and asked him to cough. Marsh survives the over without having to claim his Medicare rebate.
38th over: Australia 90-4 (Marsh 18, Handscomb 6)
Ashwin appears now for his second over, which means Ravindra Jadeja is taking his first break of the day after that sublime spell in the first session. Handscomb squirts one down the leg side and Rahane almost cleans up his mess at leg gully, diving athletically to his left but narrowly missing purchase on the ball. Marsh turns three through mid-wicket to finish the over, and looks far less jittery against the spinner.
37th over: Australia 86-4 (Marsh 15, Handscomb 5)
OK, we’re off and away in the session which may or may not seal Australia’s fate in this Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. Umesh Yadav is the bowler and Peter Handscomb the Australian batsman on strike. He neatly deposits one down to third man to pick up one, and Yadav soon has Marsh hopping in the air like he’s defending a corner. Two leg byes around the corner finish an over of odds and ends.
Signs of life? “Is it cowardly to pray for a monsoon?” asks reader Gervase Greene. No Gervase, no it’s not.
Here is #WinViz at the start of the afternoon session in Ranchi. Can Australia salvage a draw? #IndvAus pic.twitter.com/aSWj840Gp7
— The Cricket Prof. (@CricProf) March 20, 2017
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Australia complete a third of the day having lost only a quarter of their remaining batsmen. Massively on top. #INDvAUS
— Dan Liebke (@LiebCricket) March 20, 2017
What's happening in the cricket? Haven't had the chance to watch today #INDvAUS
— Mitchell Johnson (@MitchJohnson398) March 20, 2017
Lunch on day five in Ranchi - Australia are hanging on grimly
36th over: Australia 83-4 (Marsh 15, Handscomb 4)
And that is lunch on day five in Ranchi, ending a session in which Australia lost Matt Renshaw and Steve Smith in quick succession after they’d looked good to bat out the day. The last over of the session was not Jadeja’s best and Handcomb sent a compact drive through cover to finish it with three runs, but the Indian spinner has bowled his side into a commanding position here. His 3-22 from 18 overs has featured nine maidens and he might well bowl India to victory after lunch.
35th over: Australia 79-4 (Marsh 14, Handscomb 1)
Ravichandran Ashwin finally gets his first bowl of the morning, which is perhaps a bit harsh on India’s most prolific bowler of the decade. He has a throaty LBW shout against Marsh, but Ian Gould deems it to be hitting the batsman’s pad slightly outside the line of off stump. Marsh knows the danger here; Ashwin has nipped him out four times in Test, but he survives. We’ll have one more over from Jadeja.
34th over: Australia 78-4 (Marsh 13, Handscomb 1)
BREAKING: RAVINDRA JADEJA BOWLS BAD BALL. Incredible, I know. It’s short, straight, and Shaun Marsh recovers well enough from his surprise to whip it through mid-wicket for a boundary. That means Jadeja has 3-18 from 17 overs by the end of this one, which features a fast arm-ball that nearly does Handscomb in. He’s been a real handful for the Australians bowling unchanged throughout this session, the left-armer.
33rd over: Australia 73-4 (Marsh 8, Handscomb 1)
Kabir Sethi has a question. “Renshaw and now Smith – how much of this was because of the fracas at the start of Ishant’s last over? Did they get unsettled with all the chatter?” I think it definitely ruffled Renshaw, but then the ball that got him did keep very low, now that I see replays. Smith’s was just a minor lapse in concentration of the type we didn’t see from Pujara yesterday. Back in the moment, Ishant is now bowling a seventh over in the spell, so the best Ashwin can hope for is one speculative over before lunch. Four byes in this over are handy for Australia, because they’re still hoping to push past India’s total today and make them bat again. Right now they’re 79 runs away from that.
32nd over: Australia 65-4 (Marsh 6, Handscomb 0)
Handscomb is mindful of what happened to his skipper moments ago, so all of his forward movements to Jadeja are exaggerated, perhaps even a little too much so. His main intention, like Marsh’s, seems to be removing his bat from the path of the ball. That carries its own dangers. This is a torrid little spell to endure before lunch. Jadeja is looking a million bucks.
31st over: Australia 64-4 (Marsh 5, Handscomb 0)
Not surprisingly given the way he bowled in his last, Ishant is granted a sixth over in this spell. In truth it can only be a let-down given the theatrics of his last, and so it proves; Marsh has one eye on the clock and only plays when he really needs to, pushing a single towards gully from the final delivery but otherwise making sure ball doesn’t meet bat. With just under 20 minutes to go until lunch, survival is the name of the game.
30th over: Australia 63-4 (Marsh 4, Handscomb 0)
What a task Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb have ahead of them here. Handscomb is encircled by close-in fieldsmen for the final five deliveries of the Jadeja over but survives some nervy times.
WICKET! Smith bowled Jadeja 21 (Australia 64-4)
Jadeja clean bowls Steve Smith! Oh my word, that is a hammer blow for Australia’s chances, and their hero has departed shouldering arms, of all things. Mindful of the huge spin Jadeja was getting in the last over, Smith moves forward to one that angles in to about a leg stump line, but it spins across in front of his pad a little less than the outrageous turner of the last over and subsequently uproots Smith’s off stump. Australia are in disarray here, and Jadeja finally gets reward for a superb spell.
29th over: Australia 63-3 (Smith 21, Marsh 4)
Shaun Marsh gets an edgy boundary from the first ball he faces, but Ishant finishes a barnstorming over by angling a nasty one into the left-hander’s hip and he’s really hopping about as it thuds into him.
Updated
WICKET! Renshaw LBW Ishant 15 (Australia 59-3)
Ishant strikes! What a wicket this is for India as Ishant traps Matt Renshaw in front, and Ian Gould has no hesitation raising the finger. The prelude to that one was fascinating; Renshaw pulled away from the first delivery of the over, citing some kind of distraction near the sight screen. At the time, Ishant was almost into his delivery stride, so angrily piffed the ball down the pitch and Umpire Ian Gould to come in and settle a few tempers. Virat Kohli was in the thick of it, of course, and Steve Smith too when Ishant Sharma gave the Australian skipper a mouthful. Renshaw blocked the next ball and faced plenty of hostility from the big paceman in the aftermath, but Ishant then undid him with an absolute beauty.
Updated
28th over: Australia 59-2 (Renshaw 15, Smith 21)
Jadeja has 2-12 to his name as he enters his 14th over, and he rips an absolute peach of a delivery past the outside edge of Smith. To do that he came around the wicket, imparted untold revolutions on the ball to get it drifting in towards leg, and it just came screaming its way past Smith’s blade. No wicket, no run. Another maiden.
27th over: Australia 59-2 (Renshaw 15, Smith 21)
Virat Kohli stands cleaning his sunglasses now. Perhaps the sudden glare of the sun accounts for his sizeable frown, but he’s also got a worry or two as this session enters its final 40 minutes. Ravindra Jadeja has been a constant threat this morning but neither he nor the quicks have taken a wicket. The two Australian batsmen are entrenched, and very set in their disciplined approach. They’re not going to hand this to India. Time for some Ravichandran Ashwin? I think it might be.
26th over: Australia 58-2 (Renshaw 15, Smith 20)
Renshaw is really surrounded now. There is a slip, a short leg, a leg gully and a leg slip. Neither him, them, nor Wriddhiman Saha get near a vicious turner from Jadeja; the ball rears up out of the rough and flashes past the batsman’s hip for four byes. Nightmarish.
25th over: Australia 54-2 (Renshaw 15, Smith 20)
We’re back now with more Ishant and as he steams in towards Renshaw, I’ve just realised an email has arrived from the Wisden Collectors Club (yes, I am a member of the Wisden Collectors Club, and you should be too). Good news: only 18 sleeps until the new one hits the shelves. I have a custom-built shelf for all mine. It runs the length of my office, which is only slightly less sad than the collector who apparently had one built into the foot of his bed, so his precious Wisdens were never far from reach. 50 Shades of Yellow? A no-ball from Ishant takes Australia to 50, then Smith rolls his wrists over a sublime on drive to pick up four.
24th over: Australia 48-2 (Renshaw 14, Smith 16)
Kohli offers up a more regulation field with Smith on strike, which is to say there are men actually posted on the leg side, including a shortish mid-wicket and a short leg. Jadeja still aims for the rough outside Smith’s leg stump, so the Aussie skipper is content thrusting his pad at the ball in the Graham Gooch sense, as opposed to the Shane Watson sense. It works well enough in this maiden, and we’ll stop for a moment now for drinks.
23rd over: Australia 48-2 (Renshaw 14, Smith 16)
This is an absolute masterclass from Steve Smith. Any half-decent ball outside off stump he’s leaving, but when Ishant over-pitches he has no problem cracking a cover drive for two. Maybe this will go the distance after all. Smith rifles a straight drive from Ishant’s penultimate delivery, and if not for an excellent stop from the bowler it would have raced away to the rope. Renshaw defends the final delivery and avoids being on strike to Jadeja.
22nd over: Australia 45-2 (Renshaw 14, Smith 13)
One thing Matt Renshaw is doing right against Jadeja (aside from not getting out, which is obviously the optimal result) is playing with soft hands. Doing so here he’s able to angle a couple of runs to the left of Kohli at slip, but Jadeja is a nightmare to deal with on account of the footmarks outside off stump to the left-hander. Shaun Marsh will not be liking the look of this, nor Matthew Wade.
Renshaw's faced many tests since he debuted.Doesn't get much bigger than surviving Jadeja at that end on day 5 to try save a match. #INDvAUS
— Melinda Farrell (@melindafarrell) March 20, 2017
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21st over: Australia 43-2 (Renshaw 12, Smith 13)
Ishant trots out to his marker now and replaces Umesh. In a lovely moment, Brett Lee reads out his Test stats under the apparent expectation that he’ll be wowed, which he is until he gets to the bowling average of 36. That’ll happen when you play more than half your Tests on the subcontinent. Smith is handling the Indian paceman first up, and continues to leave everything outside off stump, which is almost everything India bowl to him. Like Umesh before, Ishant is sending them down from wide on the crease. Unlike Umesh, he goes so wide he’s called for a no-ball. Smith finally plays at one, caressing a square drive between gully and point for two.
20th over: Australia 40-2 (Renshaw 12, Smith 11)
Renshaw continues to battle with Jadeja’s devilish wares, shuffling across to cover his off stump and then lunging forward outside the line to counter the spinner. It’s another maiden, and Renshaw continues to look like a sitting duck. Kohli has three men in close, but I’d honestly be tempted to bring in one or two more and go for the kill.
19th over: Australia 40-2 (Renshaw 12, Smith 11)
In fact Yadav gets another go, and Smith runs him down towards third man by twirling the face of his bat open and picking up two. Yadav has three slips; first, second and fourth, and keeps hanging it outside off stump, but the approach has changed a little. In a reverse tactic to that employed for Renshaw, Kohli has stacked the off side field and dared Smith to blaze away. He won’t. He’d rather bat without pads than lose out to Kohli in this game.
18th over: Australia 38-2 (Renshaw 12, Smith 9)
Wowsers. Sharp turn here for Jadeja, who rips a few out of the rough to trouble the Queenslander. “Renshaw is finding a way,” says Michael Clarke, being very kind. India are expecting a breakthrough from nearly every delivery of this threatening over, but the left-hander somehow gets through a minor ordeal. Jadeja is the danger man here, and we’ve said that a few times in this series.
17th over: Australia 38-2 (Renshaw 12, Smith 9)
In what might prove the final over of his spell, Umesh comes around the wicket to left-handed Renshaw. He’s still getting decent bounce and carry, so there are two slips and a gully in place. The bowler gives Renshaw nothing to work to leg, and he’s happy to either leave the wide ones or dab defensive strokes towards the cover when the line is tighter. So far so good for Australia.
In the eight overs last night Australia missed or edged 26% of deliveries; in the eight overs today they have missed or edged 16%. #IndvAus
— The Cricket Prof. (@CricProf) March 20, 2017
Updated
16th over: Australia 37-2 (Renshaw 11, Smith 9)
Jadeja has a slip, a silly point and a short mid-off for Steve Smith. The Indian spinner offers his normal impeccable control, but not a prodigious amount of spin in this over so Smith is pressing forward to play confident forward defensive strokes and it ends up an uneventful maiden.
15th over: Australia 37-2 (Renshaw 11, Smith 9)
Ishant is enthusiastically clapping Umesh as he prepares to charge in, but you sense he wouldn’t mind a trundle himself if he was honest about it. Umesh plus away outside Steve Smith’s off stump, but the Australian skipper is setting himself for the long haul, and won’t touch it unless he has to. He picks up a late single to retain the strike.
14th over: Australia 36-2 (Renshaw 11, Smith 8)
Kohli’s left cover entirely open while Jadeja is bowling to Renshaw. The latter opens the face to run a couple of runs past gully, but he’s resisting the temptation to try and flay one through the gap. Danger lurks in the form of the footmarks out side his off stump, which are giving Jadeja the kind of sharp turn which did for Warner last night. The younger opener watchfully defends for the rest of the over. He hasn’t set records on this tour, but it’s been a mighty impressive first trip to India from the 20-year-old.
I want nothing more today than for Glenn Maxwell to break the fastest Test century record in the process of saving a Test. #Maxwellball
— Dan Liebke (@LiebCricket) March 20, 2017
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13th over: Australia 34-2 (Renshaw 9, Smith 8)
Umesh continues to Smith, whose run-making has now attained a Pacman-style monotony. The Indian paceman changes up his approach in this over, delivering from roughly the same position in the crease as last over but sending some through straighter outside off stump, to try and coax Smith into a loose stroke. It never comes, and he’s happy to see off a maiden.
12th over: Australia 34-2 (Renshaw 9, Smith 8)
Smith’s really picking on Ravichandran Ashwin here, again clipping a single wide of mid-wicket to get the ungainly fieldsman charging out to his right for the stop. He’s a magnificent bowler and a very sturdy Test batsman, Ashwin, but if all you had to prove it was his running style, you’d have a very tough time convincing cricket agnostics he was an elite athlete.
11th over: Australia 33-2 (Renshaw 9, Smith 7)
Renshaw’s far more comfortable against the pace of Umesh, and neatly tucks a single through square leg when the paceman strays onto his hip. Umesh zooms his next one down from wide on the crease, angling it in towards Steve Smith’s middle stump, then produces a carbon copy, then errs with a sloppy short one. Smith swivels back and pulls it around the corner for one, though slightly better placement would have had it humming to the fence. Renshaw flinches out of the way of a very well-directed bouncer to finish the over. I’ve probably said it a few times, but if India win this series, Umesh Yadav will have played a central if understated role in the result.
10th over: Australia 31-2 (Renshaw 8, Smith 6)
The temptation would have been to wheel Ishant into the fray with some pace, but Kohli sticks with Jadeja. He’s got a short leg, a leg gully and a leg slip in place for the left-handed Renshaw, who has his work cut out for him in a probing over. He gets a nervy single off the fifth delivery but he’s also a little ruffled by the spinner.
9th over: Australia 30-2 (Renshaw 7, Smith 6)
Umesh Yadav has been a quite industrious manufacturer of breakthroughs this series and he’s given another run while the ball still has some shine left on it. Smith is alert to every run-making opportunity, and gets off the mark by whipping the paceman off his legs for two to deep mid-wicket. In basketball they talk of defensive player applying pressure with “active hands”. Smith does it with “active feet” – always shuffling around to open up scoring opportunities and throw the bowler off his line. A few balls later he almost beats Ashwin at mid-on, but the gangly spinner tumbles to his right; he’s about as graceful as a fridge falling down a flight of stairs, but he pulls off the save. Smith hits his mark with the final delivery, which is driven past Murali Vijay at extra cover and runs away for four.
Updated
8th over: Australia 24-2 (Renshaw 7, Smith 0)
Having removed Nathan Lyon with the second delivery of last night’s final over, Ravindra Jadeja has four more balls left to start us off today. The first is sent down to Steve Smith, who leans right forward and blocks the ball as a silly point, slip and short gully pile the pressure on him. A few balls later he tucks a leg bye around the corner, and Matt Renshaw gets an inside edge trying to drive through the covers. The ball ends up at mid-on. Not entirely convincing, that one.
We’re a few minutes from the first delivery now
“Steve Smith needs to play the innings of his life if Australia are to get out of this one,” says Ravi Shastri, which is some kind of expectation to place on one guy, even if he did last for 361 deliveries in his undefeated first innings masterclass. “We would have liked a few more runs in the first innings,” says Australian batting coach Graeme Hick, stopping by soon after. “I think the boys have got a hard day in front of them today.” He’s not pulling any punches, and says plenty of Australia’s first innings dismissals were “soft”.
But Hick also has some hope for his men in their task today. “They don’t feel like today is beyond them as far as batting out the day,” he says. “They’re certainly up for it, and I know they’ll do their best.”
The pitch: I haven’t had a close look yet, but let’s be honest, it’s all about the choice between the heavy roller and the light roller.
The light roller out before the final day at JSCA. The interrogation of Australia's batsmen resumes in 20 minutes. #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/RaYOvlKZGq
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) March 20, 2017
Preamble
Hello all and welcome to day five of the third Test in Ranchi, which might well be the end of Australia’s pursuit of their first Border-Gavaskar Trophy win since 2004. It’s looking gim, I’ll be honest. They resume at 23-2 after the dismissal of David Warner and nightwatchman Nathan Lyon late last night, and they’re still 129 runs short of making India bat again. Can Steve Smith fix his gaze on Virat Kohli, channel every ounce of spite in his body and deliver yet another remarkable innings? You couldn’t bet against him. But it will be a struggle.
Smith’s support cast today includes Matt Renshaw, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb and first-innings centurion Glenn Maxwell, but the bigger problems loom at the other end, where Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin will be licking their lips at running through the tourists. “Today the batters need to do their job,” says Brad Haddin on Fox now. “As the ball gets softer, I don’t think there is going to be many demons in the pitch.” We’ll see. I’m taking the glass-half empty approach, myself, and you can get in contact on the details above with all your insights and predictions.
Russell will be here shortly, giving you time to remind yourselves of how we got to this point:
