All posts by n8rngtd.top

Kieron Pollard muscled his way to his highest IPL score and propelled Mumbai Indians to the highest total of this IPL season so far

The Report by Abhishek Purohit11-Apr-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsOwais Shah’s 76 was in vain•AFP

The scoreboard might not tell you that but Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals gave IPL 2012 its first close high-scoring game as Wankhede Stadium cheered. The 27-run margin did not do justice to Rajasthan Royals for the way they went after an asking-rate of nearly ten an over against a quality bowling attack. This after Kieron Pollard had muscled his way to his highest IPL score and propelled Mumbai Indians to the highest total of this IPL season so far.Pollard’s all-round performance, 64 off 33 deliveries and 4 for 44, left in the shade a dazzling innings of 76 off 42 from Owais Shah, which had rudely threatened to gatecrash what had shaped up to be Pollard’s night. Till the end of the 14th over, as Shah kept peppering the on-side rope with boundaries, Royals had an almost even chance. But in a game where no bowler apart from him went for less than seven an over, Lasith Malinga uprooted Shah’s off stump with a yorker off the first ball of the 15th.While Munaf Patel and Pollard ended with four wickets each, it was Malinga’s over that turned the game in Mumbai Indians’ favour. While Malinga stood out with figures of 4-0-13-2 in a match where 367 runs were scored, it was Pollard who towered above everyone with his all-round performance.Pollard’s assault with the bat helped Mumbai Indians pull away from Rajasthan Royals after the visitors had clawed back with Brad Hogg’s two wickets in four balls. Pollard’s power also left an important innings from Ambati Rayudu in the shade.Pollard came in after Hogg, on IPL debut, had dismissed Rohit Sharma and Richard Levi with fizzing left-arm legbreaks. By the time he was dismissed, Pollard had carted Royals’ attack with 64, and Mumbai Indians had rocketed from 68 to 164 in the space of 52 balls.Pollard had no role to play in his first boundary, Hogg’s googly beating the batsman on the forward push and going between the wicketkeeper and first slip. It was Rayudu who took on Hogg in the 11th over, slog-sweeping for six over midwicket.Kevon Cooper’s meeting with his Trinidad & Tobago team-mate was much awaited, but Pollard lofted his first ball from his fellow allrounder for six over long-on. Still, Royals had somehow managed to keep the expected torrent of runs down and Mumbai Indians were going around eight an over after 13.Johan Botha came on in the 14th, and Pollard dispatched his first four balls for boundaries. Botha dragged the first delivery short, tossed the second one up and went wide of Pollard with the third. It made scarce difference to Pollard as he swung all three deliveries between deep midwicket and long-on. His power showed off the fourth ball as even a leading edge beat the sweeper to the deep extra cover rope.Twenty-three runs came off that Botha over, and the pressure on Royals had increased significantly. Pollard threatened to do an encore of the Botha over in the 17th against Ankeet Chavan, hitting his first delivery so hard that it deflected off the non-striker’s stumps to the straight boundary even as umpire Aleem Dar barely got out of the way. The next two balls also disappeared for boundaries but Pollard found long-on off the last ball.Harbhajan Singh ensured Mumbai Indians did not falter after Pollard’s departure and left Royals with a mountain to climb. Munaf removed Rahul Dravid and Shreevats Goswami off consecutive deliveries in the second over to make the ascent appear steeper.Shah and Ajinkya Rahane, though, almost did a Pollard-and-Rayudu with an 82-run stand off 57. Rahane signalled the start of the fightback with a chipped four over mid-off and a six over deep midwicket in Munaf’s next over.Shah put up a display of sustained calculated hitting, moving around in his crease and using the angle of the deliveries into him to swing for boundaries on the on side. Rahane’s fall off Pollard in the 12th over hardly mattered to Shah. Thirty-five runs came off the next two overs, bowled by Harbhajan and Pollard, the latter pulled and slogged for consecutive boundaries.The equation came down to 64 needed off 36. Harbhajan had saved two overs of Malinga for the death. He was forced to bring him on slightly earlier, but Malinga delivered immediately, Shah backing away too far outside leg to a yorker, which was right on off stump.Botha followed in the same over, and though Cooper and Ashok Menaria tried, Pollard struck thrice in the 18th over to ensure the night would be only his.

Says on-site hotel made the Ageas Bowl more viable than Lord’s, praises Dravid for India’s bench strength

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2021BCCI president Sourav Ganguly revealed on Monday that the World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand will be held in Southampton in June. The match is scheduled from June 18 to 22.When the ICC Board had approved the inaugural cycle of the WTC, it had informally earmarked Lord’s as the potential venue for the final. The two teams who would contest the final were finalised on Saturday, with India completing a 3-1 series win against England to finish on top of the table, with New Zealand having secured their qualification earlier. The ICC sent out a release after India’s win listing the date for the final, but without naming the venue.Related

• Southampton confirmed as hosts of India vs New Zealand WTC final

• India set up WTC final clash with New Zealand

• India are the best Test team irrespective of WTC standings

• Ganguly hints at no crowds for entire IPL 2021

Lord’s has hosted several World Cup finals – for both men and women – but it would need the ECB’s nod, who were given the hosting rights for the WTC final by the ICC. Incidentally, Lord’s will be hosting the first match of the two-Test series between England and New Zealand from June 2 to 6.According to Ganguly, Southampton emerged as a clear favourite because it is one of the two venues – Manchester being the other – with an on-site hotel, an advantage for teams operating in a bio-secure environment during the Covid-19 pandemic. Having on-site hotels meant both venues hosted international series involving West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland and Australia in the summer of 2020.Southampton was the venue for the first Test against West Indies last July, which was also the first international match and series played during the pandemic. Subsequently, the Ageas Bowl hosted two Tests during the Pakistan series, and later ODIs against Ireland and T20Is against Australia.”It [the WTC final] is in Southampton,” Ganguly told . “It has been decided a long time ago. They have the hotel, which makes it easier for them to control (the bio-secure environment). That’s why when England started cricket after Covid times, a lot of Test matches were held in Southampton and Manchester because they have hotels alongside the ground.”Winning WTC similar to winning World Cup – Ganguly unsure
Ganguly said he was “absolutely spic and span” and “back to work” after his recent hospitalisations in January, where he had to get multiple stents fitted after suffering a heart attack. He also said he would get vaccinated against Covid-19 soon, and then travel to Ahmedabad to watch India’s T20I series against England.Ganguly had lavished praise on the Indian team after their series wins in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, and the home triumph against England.”Just a remarkable win…To go to Australia and win a test series in this way ..will be remembered in the history of indian cricket forever ..Bcci announces a 5 cr bonus for the team ..The value of this win is beyond any number ..well done to every member of the touring party,” Ganguly had tweeted on January 19, the day India won the series in Australia.On March 6, Ganguly tweeted about India reaching the WTC final, calling it a “monumental effort”.However, he stopped short of calling a potential WTC victory being on par with winning a World Cup. “I don’t know. I can’t answer that question,” Ganguly said. “Every trophy has its own value. A 50-over World Cup is an amazing pinnacle: you play that World Cup for two-and-a-half months and beat the best and then go through.”It was a bit complicated this time because of Covid. Teams got to play a teams, teams did not get to play a team, did not travel, tours got cancelled. In a couple of more [WTC] championships we will have a clearer idea how difficult it is and how hard it is to win the World Test Championship; may be on a platform where everybody has an equal number of games to play and then decide.”Ganguly did offer fulsome praise for the Indian team though, drawing special attention to how the team had done well despite the players being in bio-bubbles from before the start of IPL 2020, since late August. “To be in those bubbles and play cricket day in day out was remarkable – right from IPL which was in September (2020), and this is early March and they are not finished yet because they have got the T20Is and ODIs to go. So a good six months in bubbles, and to get to what they have achieved is fantastic.”Sourav Ganguly said the credit for India’s bench strength should go to Rahul Dravid•Getty Images

‘Dravid has done a great job at NCA’
Ganguly was also appreciative of the job Rahul Dravid had done in moulding the younger members of the Indian team, who have all played under Dravid for India A and India Under-19. At various points in both series, all of Rishabh Pant, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur and Axar Patel have been coached by the former India captain. Dravid moved from being head coach of the A and U-19 sides to being the director of cricket at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.While Ganguly praised the Indian coaching staff led by Ravi Shastri, he made special mention of his former team-mate and fellow Test debutant Dravid for being the architect behind India’s impressive bench strength.”Absolutely, that’s why I say Rahul Dravid has done a great job at the NCA, because he looks after the second-string players,” Ganguly said. “Mohammed Siraj, see a lot of talent in him. Shardul Thakur – every time they get an opportunity, they’ve stood up. We spoke of [Jasprit] Bumrah the whole of last year, but see India wins without him as well, like you saw in the last Test in Australia. There was no Ishant Sharma in the squad, and still you beat Australia in Australia which is remarkable.”

Preview of the first ODI between West Indies and New Zealand in Kingston

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit04-Jul-2012

Match facts

Thursday, July 5
Start time 0930 (1430 GMT)
The spotlight is on stand-in New Zealand captain Kane Williamson•AFP

Big Picture

West Indies have long been at that level where mediocrity becomes so much of a routine that you lose track of how poor they have actually become. It has been more than four years since they have won an ODI series against Test-level opposition, apart from Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. That is 14 straight bilateral series. Recent performances and the current opposition give a faint glimmer of hope, though, that the woeful run could end.West Indies tied a hard-fought series with Australia at home in March. They were expected to be beaten, but they fought. Another factor in their favour is that their opponents, New Zealand, are fellow laggards. They are ranked seventh, a point ahead of West Indies in the ICC one-day rankings, and a gulf separates the two and sixth-ranked Pakistan. Since December 2008, New Zealand have won only one bilateral ODI series against top Test-level opposition. They have even suffered a 0-4 rout to Bangladesh.If the Twenty20s were a sign of things to come, New Zealand stand no chance. They were hammered in both games in Florida. The ODI format does afford a team the time to withstand shocks and come back. But on paper, things look loaded against New Zealand. They are coming off after a long break, the conditions certainly won’t suit them, West Indies are packed with power-hitters and New Zealand are without their injured captain Ross Taylor and other key players. Again, it’s time to ‘punch above their weight’.

Form guide

West Indies LLLWT (completed games, most recent first)
New Zealand LLLWW

Watch out for…

This is the best chance for Darren Sammy to record his first ODI series win over top opposition. All the talk during his captaincy has been about ‘team over individuals’, building for the future and encouraging youth. They need to start winning some as well.It will be a tough initiation to captaincy for Kane Williamson, the youngest to lead New Zealand, and of whom much is expected for many years to come. At the very least, this short leadership stint, till Taylor comes back, can only build his character. And offer New Zealand a glimpse into the long-term future.

Team news

West Indies have stuck to the same squad that lost the ODI series to England, minus Darren Bravo and Fidel Edwards. Again, the choice to be made will be which allrounder to leave out.West Indies: (possible) 1 Lendl Simmons, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Dwayne Smith, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Darren Sammy (capt), 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 9 Tino Best, 10 Ravi Rampaul, 11 Sunil NarineNew Zealand have added fast bowler Trent Boult to the squad for the one-dayers. He was already part of the Test squad but is yet to make his ODI debut. Jacob Oram missed the second Twenty20 on Sunday with a knee strain but is expected to be fit for the ODIs.New Zealand: (possible) 1 Rob Nicol, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Daniel Flynn, 5 Dean Brownlie, 6 Tom Latham/BJ Watling (wk), 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Nathan McCullum, 10 Doug Bracewell/Tarun Nethula 11 Kyle Mills

Stats and trivia

• The last time New Zealand toured the West Indies for a bilateral series was in 2002
• The last time Chris Gayle played for West Indies at Sabina Park, his home ground, was in June 2009
  

  Quotes

  “Without Brendon and Ross in the side we lose a bit of that experience. We’ve got quite a young batting line-up, but the guys are picked in this squad for a reason.”
  
  
  “We are looking for consistency. For the past few home series we have not started well and have played catch up.”

Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, has hinted at the visitors fielding a four-pronged fast bowling attack for the first Test against England at Lord’s, which starts on Thursday.

Nagraj Gollapudi15-May-2012Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, has hinted at fielding a four-pronged fast bowling attack for the first Test against England at Lord’s, which starts on Thursday. The seamer-friendly conditions and the fast recovery of his premier fast bowler Kemar Roach from a “twisted ankle” have given West Indies that option, Gibson revealed, saying he was confident the plan would work.With the forecast predicted to be overcast on the match days, Gibson agreed the team management would think hard before playing offspinner Shane Shillingford. “Based on conditions, early season in England it is possible,” Gibson said about there being enough temptation to play a four-man pace attack.Roach, who became only the sixth West Indies bowler to bag a ten-wicket match haul during during the home Test series against Australia last month, picked up a niggle during the second tour match against England Lions at Northampton. West Indies suffered a ten-wicket defeat as Roach finished with three first-innings wickets and was unable to bowl in the second due to the injury.After the rain had disrupted most of the play in the first tour match at Hove against Sussex, the Lions game was the first proper test for the visitors. Roach, who was the highest wicket-taker in the Frank Worrell Trophy against Australia, was inconsistent during the first innings against the Lions, conceding more than four an over. Nick Compton was his only top-order wicket but he managed some hostile overs during various spells. Ravi Rampaul was the pick of the bowlers, with 3 for 79, while Fidel Edwards struggled with his run-up and bowled eight no-balls two of which cost him wickets.Today Roach started with some leg stretches, having decided against participating in the warm-up football but later returned to bowl in the indoor school at Lord’s, after bad weather ruled out any outdoor practice sessions. “Everybody pulled up okay today. Roach was treated twice a day over the last couple of days. He had a little bowl today, bowled six overs, pretty controlled. No complaints at this stage. He is doing okay,” Gibson said.Gibson also brushed aside any scare to Rampaul, who did not bowl much during training. “Ravi just had a stiff neck from sleeping badly; probably staying up too late or playing Playstation. He is fine. And Fidel is fine also. Everything looks all right. All set for Thursday.”Gibson said he was not worried about his captain Darren Sammy having not bowled at all yet in the two tour matches. Sammy did not bowl in the rain-curtailed warm-up match at Hove and then was rested in the second tour match at Northampton. “The captain bowled a lot of balls against Australia, as did Kemar. The decision was made to give him a break, so we wanted have a look at the three seamers bowling together in a game,” Gibson said. But he was happy that Sammy was doing his work in the nets and he was not a concern at all.The one concern that has remained and has kept re-appearing like the dark clouds overhead has been the form of the West Indies top order. In the first innings against the Lions, the top three comprising Adrian Barath, Kieran Powell and Kirk Edwards made an aggregate of 10 runs. In the second innings, Powell scored a resilient century but Barath and Edwards failed again.But Gibson walked up to his players after the first-innings debacle and re-assured the batsmen that they should not brood too much over the failure. “They were a little bit disappointed and I had to step in and say ‘look, you shouldn’t be disappointed’ because if we bowled first in those conditions on the first day, we would have bowled them out for a similar score. That is the reality in England in early May,” Gibson pointed out. If West Indies had won the toss, Gibson was certain, things would have been more positive for West Indies.”We batted in the second innings, and even if Adrian didn’t get runs, Kirk didn’t get any runs, but Kieran Powell played very well and got a hundred, so he is full of confidence now. He has got a smile on his face. Darren Bravo has been playing well for us for the last year-and-a-half; he played well, got two half-centuries. We know what Shiv is going to do in these conditions. Dinesh Ramdin got a good knock. Marlon Samuels got a good knock. So the second innings was more like what we know what we can do. We were 20-odd for 3 in that second innings but we ended scoring 400.”Gibson said that the team think tank had also thought about promoting Chanderpaul from his customary No. 5 to the top order but they wouldn’t try and experiment at such an early stage in the series. But he felt Chanderpaul would support the team’s decision, if the case was made for him to move up the order.”That is something that we have thought about,” Gibson said. “Our batting revolves around Shiv. He is very comfortable at the position that he is at the moment. And he is doing a good job for us. So without trying to upset the batting line-up too much, we’ve decided to leave it as it is at the moment. But it is something that we haven’t completely ruled out.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the second Test between Bangladesh and Pakistan in Mirpur

The Preview by Siddhartha Talya16-Dec-2011

Match facts

Saturday, December 17
Start time 0930 (0330 GMT)Nazimuddin stood out among Bangladesh’s batsmen in the first Test•AFP

Big Picture

Bangladesh’s abject performance, their status as a Test-playing nation, the need for their players to play more first-class cricket at home as well as against Associate countries to compete better at the highest level, their excessive reliance on a couple of individuals and their reckless batting dominated talk during yet another capitulation in the first Test in Chittagong.On the same day a revitalised New Zealand pulled off one of their most famous wins, beating Australia by seven runs in a thrilling encounter in Hobart, Bangladesh plunged to another predictable defeat, another innings loss that took their horror run to 10 defeats in 11 Tests. While increasing criticism is something Bangladesh have been at the receiving end of for quite some time, a simultaneous decline in sympathy for their limitations, their results and quality of cricket will be tougher to bear.Their opponents, on the other hand, have achieved what they expected out of this tour so far. Leading up to a much-awaited series against England in ‘home conditions’ in the UAE, Pakistan have been dominating and clinical, sweeping the limited-overs games and being ruthless in a Test that had several notable individual achievements. Asad Shafiq notched up his first international century after promising to reach that landmark on more than a few occasions previously; Abdur Rehman settled in nicely in just his second game of the tour, picking up seven wickets; Younis Khan eased to another double-century and Mohammad Hafeez continued a stellar year.In their final game of 2011, a year of contrasting fortunes for both teams, one emerging strong on the field from the spot-fixing saga and disciplinary issues, and the other seemingly sinking to the abyss after the World Cup, expect another strong show for Pakistan, while Bangladesh will hoping to salvage some pride, if nothing else.

Form guide

Bangladesh: LLDLL
Pakistan: WDWDW

Players to watch out for…

Nazimuddin had a memorable Test debut, making 78 in the second innings. As his partners were failing to preserve their wickets, their impatience and lack of determination glaringly on display, Nazimuddin fought hard in conditions that favoured spinners. His resistance stood out, and offered plenty of promise for a team facing serious problems with its batting.Azhar Ali scored his maiden Test ton in his 28th innings, against Sri Lanka in the UAE, after a run of consistent performances in the top order. Pakistan have been grooming him as a Test specialist at No.3. He’s solid, has sound technique and has delivered against tougher bowling attacks. He’ll feel he missed out against Bangladesh in the opening Test, making 26 while the others cashed in, and ahead of the England series he’ll strive for a bigger score.

Team news

Mohammad Ashraful practiced with the team ahead of this Test, stayed in the same hotel and was, according to the coach Stuart Law, part of the squad before the BCB finally confirmed he was dropped. The late announcement, captain Mushfiqur Rahim said, is something his side had become used to. They’ve replaced him with Shafiul Islam, a seamer. He should take Rubel Hossain’s place; Rubel injured his right shoulder in Chittagong. Naeem Islam missed the first Test due to illness, but should take Ashraful’s place if fit.Bangladesh: 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Nazimuddin, 3 Shahriar Nafees, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt and wk), 5 Naeem Islam, 6 Shakib Al Hasan, 7 Nasir Hossain, 8 Mahmudullah, 9 Elias Sunny, 10 Shahadat Hossain, 11 Shafiul Islam.Pakistan have two reserve seamers in Mohammad Khalil and Mohammad Talha, but it remains to be seen if either of them is given a go.Pakistan: 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Taufeeq Umar, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Younis Khan, 5 Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), 6 Asad Shafiq, 7 Adnan Akmal (wk), 8 Abdur Rehman, 9 Umar Gul, 10 Saeed Ajmal, Aizaz Cheema.

Pitch and conditions

The weather forecast is encouraging with sunny skies predicted for the next five days. The track in Mirpur has traditionally favoured turn and bounce, something the spin-strong attacks from either team won’t mind. Batting first has been the way to go for the most part here.

Stats and trivia

• Nazimuddin became the 10th Bangladesh batsman to score 50 or more in an innings in his debut Test.
• Misbah-ul-Haq is 83 short of 2000 runs in Tests.

Quotes

“We (Pakistan) have to be professional and keep this out of our minds and concentrate on what we are doing.”
“Our target will be to finish off well so that we can go into our next international commitment with the memory that yes, we did well in the last game.”

Fast bowler acknowledges South Africa’s reasons for declining to take a knee for BLM movement

Andrew Miller20-Nov-2020Chris Jordan, the England fast bowler, says he is confident that cricket’s anti-racism message will be continue to be spread through hard work behind the scenes rather than on-field displays of solidarity, after acknowledging South Africa’s decision not to take a knee before the start of their upcoming matches against England.Jordan, one of two black players in the England white-ball squad alongside Jofra Archer, insisted that South Africa’s choice “should not be judged from any point of view”, after their head coach, Mark Boucher, said that his players had already made their gesture of support for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement during a 3TC game in July.”It’s not something that we have to continue to show,” Boucher said. “It’s something that you have to live… If guys who brought it up are happy with it, that’s great, but if they feel we have to do more, that will be a chat and that they are open to express their opinions.”Speaking during a Zoom call from Newlands, Jordan agreed that the biggest driver of change in the game would come through internal dialogue, adding that the issue of racial equality was a frequent topic of conversation in the England dressing room, which also features two players of Pakistani heritage in Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, as well as a number who grew up outside the UK, including the Ireland-born captain, Eoin Morgan.”I think the situation is very individual,” Jordan said. “I think that a lot of real, honest work going on around the matter will be done in private. The real change will come through a lot of those real conversations that you have one-on-one with people, in terms of education. So if that’s what they [CSA] as an organisation believe in, then I don’t think it should be judged from any point of view. It’s their personal decision. So let’s just move on.”ALSO READ: South Africa will not take a knee during England series, says BoucherNevertheless, South Africa’s decision is bound to come under scrutiny, given the country’s racially divided history, and also in light of the criticism that Australia and Pakistan attracted on their recent tour of England, when they too declined to take a knee, in contrast to England’s matches involving West Indies and Ireland.The decision attracted strong criticism from Michael Holding, the former West Indies fast bowler and outspoken BLM advocate in his role as a Sky Sports commentator, who described Australia’s excuses in particular as “lame”.Justin Langer, their head coach, subsequently conceded that the issue had not been given enough consideration in the lead-up to the England tour, and it has since been announced that the squad will stand in a barefoot circle ahead of their series against India, in recognition of the anti-racism movement and of Australia’s indigenous people.Chris Jordan gets a fist bump from his captain•AFP

Asked if such gestures still have an impact, Jordan insisted they did “100%”, but reiterated the need to be open-minded about how different teams and individuals go about recognising such a sensitive topic.”Obviously taking the knee is something very visual, that people see when they turn on sport and watch, but I’m a big believer in a lot of the real conversations that are happening behind the scenes, especially amongst our group, as a team.”We come from so many different backgrounds, and the matter is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. The type of questions that are being put forward, and the real conversations that are happening behind the scenes, is where a lot of the real change will come.”He believes that the same is true of another race-related issue to have come to light in English cricket in recent days – the failure of the ECB to encourage the career development of BAME umpires, which led the former Test official John Holder to accuse the board of institutional racism.”First and foremost, the situation is what it is,” Jordan said. “There’s always more that we all can do, especially as an organisation. But you can’t change the past, all you can do is try to affect everything that’s coming in the future.”It’s an area that has been highlighted, so time will tell in terms of the impact that we can have, as a society, to change that.”

Join us for updates, analysis and colour from the first day of the Brisbane Test

Varun Shetty15-Jan-2021*Most recent entry will appear at the top, please refresh your page for the latest updates. All times are local.

5.30pm local/1pm IST: Stumps

Australia will be pleased with the day. It didn’t begin particularly well, with two wickets, but India gave them a sniff by dropping Labuschagne early and he’s anchored a positive innings on the day one. India were hamstrung with their best two bowlers going out, and the new faces might have felt like they were doing a decent job until Australia flipped the pressure on them through flowing knocks from Smith, Wade, Green and Paine right at the end. By the end of the day, India looked like a fading team, and the hosts have capitalised on that. India have also ended the day a bowler short. It could be a long day tomorrow.

4.30pm local/12pm IST: The pitch

Getty Images

It’s been a difficult pitch to assess from afar. Natarajan’s two wickets were deliveries that kicked off the surface and got big on two pull shots. The only real instance of that any time previously was the delivery off which Labuschagne was dropped earlier in the day. And these all came off different bowlers, and form differing lines. So what do you put it down to? The range of pace? The likelihood of a bowler getting it to grip? Cracks in the pitch? And in that case, the cracks would have to be on both the left- and right-handers’ sides. Which sounds far fetched so early in a Test. Perhaps the only characteristic that an be gauged confidently is its slow nature.

3.56pm local/11.26am IST