1st Test: India in cruise control as Australia reduced to 104/4 chasing 323
Adelaide, Dec 9 : Indian bowlers once again exposed the chinks in jittery Australian batting line-up leaving the hosts tottering at 104 for 4 in pursuit of a tough target of 323 on the fourth day of the first Test on Sunday.
With 219 runs required on a fifth day track, it will be an onerous job for the Australian batsmen, who have been struggling against a consistent Indian attack with their ultra defensive approach.
Ravichandran Ashwin (2/44 in 19 overs) and Mohammed Shami (2/15 in 9 overs) were impressive during the final session as Australia lost three wickets in Marcus Harris (26), Usman Khawaja (8) and Peter Handscomb (14).
At end of play, Shaun Marsh was unbeaten on 31 runs (92 balls) while Travis Head was batting on 11 not out (37 balls).
After tea, Australia had an early reprieve in the 13th over when Cheteshwar Pujara failed to latch onto a tough chance at first slip from opener Marcus Harris (26), then on 14 not out, off Mohammed Shami (2/15).
The pacer put up an improved performance as he managed to etch out Harris' wicket in the 17th over, caught behind.
The big blow to Australia's dim hopes of winning this Test came when the dogged Usman Khawaja (8) was caught in the deep off Ashwin as he tried to clear mid-off.
The mistimed skier was caught by Rohit Sharma, who judged well and dived in-front to take the catch.
Peter Handscomb (14) and Marsh then added 24 runs for fourth wicket in 13.2 overs. The former had a 'life' when KL Rahul didn't latch onto a tough chance at short leg off Ashwin in the 34th over.
Three overs later the breakthrough did come when Handscomb hit Shami straight to midwicket and Pujara completed an easy catch.
This was after India lost five wickets for 25 runs in the post lunch session to set a 323-run target The visitors were bowled out for 307 (106.5 overs) in their second innings thanks largely to some atrocious shot selection from the lower-middle order.
At tea, Australia reached 28-1 (12 overs). Aaron Finch (11), survived a loud lbw appeal on zero off Ishant Sharma (0-14) on only the second ball of this innings. He went for DRS review and the decision was turned because it was a no ball.
Ashwin though nabbed him before tea, as the ball seemed to have brushed his gloves before looping up for keeper Rishabh Pant to claim an easy catch. Replays showed that Finch had made a mistake not going for the DRS review as there was nothing on snickometer or hotspot.
Earlier, India only added 47 runs for their last five wickets after resumption of play post lunch.
Rishabh Pant (28) continued attacking Nathan Lyon (6-122) but didn't last long as a wild swing found the fielder at deep cover.
It started the Indian slide. Ashwin (5) and Ajinkya Rahane (70) played uncharacteristic strokes, indicating that a declaration was forthcoming. But India never got to that point.
Ashwin was caught pulling in the deep off Mitchell Starc (3-40) while Rahane was out caught reverse sweeping. Mohammed Shami (0) was out caught first ball, wildly swinging at Lyon.
Ishant Sharma (0) was last out as India were bowled out in just 11.5 overs after lunch. Their last seven wickets cost only 73 runs.
Starting from overnight 151 for 3, India made good progress through the first session as Pujara and Rahane ground down the Australian attack with an 87-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
Pujara started on a positive note with successive fours early in the day's play. India's main threat came from Nathan Lyon (3-92), who was using the rough on the pitch to trouble the batsmen.
Rahane survived an appeal for a catch in the 74th over via DRS when replays showed that the bat was nowhere near the ball.
India's 200 had came up in the 77th over while their 50-partnership came off 103 balls. Pujara reached his 20th Test half-century off 140 balls.
The duo continued to grind down the Australian bowling as their pacers' body language started looking tiresome. Mitchell Starc (1-34) took the second new ball as soon as it became available but was wayward at best.
Australia finally got a breakthrough with Pujara out caught at short leg, off Lyon in the 88th over as the ball looped up.
He walked off to a standing ovation from the Sunday crowd, having faced 450 balls in this match, the second-most for an Indian batsman in a Test on Australian soil after Sachin Tendulkar (525 at Sydney, 2004).
Rohit Sharma (1) came to the crease thereafter, but left quickly, caught at silly point smartly by Peter Handscomb as Lyon picked up his third wicket.
Young Pant though decided to attack and took India past 250 before lunch. At the other end, Rahane had opened up to play pull strokes off the pacers against the new ball and reached his 16th Test half-century off 111 balls.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
