Ravindra Jadeja return figures of 7-42 to help India beat Australia by six wickets inside three days of the 2ndTest to take a 2-0 series lead. As Australians ‘swept’ their way to self-destruction in the face of the Indian spinners’ in the second Test.
Going into the morning session of the third day, Australia had a slight upper hand with a 62-run lead and nine wickets in hand, after an exciting finish in front of a 20,000 plus crowd.
Australia were expect to continue their aggressive approach they show on Saturday evening but overemphasis on the sweep shot brought about their dramatic downfall as they lost 9 wickets for 52 runs in 19.1 overs on a Sunday morning.
This Australian collapse ensure another 3 day finish after the series opener in Nagpur.
Half of the side including Steve Smith, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins and number 11 Matthew Kuhnemann fell to either the conventional or the reverse sweep.
While the cross-batted shot can be an attacking option against the rampaging Indian spinners in their own conditions but it can’t be the only option, especially on a low track like the Kotla.
Playing in his 100th Test, Cheteshwar Pujara too said it was not ideal to employ the sweep shots so frequently.
Cheteshwar Pujara Said :
“It’s not a pitch to play the sweep shot due to low bounce,”.
Coming down the track is a safer option than the sweep but the Australians did not do that enough.
Perhaps, lack of confidence in their defense also cause them to try sweeping regularly.
Dinesh Karthik, who was on air when the Australian wickets fell in a heap, said the visitors’ tactics were decide in the dressing room and they did not assess the conditions well.
Before the series, Australia chose not play a warm-up game in Indian conditions, and instead, simulate similar conditions back home.
After their arrival in India, they got hold of a R Ashwin duplicate who help them in the nets for the bigger battles in the four-Test series.
Among all the sweeps attempt, the worst of the lot came off Pat Cummins who came in the middle with a premeditate mindset and went for a needless slog sweep off Ravindra Jadeja on the very first ball he face.
Match Summary
- Day 1: Australia- 263/10 (78.4 Overs, 3.3 rpo, 34×4, 4×6) || India- 21/0 (9 overs, 2.3 rpo, 1×4, 0x6)
- Day 2: India- 241/10 (74.3 Overs, 3.2 rpo, 24×4, 4×6) || Australia- 61/1 (12 overs, 5.1 rpo, 9×4, 1×6)
- Day 3: Australia- 52/9 (19.1 Overs, 2.7 rpo, 6×4, 0x6) || India- 118/4 (26.4 overs, 4.4 rpo, 14×4, 4×6)
AUSTRALIA 1ST INNINGS
AUSTRALIA • 263/10(78.4 Overs)
- Usman Khawaja 81 (125)
- Peter Handscomb *72 (142)
- Mohammed Shami 4/60 (14.4)
- Ravichandran Ashwin 3/57 (21)
INDIA 1ST INNINGS
INDIA • 262/10(83.3 Overs)
- Axar Patel 74 (115)
- Virat Kohli 44 (84)
- Nathan Lyon 5/67 (29)
- Todd Murphy 2/53 (18)
AUSTRALIA 2ND INNINGS
AUSTRALIA • 113/10(31.1 Overs)
- Travis Head 43 (46)
- Marnus Labuschagne 35 (50)
- Ravindra Jadeja 7/42 (12.1)
- Ravichandran Ashwin 3/59 (16)
INDIA 2ND INNINGS
INDIA • 118/4(26.4 Overs)
- Rohit Sharma 31 (20)
- Cheteshwar Pujara *31 (74)
- Nathan Lyon 2/49 (12)
- Todd Murphy 1/22 (6.4)
Ravindra Jadeja is the Player of the Match
Pat Cummins, Australian Skipper Said :
“I thought 260 was a decent score in the first innings. The guys bounced back well. But India batted well. It was all even, in the innings break. We were ahead of the game but we slipped. We need a review of the shot choice and need to work in the room regarding it. Both games were disappointing but this one hurts more. We were ahead in the game and that doesn’t happen often in India.”
Rohit Sharma, India Skipper Said :
“Fantastic result for us. The way we came back and finished our job was great. I think the bowlers were fantastic, to take 9 wickets today morning is commendable. And then we finished the job with the bat. We were prepared for them to come out and play shots. Our idea was to not panic and just hit the right areas, waiting for the mistake to happen and that’s exactly what happened. Our focus was keeping it tight in the morning, and these guys are the masters of bowling in these conditions. There are a lot of game-changing moments across four innings, but I thought the partnership between Jadeja and Virat and then Axar and Ash was brilliant.”
Ravindra Jadeja Said :
“I was enjoying my bowling. These wickets suited me because the odd ball spins and some stayed low. I knew they would play sweeps and reverse sweeps, so my idea was just to keep it simple and straight to the stumps. I have a chance if they make mistakes.”
Australia Replicate India’s Gesture for Nathan Lyon as they Gift Cheteshwar Pujara Special Jersey for 100th Test
In Delhi Test match between India and Australia was a special game for veteran Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara.
As Cheteshwar Pujara complete the special milestone of the 100th Test match and became only the 13th Indian to achieve the feat.
After the game, the Australian team came up with a special gesture for Cheteshwar Pujara after the game.
Captain Pat Cummins gift Cheteshwar Pujara a special Australian jersey with the signatures of every player in their squad.
Australia’s special gift for Cheteshwar Pujara was widely appreciate by the cricket fraternity.
Australia’s special present for Cheteshwar Pujara was on par with a similar gesture done by India for Nathan Lyon during the 2021 Gabba Test.
The Ajinkya Rahane-led Indian team gift the star off-spinner a sign jersey.
As Cheteshwar Pujara score the winning runs for India as the Rohit Sharma-led side complete a 6-wicket victory and took a 2-0 lead in the series.
In his 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣th Test, @cheteshwar1 finishes off the chase in style 🙌🏻#TeamIndia secure a 6️⃣-wicket victory in the second #INDvAUS Test here in Delhi 👏🏻👏🏻
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 19, 2023
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/hQpFkyZGW8@mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/Ebpi7zbPD0
This ensure that the hosts retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy with two matches to go.
India is also inching towards of making the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) final, where they are likely to meet Australia at the Oval in June.
The game did not start well for Cheteshwar Pujara, as he was dismis for a duck in the first innings.
This made him join a rare list of batters which include the likes of Dilip Vensarkar, Brendon McCullum, Mark Taylor, and Alaister Cook.
Cheteshwar Pujara Said :
“Yeah, it has been a great Test match. Unfortunately, I didn’t get many runs in the first innings. I knew that if I stayed in the crease for a while and played initial balls well, I could do well. It is a special feeling when your family watches you playing the 100th game. I am really happy about the occasion. I was really happy them seeing me finish off the match with a boundary, “
