Tea Australia 163 for 5 (S Marsh 38*) trail India 189 by 26 runs
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Matt Renshaw and Shaun Marsh put on the longest partnership of the match – 52 runs from 25.1 overs © Associated Press
Shaun Marsh batted through the second session on day two in Bengaluru, where Australia went to tea within sight of a lead on a difficult, cracking pitch. India picked up two wickets in a high-intensity, low-scoring morning session, and then claimed a further three between lunch and tea, although Australia also lifted their tempo and went to the break with 163 for 5 on the board – a deficit of only 26 runs.
Given the challenges of batting on this surface – batsmen had to contend not only with prodigious spin but also variable bounce – a first-innings lead would be invaluable to Australia. The final ball before tea told the story of the pitch: Mitchell Marsh was lbw to an Ishant Sharma delivery that barely bounced above ankle height. It was the last ball of the 80th over so Marsh could have reviewed freely, for reviews are replenished after 80 overs, but he was so plumb he didn’t bother.
He had endured an 11-ball duck in what was just the second Test partnership ever completed by the Marsh brothers, who had only previously batted together against New Zealand at Adelaide Oval in the inaugural day-night Test in 2015. On that occasion they put on 46 valuable runs; this time it was a stand of only 3, as conditions made life very tricky. Shaun Marsh did well to reach tea unscathed on 38.
Australia had added only 47 in the opening session but put on 76 in the second session, during which time opener Matt Renshaw brought up an impressive, hard-fought half-century from his 183rd delivery. Although edges through the cordon had accounted for all but one of his five fours, his concentration had been immaculate until the 67th over, when he drove a six down the ground and two balls later was stumped advancing to Ravindra Jadeja again.
The ball turned past Renshaw’s legs and Wriddhiman Saha whipped off the bails for a fine dismissal, but Renshaw’s 60 off 196 balls had given Australia the platform they needed in order to aim for a first-innings lead. Peter Handscomb played positively and struck a couple of boundaries before he too fell to Jadeja, flicking on the up to midwicket where R Ashwin took a good juggling catch.
The session had brought more runs and wickets than the pre-lunch period, but sometimes the raw numbers fail to tell the story of a session of cricket. This was one such time. The morning was full of intense pressure as India’s bowlers tried to drag their side back into the match, and the series, and Australia’s batsmen fought gamely to hang on to their advantage.
There was big turn from Ashwin and Jadeja, variable bounce from Ishant and Umesh Yadav, edges that flew through gaps or short of fielders, perilously close lbw appeals, words exchanged between batsmen and bowlers and fielders, theatrical facial expressions as both teams pretended the other was under all the pressure.
It was just the fifth day of cricket in this campaign, yet India knew that if they did not fight back today, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy might be out of their reach by stumps. Should Australia earn a lead of 100 or more, it could be difficult for India to find a way back. So India fought this morning instead.
Ashwin was outstanding, turning the ball from the footmarks outside leg stump for the left-handers, and it was this sharp spin that eventually deceived David Warner, who could only watch as a delivery ripped past his outside edge and took out his off stump. Warner had 33 at the time, and his departure brought Steven Smith to the crease, hoping for a similarly match-defining century to the one he produced in Pune.
But on this surface against a disciplined India attack, it was much harder for Smith. He survived a big lbw appeal from Ishant, who engaged in a war of facial expressions with Smith, and another from Ashwin that went to the third umpire. The on-field not-out decision was upheld on an umpire’s call projection on leg stump. And yet all Smith was doing was surviving – when he eventually fell, it was for 8 off 52 balls.
Smith tried to defend against Jadeja, but found his inside edge lob up off the pad and saw the wicketkeeper Saha run around to his left to complete the catch. It was a hard-earned wicket for India, who had not had much luck earlier in the session. Renshaw in particular had been edgy, though his patient survival was key. He had set Australia on the path to what they hoped would be an advantage.
Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @brydoncoverdale
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo