Australia 87 for 2 (Renshaw 40*, S Marsh 2*) trail India 189 by 102 runs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
David Warner saw R Ashwin turn one past his outside edge to take out the off stump © AFP
Sometimes, the raw numbers of a session fail to tell the story. This is one of those times. On the second morning in Bengaluru, Australia puttered along and gradually added 47 runs. India picked up two wickets, an average of one per hour. Hardly a thrilling session, you might think. Think again. It was a session 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 prodigious spin from R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, variable bounce from Ishant Sharma 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. And at the end of it all, neither side had yet struck the vital blow.
Matt Renshaw batted through the session and went to lunch on 40 from 144 deliveries, a fine effort of concentration on a pitch that was cracking up like the audience at a comedy club. Shaun Marsh was alongside him at the break on 2, having not long strode to the crease at the fall of the second wicket. Australia were 87 for 2, still trailing by 102 runs, but secure in the knowledge that they hold a 1-0 lead in the series.
It was that, and their outstanding first-day performance in this Test, that turned this session into the high-pressure environment that it was. It is 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, life was much trickier 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 Wriddhiman 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; his patient survival was critical for Australia, though he will need significant support as the day wears on.
Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @brydoncoverdale
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo