3rd Test
Day 1
South Africa 123/4 (41.0 ov)
New Zealand
South Africa won the toss and elected to bat
Two sessions is often too little time to divine where a Test match would go and such was the case in the decider in Hamilton. New Zealand took the early lead when they took two wickets in the first three overs. South Africa would still have felt comfortable with Hashim Amla sticking around and making his 32nd half-century. So enthralling was the action that rain came by no less than three times in five hours and eventually just didn't leave. So a score of 123 for 4, achieved an hour after lunch, remained until stumps.
It was typical that a day when the bowlers were having more fun than the batsmen had to be cut short. Helping them was a pitch that bore a strange look, with tufts of grass in some areas - 11 to 12 mm long according to the host broadcaster's pitch report - and completely bare patches right alongside them. That meant the same delivery, off a similar pace and length, behaved in different ways after pitching. It sped up when it hit the green bits and slowed down off the bald areas.
Amla negotiated the challenge well, batting outside his crease, and playing as late as he could. His 50 included a couple of scorching straight drives, and a picture perfect back-foot punch through the covers that indicated he was settling in for the long haul. But then came the most dramatic ball of the day, not because it did anything extravagant, simply that it made a set batsman play all around it and then shattered the middle stump.
At that time South Africa were 97 for 4, with Faf du Plessis forced to sit through a disdainful examination of technique by Neil Wagner. Again, there was nothing spectacular happening. The left-arm quick was simply testing the South African captain's judgment of off stump, and occasionally sneaking in the bouncer to catch him off guard.
New Zealand's entire day was built around bowling like that, within themselves. The line was wicket-to-wicket to exploit the swing in the air and the surface ensured there was just that little bit of seam movement. The batsmen knew they were high atop a bed of nails. They also knew it could be avoided. Easily, if they had enough balls to leave. If only Matt Henry and Colin de Grandhomme didn't take such despicable delight in pushing people over the edge.
The first to go was debutant Theunis de Bruyn. For most of his 36 first-class matches, he had been a middle-order player. On Test debut he was thrust up to open and couldn't quite deal with the challenge. Fishing at a back of a length delivery from Henry, far enough outside off to be left, he nicked off to second slip.
Then de Grandhomme managed the inverse sucker ball from around the wicket. It pitched on a length and was wide enough to make Dean Elgar think of no reason to play it. Moments later, he was staring at a flattened off stump. The batsman who had spent 772 minutes canoodling the crease in Dunedin was gone inside 15 in Hamilton.
Henry, charging in for his second spell, toppled JP Duminy for 20 with a bouncer just before lunch. The batsman went for an ill-advised hook - what with the ball climing up towards his badge and its line on middle stump not affording him any chance to put power on the shot - and was caught on the long leg boundary. It was an awkward dismissal - both in terms of timing and for the fact that a batsman at No. 4 in a Test side had fallen to the short ball on what has largely been a slow pitch.
So barring the weather, Kane Williamson did not have too many reasons to feel displeased. Things did begin in a fashion that might make him question if his fairy godmother was shirking her duties. He had lost Tim Southee and Trent Boult on the eve of the match and so had to lead a New Zealand side without both its spearheads for the first time in five years. On the day of the match, he lost his eighth toss in a row - so long were those odds that du Plessis buckled over in laughter when he had called tails and the coin came down as he had bid. But it appeared Williamson's bad luck had reached a limit right there, meaning not much of it could seep into the actual Test, one they have to win to level the series. He could use some DRS tips though.
In the 11th over, Wagner's first, Duminy was pinned in front of middle stump. Umpire Bruce Oxenford thought it would have slipped down leg, but replays indicated it would have crashed into the target. In the 18th, they opted to review another lbw appeal that was struck down on the field and were told umpire Rod Tucker had good reason to because it had pitched outside leg. The worst, though, was yet to come. In the 29th over, Williamson was persuaded to tee it up for another lbw only to find the ball had smashed into the middle of the bat. Predictably, when DRS was no longer an option, Wagner produced a peach that took du Plessis' outside edge through to the wicketkeeper and the umpire didn't notice.
With rain forecast on all five days of the Test - Sunday shapes as the worst to be affected - South Africa have not fallen too far behind. They have a 1-0 lead and could pocket another trophy on the road with even a drawn result.
Day 2
South Africa 314
New Zealand 67/0 (25.3 ov)
New Zealand trail by 247 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
Injured tendon? The liability New Zealand hoped to exploit became a blaring irritant to their hopes of levelling the series as Quinton de Kock - with a strapped finger on a splint - produced 90 runs of the highest quality. That he has turned 12 of his 29 innings into scores of 50 or more is testament to why South Africa wanted him in their XI for this Test, no matter what.
On a pitch supporting seam movement and under clouds promising swing, South Africa's 314 was a better-than-par total. To Tom Latham, it might have looked like a monstrous one. He had not passed 10 in the series, and suddenly had 28 overs to survive against Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel and Kagiso Rabada. By stumps, however, he had put on the highest opening partnership of the series with Jeet Raval. The determination both men showed, making 67 runs in the process, was necessary, considering they had let South Africa off the hook. A team that had been 190 for 6 should not have made it to 314.
Apart from undermining themselves, New Zealand were also fighting their weather. Forty nine overs were lost on the first day and a few more went down the drain at Seddon Park on the second. Both delays were caused by showers that did not last that long.
Perhaps the only reason Kane Williamson thought better of leaving the field to investigate who was sabotaging his team with repetitive rain dances was the wickets his bowlers were able to give him. Matt Henry, on comeback, was responsible for four of them. His strength is bowling a full length and controlling his line well enough to test batsmen outside off stump. So much that in 75 deliveries to right-handers, barely any slipped down the leg side.
De Kock, being left-handed, coped far better as he made 26 runs off 28 deliveries from New Zealand's stand-in spearhead. And if Henry couldn't make him budge, what chance did the rest have? De Kock launched Jeetan Patel's offspin for a six over midwicket. He carved cuts behind point when there was little room, and his pull shots were outstanding. He finished with 90 off 118 balls - an innings in defiance of a pitch that wasn't all that great for strokeplay.
It was slow as Temba Bavuma found out, toe-ending a pull to first slip. The humidity and cloud cover ensured there was consistent swing too. Knowing that - and perhaps the fact that a draw was enough to win another trophy - Faf du Plessis reached into his closet and put on his Adelaide gear: do as you please but you won't get past me. It wasn't that he was particularly troubled by the bowling. At a drinks break, when a chair was run out for him, the only way du Plessis could have looked more at home was if his dog Giorgio had been by his side and there a braai in the background. So calm was du Plessis, just sipping on his water and chatting with his partner.
New Zealand needed something magical to remove the South African captain, and they got it soon after he got to his 12th Test fifty. Latham, at short leg, saw du Plessis premeditating a lap sweep and began moving quickly to his right. He had already covered a yard or so when the ball came within his reach, and then, it was a matter of letting his reflexes take over and hoping they were good enough. Latham stuck out his right hand and secured a catch to give Mitchell Santner a wicket. The left-arm spinner had to wait 61 overs to get into the mix.
Williamson was far more partial to his quicks, and Henry would feel unlucky that he still does not have a five-for in Tests. He nabbed Philander, who became the sixth South African to the double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets, with a teaser outside off stump. Latham did his bit again to enable the wicket with a fine catch, low to his right at second slip.
Henry found the edge again the very next ball, but it fell short of the cordon and Keshav Maharaj survived. Later, an inswinging yorker only just missed making a mess of Morkel's leg stump. Neil Wagner knocked over Rabada in the next over to finish the innings and deny his team-mate his fifth.
Day 3
South Africa 314
New Zealand 321/4 (104.0 ov)
New Zealand lead by 7 runs with 6 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
In another dimension, Kane Williamson would have the swagger befitting a man who became the fastest New Zealander to 5000 runs and their joint-highest century-maker all on the same day. In this one, he shies away from all praise. Perhaps, he suspects them to be in cahoots with those jilted awayswingers, always plotting against him just because they couldn't entice his outside edge.
South Africa tried for a good part of 73 overs to tempt him. There were bouncers that made the heart-rate flutter, reverse swing that melted the heart altogether, and sexy line and length as far as the eye could see. All of them, though, were brushed off by Williamson's soft hands and straight bat. He was the boring husband-to-be at a raging bachelor party, and thanks to his discipline, New Zealand rose to a position of strength in the Hamilton Test. They went to stumps on 321 for 4, with a lead of seven runs. Provided rain stays away, the final two days of this decider promise a whole heck of a lot.
Whatever the result, though, the fans at Seddon Park should toast to Williamson's success. Playing his 110th innings, he conquered Mount 5000 with a pull shot for six. Then, off his 151st delivery, a friendly old full toss from part-timer Dean Elgar, he whipped a four through midwicket and celebrated hundred number 17. The late great Martin Crowe had held both those records for New Zealand all on his own. Now, they have been passed down to his heir apparent. An heir who is only 26 years old and is yet to hit the ages when a batsman is considered to be in his prime.
At the other end was Jeet Raval, who made a career-best 88 off 254 balls, playing with soft hands and sure feet. Over half his runs came behind the wicket as he enjoyed using the pace of the fast bowlers. Against spin, he dialled up midwicket, using his reach to get to the pitch of the ball and rolling his wrists over it. He would have dearly wanted a maiden Test century - and it would have been the first one by a New Zealand opener against South Africa since 1953. Towards the close, Raval became visibly bogged down, his concentration solely on being out there rather than scoring runs. He spent 25 balls on 83. He blocked full tosses. He could have got out to one. And, eventually, he was toppled by Morne Morkel with 14 overs to stumps. It was a gruesome end to a bloody-minded knock.
Then, South Africa found a way back into the match, getting rid of Neil Broom and Henry Nicholls, picking them up and tossing them aside like they were sprinkles on a bowl of ice-cream. They could have had Mitchell Santner too if Vernon Philander hadn't overstepped off the delivery that flattened the off stump. And just like that - after hours and hours of it looking like New Zealand would sail ahead - the match was in the balance again.
As expected on the third day of the Test, batting became considerably easier. The grass on the pitch had died out despite spending a lot of time under the covers. They got an additional one-and-a-half hours this morning to recuperate, but all for nought. So the bowlers had to rely on reverse swing. That was then torn out of their armoury by umpires Bruce Oxenford and Rod Tucker in the 59th over, prompted into checking the shape of the ball after Philander sent a throw on the bounce in an effort to rough up one side of the leather. Faf du Plessis was utterly unimpressed with the decision, and Philander, from that point on, underamed the ball in from the deep.
Morkel took the 250th wicket of his career, exhibiting both his natural strengths and the experience he has gained over his 75 matches. He had seen Tom Latham quite content to leave everything outside off. So he went around the wicket to trick the left-hander into playing at something he shouldn't. A ball that was coming in for three-fourths of the way, pitched, straightened and nabbed the edge through to the wicketkeeper. Quinton de Kock dived to his left to pick up an acrobatic one-handed catch to seal a passage of play from the top draw.
Spin had started to have a say too, with left-armer Keshav Maharaj ripping it out of the footmarks. Williamson, wary of the threat, was quick to put him off his length, coming down the track several times, hitting a straight six in the process. Their captain's aggression helped New Zealand not lose a single wicket to the turning ball. At the other end, Morkel created doubts in Raval's mind over the position of his off stump from both over and around the wicket. Williamson, too, seemed to be hurried by deliveries that dipped and curled in at him, although remarkably, he was able to put a couple of them away for fours through square leg and midwicket.
Yet, on a day when all of New Zealand's top three made 50 or more for the first time at home, when they put on their third-highest partnership - 190 for the second wicket - ever against South Africa, their middle order put them back under pressure. Luckily for them, Williamson is so good at standing up to it.
Day 4
South Africa 314 & 80/5 (39.0 ov)
New Zealand 489
South Africa trail by 95 runs with 5 wickets remaining
New Zealand's home season had gone a little something like this: reclaimed their beloved Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, conceded a total of 595 to then win the Test and set a world record, spirited nine wickets in the final session on the final day to seal a whitewash. They had about as much to prove as ice does of being icy.
Then came the great Wellington collapse, which led BJ Watling to say, "I don't think we will judge our season on that last game. But we might on this one." If so, going into their last day of 2016-17, five wickets away from securing their first win over South Africa in a decade, should get a Colin de Grandhomme-sized thumbs up.
The 30-year old allrounder was at the centre of New Zealand's dominance after all, making his first half-century, and topping that up with the wicket of Dean Elgar - who in an ideal world would be the brand ambassador of Velcro. "Stick things together as tight as I stick to the crease". An early wicket was the last thing South Africa needed after spending 162.1 overs in the field. Not since June 2010 have they had to flog themselves so badly.
The fatigue was apparent in the dismissals of two of their most important players. Hashim Amla kept poking at deliveries wide outside the off stump. But his feet weren't moving at the usual lightning speed. The bat wasn't coming down with the same rapier-like flourish. One of the most mentally strong cricketers in the world played one of the doziest shots as he cut Jeetan Patel tamely into to the hands of slip. Four overs later, the offspinner had JP Duminy bowled while shouldering arms and South Africa were 50 for 4 - and 125 runs behind. It began looking like ten times that number when Matt Henry had Temba Bavuma caught behind off the second ball of his second spell.
Faf du Plessis - the majority shareholder of Blockathon Inc. - and Quinton de Kock - suspected Gilchrist clone - were the survivors of a day South Africa would only want to remember if they summon their superpower to draw Tests out of nowhere.
It is going to be difficult though. The pitch has begun to take sharp turn. There were footmarks outside both the right-hander and the left-hander's off stumps. And though it was the fourth day, there was still seam movement for the fast bowlers. Challenges that players at the peak of their ability would find difficult, let alone a set who had just spent the equivalent of two full days chasing leather.
It is at a time like this that you don't want silly dismissals. It is at a time like this that irony cannot resist butting in. And South Africa lost their other opener Theunis de Bruyn - a man who has played the majority of his professional career as a middle order batsman - to a run-out borne of a ghastly misunderstanding.
It was the 12th over and Amla defended the ball to mid-off solidly. But the minute he did so, he began haring down the pitch, not noticing that his partner had already turned his back. By the time de Bruyn cottoned on to what was happening, he was wrapped up in a collision with Amla. There was nothing he could do but stand in the middle of the pitch and stare helplessly as Kane Williamson's throw was gathered at the wicketkeeper's end and the stumps were broken.
The final session, when New Zealand simply ran amok, was set up by the first two, when New Zealand could be best described as glacial.
The day began with their making only 76 runs in 206 deliveries. The plan clearly was to keep wickets in hand so they could kick on after lunch. Half an hour to the break though, their key man, Williamson, was bounced out by Morne Morkel after making 176. And off the last ball of the session, they lost Mitchell Santner for 41 off 151 balls.
South Africa would have been pleased with their morning's work. Their bowlers - despite the miles in their legs - were still able to keep tight lines and lengths. Santner's presence at the crease - and his propensity to be unsettled by short balls - also helped as he took his time to work through his troubles.There were only seven boundaries in the session - only three in the first hour of play when New Zealand nudged their overnight score by 32 runs in 17 overs.
A team that needed a win to level the series batting as if they were in the nets seemed bizarre, but Williamson knew the effect it would have on the South Africans. He also knew he had de Grandhomme down the order to biff a few when needed. And finally, if everything went to plan, his spinners would have a well worn pitch to exploit.
It was all reminiscent of New Zealand's unexpectedly brilliant run in the World T20 in 2016. They couldn't take the trophy then, but if they can hold their disciplines for one more day - and rain stays away - a prize equally as coveted could be theirs - victory over a team they haven't beaten for 13 years.
Day 5
South Africa 314 & 80/5
New Zealand 489
Match drawn
August 2006 to March 2017. That's five months shy of 11 years. And in that time, South Africa have only lost one Test series away from home. With a 1-0 win over New Zealand, not only was that record safe, it was made better. So what if they needed a little help from a little rain (51 mm, according to Met Service predictions)? They've deserved it. Few teams in the history of cricket have been such indomitable travellers.
Inherent in that is praise for Kane Williamson's team too. They were stripped of three of their biggest match-winners - Ross Taylor (16 centuries), Trent Boult and Tim Southee (a combined 394 wickets). They lost the toss. They conceded a total of 314 and then took a lead of 175. At stumps on day four, they were five wickets away from beating South Africa for the first time in 13 years.
And then, there was no more cricket. Overnight storms spilled over into the playing hours, and Faf du Plessis, who was at the crease even as his colleagues succumbed to the fatigue of spending 162.1 overs on the field, was denied the chance to add to his many blockathons. He had seen his side careen to No. 7 in the ICC rankings at the start of the summer. "A dark time," he called it at the post-match presentation. On the April 1 cut-off date, du Plessis will be confirmed as the captain of the No. 2 team in the world. With a bumper season at home coming up later in the year, he and his men could easily think about going one better.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2nd Test
Day 1
New Zealand 268
South Africa 24/2 (7.0 ov)
South Africa trail by 244 runs with 8 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
Henry Nicholls' maiden Test century was the centrepiece of a New Zealand fightback on the opening day at the Basin Reserve which was capped by the removal of both South Africa's openers. JP Duminy nipped in with a career-best 4 for 47 as South Africa's spinners shared six wickets to keep New Zealand to 268, but that total grew in significance when Tim Southee and Colin de Grandhomme struck in a tense seven-over period before stumps.
From 21 for 3 - after early damage done by Morne Morkel and Kagiso Rabada - New Zealand's total represented a good recovery particularly considering the inexperience of the top order. That said, when Nicholls and BJ Watling put on 116 for the sixth wicket, they will have expected a few more than they ended up with from 217 for 5. The fact that they slipped against the fill-in offspin of Duminy, who claimed three wickets in consecutive overs, will have been a little difficult to stomach.
Still, it was South Africa who finished feeling queasy. Faced with a 25-minute period to face before the close, Stephen Cook's poor series continued when he edged a loose poke to second slip and then de Grandhomme, given the new ball ahead of Neil Wagner, had Dean Elgar taken in the same position: it took New Zealand 548 balls to remove him twice in Dunedin and 19 to get him the first time here.
The fact New Zealand's bowlers had something to work with was down to Nicholls. He entered with Rabada having taken two wickets before conceding a run, the ball moving and Kane Williamson already dismissed. He weathered the challenge through to lunch and came out with a very positive intent after the break.
Shortly after the resumption, he twice upper cut Morne Morkel over the slips and then danced down the pitch at Keshav Maharaj to bring up his fifty. He fell for 98 against Bangladesh earlier this season, but did not have to linger long in the 90s on this occasion: he flayed a wide delivery from Rabada through backward point then pulled him over square leg to reach his century from 150 deliveries.
Some of his driving was especially sweet, latching on when South Africa's quicks overpitched in search for swing, and, with the aplomb of someone renowned as a good player of spin, he milked Maharaj. At a time when there are concerns about the batting depth behind Williamson and Taylor it was a timely innings, both in the short term for this match and the future shape of New Zealand's middle order.
Nicholls' wicket, missing a flick at Duminy, sparked New Zealand's second slide but that should not distract from an outstanding innings which came from his side in the mire. De Grandhomme went softy against Duminy, advancing down the pitch and edging to slip but Watling, who had followed his half-century in Dunedin with 34 off 132 balls, will count himself unlucky having under-edged a sweep onto his back pad flap which looped up for Quinton de Kock.
Spin was not at the forefront of Faf du Plessis' mind when he won the toss. He thought the ball would swing on a slightly warmer day and was also eager to target New Zealand's lightweight-looking top order in the absence of Ross Taylor. The early exchanges justified him on both accounts.
Tom Latham's struggles continued when he edged Morkel to third slip before Rabada, shifted from the new-ball to first change, made an immediate impact. A full, swinging delivery trapped Williamson lbw and when the New Zealand captain called for DRS there was a malfunction with the system - understood to be caused by a piece of mud kicked up by Rabada which confused two of the cameras - which meant ball-tracking wasn't available. It looked like it would be clipping at worst, and New Zealand did not lose the review because the full system wasn't available, but it was scant consolation for losing their captain.
Having plied his trade on the domestic scene for 15 years, Neil Broom began his Test career with a four-ball duck, but he wouldn't have fallen to many better catches in that time than the snaffle by de Kock. Rabada, this time nipping the ball away, found Broom's outside edge and de Kock dived full-length in front of first slip - the ball would not have reached Hashim Amla.
As had in Dunedin, Jeet Raval showed good judgement outside off, waiting to pick off anything on the pads or overpitched and, alongside Nicholls, gave New Zealand a foothold only for it loosen on the stroke of lunch. Late in the session, du Plessis turned to spin. Firstly it was from Duminy, a brief experiment for the offspinner to target two left-handers, before turning to his specialist in Maharaj. He drew an edge first ball which just eluded Amla at slip, brought a nervous jab at another delivery before, tossing one a little wider, Raval pushed away from his body.
Nicholls and James Neesham took 25 off a two-over post-lunch spell from Morkel as New Zealand rattled to three figures, but the surge was stopped in its tracks when Neesham dragged his back foot out of the crease against Maharaj. Neesham knew he was out of his ground and virtually walked for the stumping. For all the focus on South Africa's quicks, it was Maharaj's seventh wicket of the series. At that point, New Zealand had lost half their side for 101 and risked being a distant second by the end of the day. Yet, when stumps arrived in the late-summer Wellington sunlight, the match was fascinatingly balanced.
Day 2
New Zealand 268
South Africa 349/9 (95.0 ov)
South Africa lead by 81 runs with 1 wicket remaining in the 1st innings
South Africa were taken from the potential of a significant deficit to a substantial lead by a rollicking seventh-wicket stand of 160 between Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock on the second day in Wellington. They transformed a pre-lunch position of 94 for 6 with the most dominant batting of the series to date and, although both fell short of hundreds, South Africa closed with a lead of 81 after the last-wicket pair added further frustration for New Zealand.
While the South African pair batted superbly, New Zealand will ponder how things raced away at such a rate after they had managed to rumble the top order during the morning session. Colin de Grandhomme, who finished with 3 for 52, claimed the key duo of Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis while Neil Wagner continued JP Duminy's frustrating tour. From the lowest ebb of South Africa's innings the last four wickets managed to amass 255 runs from 65 overs.
Both first innings followed similar patters: New Zealand had recovered from 101 for 5 through a stand of 116 between Henry Nicholls and BJ Watling on the opening day. As the ball grew older, the bowlers struggled to keep control, knocked back by the aggression shown by de Kock who won his little duel with Jeetan Patel for first time on the tour. Crucially, Patel could not strike or provide control for Kane Williamson while South Africa recovered as he conceded five-an-over in his first 10 overs.
The gamesmanship card had been played when de Kock arrived in the middle shortly before lunch as Patel was given the last over of the session to target the man he had removed in the previous four innings. This time, despite the occasional hairy moment as de Kock refused to be dominated, he came through either side of lunch and then started to cut loose against the quicks.
He upper cut Tim Southee over the slips for six and hooked Wagner onto the grass banks. At one stage, as he negotiated Patel, de Kock had 17 off 33 balls but then skipped to his half-century from 55 deliveries as the mood of the day swung back to South Africa. The short-pitched approach did not fluster him - it was arguably over-done - and Kane Williamson was soon on the retreat - a packed slip cordon replaced by scouts on the boundary.
When Patel returned for a second spell before tea, de Kock skipped down the pitch and deposited him straight down the ground. No doubt about the winner this time. He was nine away from a fourth Test hundred when he pushed out at a delivery from James Neesham, who produced a wholehearted burst shortly before the new ball, at a time when New Zealand were looking a little short of ideas.
Bavuma took a backseat once de Kock found his stride after coming through an early trial from the short ball. He had one fortunate moment when he spliced a pull which lobbed over mid-on as de Grandhomme lost his footing. As the afternoon progressed, having batting in de Kock's slipstream, he became far more assured and moved to his fifty from 88 balls.
His off-side driving, off front and back foot, was especially eye-catching and a significant moment - a first overseas century - was on the horizon when he got underneath a pull and found deep square leg. But having come into the tour under a modicum of scrutiny, after a lean series against Sri Lanka, it has been a resounding response from Bavuma following his half-century in Dunedin. However, New Zealand could not wrap things up swiftly as Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel added an unbroken 47 for the last wicket, which included a concerning moment when Morkel took a blow on the helmet from Southee but he managed to finish four short of his best Test score.
How South Africa needed the recovery act. They had resumed on 24 for 2 with both openers already dismissed and Kagiso Rabada, the nightwatchman, soon joined them when Southee swung one through him in his first over. It did not take Wagner long to strengthen New Zealand's position when, with his seventh ball of the day, and first to JP Duminy, he claimed him for the third time in the series courtesy of a loose flick which picked out midwicket.
De Grandhomme then followed Southee after an eight-over spell with success coming almost immediately when Amla, still struggling to find his best form, could barely believe he had picked out midwicket against a delivery on his pads he would normally ease away for runs. Henry Nicholls, the star of the opening day for New Zealand, could not take the catch at the first attempt but was able to grab the rebound: when things run your way, make the most of them.
Faf du Plessis appeared keen to try and wrestle back the situation with aggression - top-edging Wagner for six when he was not in control of the pull - and shortly before lunch inside-edged a drive against de Grandhomme with BJ Watling taking a low catch. At that stage even parity was a long way off, but in a series that has produced six days of counterpunches, South Africa threw the latest of them. It could be a decisive one.
Day 3
South Africa 83 for 2 and 359 beat New Zealand 268 and 171 by eight wickets
South Africa were spun to a three-day victory by Keshav Maharaj's career-best 6 for 40, the second-best figures for a spinner at the Basin Reserve, a ground not famed for the role of the slower bowlers, as New Zealand collapsed after tea for 171. That left South Africa with a simple target of 81, which was knocked off in the extra half hour. New Zealand's top order again struggled, slipping to 90 for 5, then the last five wickets were whisked away for 16 runs in 36 deliveries.
Once South Africa built a first-innings advantage of 91, it was always going to be difficult for New Zealand to take anything from the match - they had only twice overhauled bigger deficits - but the manner of their demise was out of character for a side that prides itself on resilience. While losing the top three to Morne Morkel's pace and bounce was understandable, to let the opposition left-arm spinner take six - with many handed to him on a plate - marks this down as one of New Zealand's poorest batting performances in recent times, even with the qualifier of Ross Taylor's absence.
Morkel claimed two in his opening spell, including Kane Williamson for his second failure of the match, before Maharaj started to make his mark. During a 14-over stint in the afternoon, he removed Henry Nicholls and James Neesham in the space of five deliveries with New Zealand still a run behind.
Jeet Raval, who made a gusty career-best 80, stopped the bleeding alongside Wellington recovery specialist BJ Watling until tea but there was to be no miracle this time. Raval had been given three lives when he was finally stumped by Quinton de Kock - who a short while earlier missed a similar chance - which sparked the cave-in of the lower order. While some of New Zealand's batting was soft, Maharaj's bowling was beautifully controlled - as his economy rate under two would attest - and he was able to feed off the pressure created by the quicks.
Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada, even though they claimed just one wicket between them, provided a clinical examination of the batsmen's techniques: Philander with seam movement and Rabada with pace - he particularly roughed up Raval, pounding him on the gloves, in a passage of play the opener gained much kudos for surviving.
After the brief skirmishes at the start of the day, when Morkel equalled his highest Test score, the contest went up a level as South Africa's quicks armed themselves with the new ball. Morkel immediately caused discomfort and Tom Latham's torment did not last long, when he sparred at a length ball and offered a simple catch to gully.
It meant Williamson was again exposed with the ball still very new and his stay was brief when Morkel made one straighten from off stump to graze the outside edge. Kumar Dharmasena did not detect the very thin nick, but this time du Plessis' call for DRS - which was almost instant - was spot on and they had kept Williamson to a return of just three runs in the Test.
Broom did not have to stew too long on the prospect of a debut pair when he tapped the ball into point for a single. He was then given a thorough working over by an exemplary spell from Philander who probed and beat his outside edge with waspish movement. A couple of deliveries were like 130kph legbreaks and survival was the only option. That he achieved, but he couldn't carry on far beyond the interval. In Morkel's first over after the break, he edged behind where, in a replay of the first innings, de Kock took a flying catch in front of first slip. This time, though, the catch would have reached Hashim Amla, and it took a few moments for team-mates to realise de Kock had grasped it.
Then followed a crazy over of batting against Maharaj - it would not be the first - who had already been donated a few wickets in this series. Firstly Nicholls, who needed treatment for a blow on the hand, under-edged a sweep against a wide delivery into his stumps and then five balls later, Neesham came down the pitch, flicked in the air and the ball was plucked out at midwicket by du Plessis' latest blinding catch.
For close to two hours, Raval and Watling warmed the hearts of the Wellington crowd on a cold day, but there was always the knowledge South Africa had wicket-taking options at hand. Just that Maharaj would not have been top of the list at the start of the series. He tossed a delivery wide to Raval, drew him out of the crease, and this time de Kock - who yesterday spoke about the battering his hands had taken on the tour - completed a swift piece of work.
In his next over, Maharaj produced a delivery he'll want to frame for the rest of his career, the ball pitching on middle and spinning past Colin de Grandhomme's outside edge to hit off stump. The rest was inevitable: Tim Southee slogged to long-off, Jeetan Patel fell to a Kagiso Rabada short ball and the helpless Watling heaved into the deep.
South Africa's chase was without much difficulty although Stephen Cook completed two lean Tests when he edged to the slips. Dean Elgar top-edged a swipe against Neil Wagner moments before the extra half hour was taken, leaving Amla and JP Duminy to complete the formalities. This outcome will leave New Zealand in a quandary. They did not want green seamers for this series, for fear of aiding South Africa's quicks, but the prospect of a turner in Hamilton could play into the hands of a man having the time of his life.
Wednesday 29 March 2017
Tuesday 28 March 2017
4 Test Series IND 2-1 AUS
Day 1
Australia 256/9 (94.0 ov)
India
Australia won the toss and elected to bat
On a pitch so dry it resembled the surface of Mars to Shane Warne, which looked unlike any he had seen in India according to Ravi Shastri, it was a fast bowler who came away with the richest haul. Umesh Yadav's combination of pace and reverse swing fetched him four wickets as Australia managed 256 for 9 in Pune.
A sizeable chunk of that total came off the blade of Matt Renshaw. The 20-year old playing his first Test away from home made 68 off 156 balls either side of retiring ill with a stomach bug in the first session. Not many of his team-mates can match his composure or his patience. Both those attributes served him well in conditions where sharp spin and startling bounce were the norm instead of the exception.
If such was the case on the first day, imagine having to bat last, which India have to if the match goes that long. So putting up a big total in the first innings was vital after Australia won the toss and chose to bat. They might want to get closer to 300, but the total they have already is nothing to scoff at. Mitchell Starc is a clear and present threat, especially with the expectation of variable bounce. He smashed 57 off 58 balls himself to make sure when he gets the ball in hand, he has enough of a cushion to go all out. Nathan Lyon and Steve O'Keefe too might fancy their chances of exploiting a surface where footmarks were popping up by the 10th over of the opening day.
Australia had done excellent work in the morning. Despite the alien conditions, they realised that on a strip prone to turn, the best way to survive is to not chase the ball. Protect middle stump, ensure you are behind the one that holds its line, play late and use soft hands and when the ball deviates, it will only leave you beaten and red-faced, not red-faced and back in the hut.
These virtues helped Warner and Renshaw last 27.2 overs together. The 82 runs they made were the result of their ability to both tip and run and thwack and stand back. Case in point was in the 25th over: R Ashwin harassed the outside edge and was smashed to the square leg boundary all in the space of seconds. Or the 42nd over, when Ravindra Jadeja bowled a long hop to Steven Smith and was pulled to the midwicket fence.
So often times India had to turn to their quickest bowler and Umesh was happy to oblige. His pace has worked against him in the past, making good balls stray down wrong lines and result in boundaries. Now, though, he has improved on his accuracy and by bowling wicket-to-wicket he makes sure the reverse swing he gets is always a threat. No getting your eye in by leaving balls outside the off stump.
Umesh bowled David Warner off the inside edge with his second ball of the match for 38 - after the batsman had been bowled off a no-ball on 20. Even as Australia tried to regroup Renshaw raced off the field, retiring ill for 36. One ball, two batsmen sent off the pitch, and they say Test cricket wants for action. Umesh was on a hat-trick in the final session, having O'Keefe caught behind with Wriddhiman Saha leaping several feet in the air, diving full-length to his right and snagging a one-hander for the ages and then Lyon lbw next ball.
Starc's belligerence, however, reset the balance of the match. The slog sweep was his most profitable shot and he also took care to farm the strike. So effectively was he that Josh Hazlewood made only one run of the 52 that was put on by the 10th wicket.
As well as looking for big hits, Australia were diligent in picking up singles whenever they were available and for a long time they were able to dilute the threat of India's spinners. But, maintaining that level of performance over after over after over is the challenge of playing Test cricket in India. Making it tougher still were Ashwin and Jadeja with their remarkable accuracy. And eventually home advantage began to tell.
Two wickets in two overs before tea - Jadeja pinning Peter Handscomb lbw with an arm ball and Ashwin trapping Smith at mid-on - brought India back into the contest. It was the result of a session's worth of tight bowling enabled by clever captaincy.
Virat Kohli had a midwicket and a mid-on for the offspinners against Smith and it seemed every time the batsman came down the track to hit with the turn, he found those men. With runs coming at a premium - 69 in 30 overs after lunch - Smith chose to take those fielders on and chipped the ball in the air. He couldn't time it properly and found Kohli himself at mid-on. It was a transparent trap and the Australian captain, despite 94 balls of determined and purposeful batting, played right into it. Earlier, Kohli placing himself at leg slip proved equally profitable, as Jayant Yadav tempted Shaun Marsh to sweep at a flatter delivery, a risky ploy considering the extra bounce on offer, and was caught off the back of the bat.
Not giving in to dot-ball pressure is hard work in the subcontinent, especially on a deck where a ball with your name is never far off. Renshaw, though fitness issues notwithstanding, was up to the challenge. He even felt confident enough to charge at Jadeja and loft him for six over long-on. That's not an easy job considering the left-arm spinner is the ideal man, because of his ability to bowl quick through the air, to exploit a pitch affording rich turn.
Minor miracles have followed Australia in the past 24 hours. They managed to be in two places almost at once. They batted remarkably well early on in conditions they historically struggle to deal with. A lower order rally was probably par for the course.
Day 2
Australia 260 & 143/4 (46.0 ov)
India 105
Australia lead by 298 runs with 6 wickets remaining
It could have been worse for India, though it's hard to imagine how. Virat Kohli might have spontaneously combusted, or R Ashwin could have suffered a freak shaving accident in the morning and sliced his arm off. But aside from those admittedly long shots, the day went about as badly for India as it could have. By stumps, they were facing the very real prospect of losing a home Test to Australia for the first time since 2004.
Of course, the second day's play showed how quickly things can change, so India cannot be written off. But they will need to complete a chase of 300-plus to escape with a victory, something that has been achieved only once in Test history in India. On that occasion, back in December 2008, Sachin Tendulkar scored an unbeaten hundred to hunt down 387 against England in Chennai. But that was on a pitch that lacked the spite of this one.
This is a pitch on which 15 wickets tumbled on day two, including nine during a frenetic middle session, and on which India managed only 105 in their first innings. Steve O'Keefe ransacked the Indian middle and lower order for six wickets, which all came during a 25-ball spell after lunch. Three of those wickets came in one over, which triggered a stunning collapse during which India lost their last seven wickets for 11 runs, their worst such capitulation in Test history.
The collapse was not India's only problem, though it began ominously when KL Rahul, who scored nearly two-thirds of India's runs, suffered a painful injury to his left shoulder while slogging a catch into the deep. It was also a day on which Kohli was out for a duck for the first time in a home Test, and a day on which his Australian counterpart was given life after life. Steven Smith was dropped three times on his way to a half-century, and at stumps was still there.
The situation at the close of play was this: Australia were 143 for 4, leading by 298, with Smith on 59 and Mitchell Marsh on 21. Smith, in amongst his reprieves, used his feet well to India's spinners and never got bogged down. The only Australian who did was Shaun Marsh, sent in to open because a nauseous Matt Renshaw had been off the field too long during India's innings. Marsh spent 21 balls over a duck that ended when he was lbw to Ashwin's straight ball.
Australia had already lost David Warner in similar style for 10 in the first over, but if India hoped for an Australian collapse to follow their own they were disappointed. Peter Handscomb stuck around for 19 before he flicked a catch to leg gully off Ashwin, and in the unfamiliar position of No.5, Renshaw fought off sickness to strike 31 before holing out off Jayant Yadav. But the wicket India needed was Smith, and they had their opportunities.
On 23, Smith clipped Ashwin to leg-slip, much as Handscomb was to a few overs later, but M Vijay could not hold on to the first chance he got. Then on 29, Smith danced down the pitch and drove Ravindra Jadeja towards mid-on, where the substitute fieldsman Abhinav Mukund struggled to make ground to his right and dropped a hard one. At short-leg Mukund then put down a much more gettable chance off Ashwin when Smith had 37. Renshaw had also had a life on 25.
The contrast in fielding between the two sides could hardly have been starker. Handscomb in particular was responsible for two brilliant reflex catches, though the opportunities came because of the fine bowling of Australia's spinners - especially O'Keefe. He opened the bowling with Mitchell Starc but had failed to take a wicket in seven overs before lunch, yet after the break and a change of ends, he became unplayable.
Having had Rahul caught in the deep for 64, O'Keefe followed two balls later with the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane, whose edge was brilliantly taken at second slip by Handscomb, instinctively thrusting his right hand low to the ground. Another two balls later and Wriddhiman Saha failed to handle O'Keefe's turn and also edge, to be taken more conventionally but sharply nevertheless by Smith at first slip. India had gone from 94 for 3 to 95 for 6 in one over.
Nathan Lyon interrupted the procession of O'Keefe's wickets in the next over by having Ashwin caught at short-leg in extraordinary circumstances. Ashwin's defensive push went straight down and might easily have hit the turf, but instead struck him on the boot and bounced up temptingly for the close-in fielder, Handscomb. He dived forward and stuck out his right hand to complete a catch that showed both brilliant skill and alertness. India had lost four in eight balls.
O'Keefe claimed his fourth a few overs later when Jayant was dragged just out of his ground and Matthew Wade completed a crisp stumping, and India were 98 for 8. In his next over, O'Keefe achieved his maiden Test five-wicket haul when Jadeja danced down the pitch and slogged high to deep midwicket, where Starc took the catch.
The end came when Umesh Yadav edged O'Keefe to Smith at first slip, and India had fallen to their worst total in a completed home innings for nearly nine years. O'Keefe's accuracy and ability to turn some deliveries and not others, and some more than others, troubled the India batsmen in just the same way that India's own spinners had caused problems for Australia on the turning pitches in 2013.
The day had started with Australia on 256 for 9 and hoping that their last pair, Starc and Josh Hazlewood, might find a way to push the total up towards 300. Starc signalled his intent by slogging Ashwin for a boundary from the second ball of the day, but he did not survive until the end of the over. Fifth ball, Starc slog-swept to deep midwicket and was caught for 61, ending Australia's innings at 260.
Despite O'Keefe's later success, it was pace that brought Australia the first three wickets. Vijay was drawn into pushing outside off in Hazlewood's first over, and edged an inswinger behind for 10. Starc succeeded with a well-directed short ball that surprised Cheteshwar Pujara, who could do little but glove behind while trying to fend the ball away.
Two balls later Starc also had the prize wicket of Kohli for a second-ball duck. Perhaps trying to impose himself on the match as early in his innings as possible, Kohli drove expansively at a wide ball and edged to first slip. Two wickets in an over seemed like something special for Australia. If only they knew what was to come. By the end of the day, they were in prime position to end India's run of 20 home Tests without a loss.
Day 3
Australia 260 & 285
India 105 & 107 (33.5 ov)
Australia won by 333 runs
Fortress India has been sacked. Or should that be SOKed? Not since 2012 had India lost a Test at home, and rarely in that stretch of 20 matches had they even been held to a draw. Last time Australia toured India for Tests they were crushed 4-0. They entered this match having lost their past nine Tests in Asia. Not since 2004 and the days of Gilchrist, McGrath and Warne had Australia won a Test in India. Not even Nostradamus could have seen this result coming.
Australia not only beat India, they thrashed them. Humiliated them. On a dry, turning pitch that should have suited India's spinners, Steven Smith scored the only hundred of the match and Steve O'Keefe took as many wickets as R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja combined. So many, in fact, that his 12 for 69 were the best figures ever by a visiting spinner in a Test on Indian soil. India were humbled for 105 and 107; never had they scored so few in a home Test loss.
The match was over inside three days, Australia the victors by 333 runs. The series is still alive, of course, but India have much to ponder over the next week, ahead of the Bangalore Test. It would be easy to look at pitch and suggest the toss played a significant role, but that would be unfair to Australia, who outplayed India in all facets of the game, and more than doubled their totals in both innings. In any case, Australia had won all four tosses back in 2013.
No, this a was a victory based on outstanding left-arm spin from O'Keefe, whose accuracy and ability to turn some deliveries but not others made him a constant threat; on a remarkable 109 from Smith in the second innings, which some observers said was the best hundred they had seen; on fielding that was not quite flawless but not far off it. And, yes, on what looked from the outside like a mental capitulation from India's batsmen in both innings.
This was the 10th home Test of India's summer. It would be natural that they might show signs of fatigue, but there are three more Tests in this series. They must find a way to perk up quickly. If they are searching for positives, at least they have two extra days of recuperation ahead of the second Test. They can take little else from this result, their first loss in a home Test since England prevailed in Kolkata in December 2012.
That too was a win that featured a defining hundred from the visiting captain, on that occasion Alastair Cook. In Pune, Smith's 109 - more than the entire India team scored in either of their innings - helped to ensure Australia's victory. It was his 18th Test hundred, his fifth in consecutive Tests against India, and his first on Indian soil. And, given the pitch and the quality of India's bowlers, surely his best.
He made the most of his luck - dropped three times on the second day - and resumed on the third morning on 59, with Australia's lead already standing at 298. Already enough, the way India batted. But Smith made sure of it, scored freely on both sides of the wicket, using his feet to India's spinners, and forging partnerships of consequence with several men in the middle and lower order. When he was finally lbw trying to pull Jadeja, his job was done.
Some late slogging from Mitchell Starc, who hit three sixes in his 30 off 31 balls, helped lift Australia to 285 and set India 441 for victory. They would have to break the all-time record for the highest successful chase in Test history in order to keep their unbeaten home streak alive. They never looked like getting close. Within six overs they had lost both their openers and both their reviews, and all of their hope.
O'Keefe broke through in his first over when he skidded one on to trap Vijay lbw, and in the next over Nathan Lyon spun one in to strike KL Rahul in line and another lbw was given. Both openers asked for reviews, but neither were successful. It mattered little, for the procession of wickets that followed were all straightforward enough that no reviews would have saved India.
The wicket of Virat Kohli embodied India's uncertainty against O'Keefe: he shouldered arms, confident that the ball would turn away from him, and failed to detect that this one was going on with the arm. Kohli lost his off stump. Ajinkya Rahane followed by driving a catch to cover off O'Keefe, and Ashwin was lbw on review when he pressed forward to O'Keefe and the ball struck pad fractionally before bat.
Wriddhiman Saha came and went, also lbw to an O'Keefe skidder, and straight after tea the last remaining top-six batsman, Cheteshwar Pujara, fell in more or less the same way. India kept playing for turn, O'Keefe kept rapping them in front with straight balls. Of course, that is oversimplifying things: he turned enough deliveries to varying degrees that the straight ones became the danger, when the batsmen expected turn that didn't come.
By this stage, O'Keefe had 12 wickets for the match and a realistic chance of overtaking Ian Botham's 13 as the best bowling by any visiting player in India. Instead, Lyon ran through the remaining three wickets: Jadeja was bowled trying to cut, Ishant Sharma was caught at leg gully, and Jayant Yadav gloved a catch to Matthew Wade to make the result official. A result that nobody saw coming three days earlier.
Day 4
Australia 451 & 23/2 (7.2 ov)
India 603/9d
Australia trail by 129 runs with 8 wickets remaining
Cheteshwar Pujara secured the longest occupation ever by an Indian batsman in a Test match as he and Wriddhiman Saha ground Australia into the Ranchi dust on the fourth day. The tourists were unable to maintain their shackles on the middle-order pair after a pair of close calls went against them in the morning, leaving India as the only side who can win this match.
That fact was underlined by the final eight overs of the day, in which Ravindra Jadeja bowled David Warner through the gate and then followed up by skidding through the nightwatchman Nathan Lyon with the day's last delivery. Jadeja's accuracy and variation of spin loom as the gravest threats to Steven Smith's bedraggled team on day five.
In all the Pujara-Saha stand was worth 199, denying Australia a wicket until the evening session when both batsmen fell in pursuit of quick runs to increase India's lead. Jadeja prolonged the punishment with a rapid fifty, and the tourists were left with eight overs to survive before the close, manoeuvred into a position from which India have already won Test matches at home this season.
Patience has always been a strength of Pujara's, and by surpassing Rahul Dravid as the Indian batsman to spend the longest time batting in a Test, he showed fortitude of a truly rare kind. Saha offered excellent support, opening his shoulders to play attractively against a tiring Australian attack and reaching a deserved century.
Pat Cummins, who again bowled with great quality for the tourists and deserved his four wickets, had Saha given out lbw with his first ball of the day, but the wicketkeeper's referral showed the ball to be missing leg stump by millimetres.
Closer to lunch Pujara was given out lbw to a delivery that Lyon straighted down the line of the stumps from around the wicket, but his review showed the ball to be spinning too much and also sliding past leg stump. Steve O'Keefe also came close to a breakthrough when Saha edged a cut shot attempt but the chance was dropped by Matthew Wade.
Chances dried up almost entirely in the afternoon as Pujara and Saha went on to a partnership that has redefined the match and possibly the series. Not least by placing a considerable physical strain on Australia's four-man bowling attack - Glenn Maxwell's offbreaks were used only sparingly.
Pujara's performance has effectively cancelled out the big hundred made by Australia's captain Smith, and put India in the ideal position to pressure the tourists on the final day. Saha's assistance was also vital in frustrating a touring team that had started the day with hopes of quickly rolling up the India tail and setting a fourth-innings target.
Cummins had briefly enjoyed the sensation of claiming a fifth wicket of the innings in his return to Test cricket nearly six years after his storied debut against South Africa in Johannesburg. Saha was nowhere near a ball angled into him, and there was some discussion with Pujara before he reviewed. The Australians were floored when ball-tracking showed the ball to be missing leg stump.
From there Pujara and Saha accumulated slowly, against bowling that remained disciplined under an overcast sky that compelled the umpires to turn on the stadium floodlights. Pujara's 150 was a marker of his concentration and temperament against bowling that rarely lapsed into looseness.
Lyon was not used until midway through the session, and from around the stumps he appeared to have found a way to winkle out Pujara when the umpire Ian Gould raised his finger in response to the lbw appeal. However Hawk-Eye again went the way of India.
Wade's drop of Saha from O'Keefe on 51 drew an apology from gloveman to bowler, then shortly before the interval Lyon again appealed and then referred, this time for caught behind when Saha essayed a sweep shot. But replays found no evidence of contact and left the Australians having made no progress for their morning's efforts.
Smith took the third new ball soon after play resumed, and once more Cummins produced a series of testing deliveries but was unable to claim the wicket Australia so dearly needed. Instead the hosts forged into the lead while the visitors used up their two decision referrals with a pair of overly optimistic appeals.
Pujara's long-batting milestone was followed by Saha's approach to within one run of his century at tea. The stand was worth an unbeaten 175 at the break, with two whole sessions elapsing without a single wicket. Another 24 runs were accrued after tea at an increasing rate, including Saha's century, before Pujara popped a catch to midwicket to hand Lyon his first wicket since day one of the Bengaluru Test.
Saha fell in a similar manner, but Jadeja was more successful in taking the attack to the visitors. O'Keefe's 77 overs were the sixth most ever by an Australian bowler in a Test innings, a tally not surpassed since Jim Higgs against England in 1979. Australia were defeated in that match, and the loss of Warner and Lyon ensures their 2017 descendants now face an almighty struggle to avoid the same fate.
Day 5
Australia 256/9 (94.0 ov)
India
Australia won the toss and elected to bat
On a pitch so dry it resembled the surface of Mars to Shane Warne, which looked unlike any he had seen in India according to Ravi Shastri, it was a fast bowler who came away with the richest haul. Umesh Yadav's combination of pace and reverse swing fetched him four wickets as Australia managed 256 for 9 in Pune.
A sizeable chunk of that total came off the blade of Matt Renshaw. The 20-year old playing his first Test away from home made 68 off 156 balls either side of retiring ill with a stomach bug in the first session. Not many of his team-mates can match his composure or his patience. Both those attributes served him well in conditions where sharp spin and startling bounce were the norm instead of the exception.
If such was the case on the first day, imagine having to bat last, which India have to if the match goes that long. So putting up a big total in the first innings was vital after Australia won the toss and chose to bat. They might want to get closer to 300, but the total they have already is nothing to scoff at. Mitchell Starc is a clear and present threat, especially with the expectation of variable bounce. He smashed 57 off 58 balls himself to make sure when he gets the ball in hand, he has enough of a cushion to go all out. Nathan Lyon and Steve O'Keefe too might fancy their chances of exploiting a surface where footmarks were popping up by the 10th over of the opening day.
Australia had done excellent work in the morning. Despite the alien conditions, they realised that on a strip prone to turn, the best way to survive is to not chase the ball. Protect middle stump, ensure you are behind the one that holds its line, play late and use soft hands and when the ball deviates, it will only leave you beaten and red-faced, not red-faced and back in the hut.
These virtues helped Warner and Renshaw last 27.2 overs together. The 82 runs they made were the result of their ability to both tip and run and thwack and stand back. Case in point was in the 25th over: R Ashwin harassed the outside edge and was smashed to the square leg boundary all in the space of seconds. Or the 42nd over, when Ravindra Jadeja bowled a long hop to Steven Smith and was pulled to the midwicket fence.
So often times India had to turn to their quickest bowler and Umesh was happy to oblige. His pace has worked against him in the past, making good balls stray down wrong lines and result in boundaries. Now, though, he has improved on his accuracy and by bowling wicket-to-wicket he makes sure the reverse swing he gets is always a threat. No getting your eye in by leaving balls outside the off stump.
Umesh bowled David Warner off the inside edge with his second ball of the match for 38 - after the batsman had been bowled off a no-ball on 20. Even as Australia tried to regroup Renshaw raced off the field, retiring ill for 36. One ball, two batsmen sent off the pitch, and they say Test cricket wants for action. Umesh was on a hat-trick in the final session, having O'Keefe caught behind with Wriddhiman Saha leaping several feet in the air, diving full-length to his right and snagging a one-hander for the ages and then Lyon lbw next ball.
Starc's belligerence, however, reset the balance of the match. The slog sweep was his most profitable shot and he also took care to farm the strike. So effectively was he that Josh Hazlewood made only one run of the 52 that was put on by the 10th wicket.
As well as looking for big hits, Australia were diligent in picking up singles whenever they were available and for a long time they were able to dilute the threat of India's spinners. But, maintaining that level of performance over after over after over is the challenge of playing Test cricket in India. Making it tougher still were Ashwin and Jadeja with their remarkable accuracy. And eventually home advantage began to tell.
Two wickets in two overs before tea - Jadeja pinning Peter Handscomb lbw with an arm ball and Ashwin trapping Smith at mid-on - brought India back into the contest. It was the result of a session's worth of tight bowling enabled by clever captaincy.
Virat Kohli had a midwicket and a mid-on for the offspinners against Smith and it seemed every time the batsman came down the track to hit with the turn, he found those men. With runs coming at a premium - 69 in 30 overs after lunch - Smith chose to take those fielders on and chipped the ball in the air. He couldn't time it properly and found Kohli himself at mid-on. It was a transparent trap and the Australian captain, despite 94 balls of determined and purposeful batting, played right into it. Earlier, Kohli placing himself at leg slip proved equally profitable, as Jayant Yadav tempted Shaun Marsh to sweep at a flatter delivery, a risky ploy considering the extra bounce on offer, and was caught off the back of the bat.
Not giving in to dot-ball pressure is hard work in the subcontinent, especially on a deck where a ball with your name is never far off. Renshaw, though fitness issues notwithstanding, was up to the challenge. He even felt confident enough to charge at Jadeja and loft him for six over long-on. That's not an easy job considering the left-arm spinner is the ideal man, because of his ability to bowl quick through the air, to exploit a pitch affording rich turn.
Minor miracles have followed Australia in the past 24 hours. They managed to be in two places almost at once. They batted remarkably well early on in conditions they historically struggle to deal with. A lower order rally was probably par for the course.
Day 2
Australia 260 & 143/4 (46.0 ov)
India 105
Australia lead by 298 runs with 6 wickets remaining
It could have been worse for India, though it's hard to imagine how. Virat Kohli might have spontaneously combusted, or R Ashwin could have suffered a freak shaving accident in the morning and sliced his arm off. But aside from those admittedly long shots, the day went about as badly for India as it could have. By stumps, they were facing the very real prospect of losing a home Test to Australia for the first time since 2004.
Of course, the second day's play showed how quickly things can change, so India cannot be written off. But they will need to complete a chase of 300-plus to escape with a victory, something that has been achieved only once in Test history in India. On that occasion, back in December 2008, Sachin Tendulkar scored an unbeaten hundred to hunt down 387 against England in Chennai. But that was on a pitch that lacked the spite of this one.
This is a pitch on which 15 wickets tumbled on day two, including nine during a frenetic middle session, and on which India managed only 105 in their first innings. Steve O'Keefe ransacked the Indian middle and lower order for six wickets, which all came during a 25-ball spell after lunch. Three of those wickets came in one over, which triggered a stunning collapse during which India lost their last seven wickets for 11 runs, their worst such capitulation in Test history.
The collapse was not India's only problem, though it began ominously when KL Rahul, who scored nearly two-thirds of India's runs, suffered a painful injury to his left shoulder while slogging a catch into the deep. It was also a day on which Kohli was out for a duck for the first time in a home Test, and a day on which his Australian counterpart was given life after life. Steven Smith was dropped three times on his way to a half-century, and at stumps was still there.
The situation at the close of play was this: Australia were 143 for 4, leading by 298, with Smith on 59 and Mitchell Marsh on 21. Smith, in amongst his reprieves, used his feet well to India's spinners and never got bogged down. The only Australian who did was Shaun Marsh, sent in to open because a nauseous Matt Renshaw had been off the field too long during India's innings. Marsh spent 21 balls over a duck that ended when he was lbw to Ashwin's straight ball.
Australia had already lost David Warner in similar style for 10 in the first over, but if India hoped for an Australian collapse to follow their own they were disappointed. Peter Handscomb stuck around for 19 before he flicked a catch to leg gully off Ashwin, and in the unfamiliar position of No.5, Renshaw fought off sickness to strike 31 before holing out off Jayant Yadav. But the wicket India needed was Smith, and they had their opportunities.
On 23, Smith clipped Ashwin to leg-slip, much as Handscomb was to a few overs later, but M Vijay could not hold on to the first chance he got. Then on 29, Smith danced down the pitch and drove Ravindra Jadeja towards mid-on, where the substitute fieldsman Abhinav Mukund struggled to make ground to his right and dropped a hard one. At short-leg Mukund then put down a much more gettable chance off Ashwin when Smith had 37. Renshaw had also had a life on 25.
The contrast in fielding between the two sides could hardly have been starker. Handscomb in particular was responsible for two brilliant reflex catches, though the opportunities came because of the fine bowling of Australia's spinners - especially O'Keefe. He opened the bowling with Mitchell Starc but had failed to take a wicket in seven overs before lunch, yet after the break and a change of ends, he became unplayable.
Having had Rahul caught in the deep for 64, O'Keefe followed two balls later with the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane, whose edge was brilliantly taken at second slip by Handscomb, instinctively thrusting his right hand low to the ground. Another two balls later and Wriddhiman Saha failed to handle O'Keefe's turn and also edge, to be taken more conventionally but sharply nevertheless by Smith at first slip. India had gone from 94 for 3 to 95 for 6 in one over.
Nathan Lyon interrupted the procession of O'Keefe's wickets in the next over by having Ashwin caught at short-leg in extraordinary circumstances. Ashwin's defensive push went straight down and might easily have hit the turf, but instead struck him on the boot and bounced up temptingly for the close-in fielder, Handscomb. He dived forward and stuck out his right hand to complete a catch that showed both brilliant skill and alertness. India had lost four in eight balls.
O'Keefe claimed his fourth a few overs later when Jayant was dragged just out of his ground and Matthew Wade completed a crisp stumping, and India were 98 for 8. In his next over, O'Keefe achieved his maiden Test five-wicket haul when Jadeja danced down the pitch and slogged high to deep midwicket, where Starc took the catch.
The end came when Umesh Yadav edged O'Keefe to Smith at first slip, and India had fallen to their worst total in a completed home innings for nearly nine years. O'Keefe's accuracy and ability to turn some deliveries and not others, and some more than others, troubled the India batsmen in just the same way that India's own spinners had caused problems for Australia on the turning pitches in 2013.
The day had started with Australia on 256 for 9 and hoping that their last pair, Starc and Josh Hazlewood, might find a way to push the total up towards 300. Starc signalled his intent by slogging Ashwin for a boundary from the second ball of the day, but he did not survive until the end of the over. Fifth ball, Starc slog-swept to deep midwicket and was caught for 61, ending Australia's innings at 260.
Despite O'Keefe's later success, it was pace that brought Australia the first three wickets. Vijay was drawn into pushing outside off in Hazlewood's first over, and edged an inswinger behind for 10. Starc succeeded with a well-directed short ball that surprised Cheteshwar Pujara, who could do little but glove behind while trying to fend the ball away.
Two balls later Starc also had the prize wicket of Kohli for a second-ball duck. Perhaps trying to impose himself on the match as early in his innings as possible, Kohli drove expansively at a wide ball and edged to first slip. Two wickets in an over seemed like something special for Australia. If only they knew what was to come. By the end of the day, they were in prime position to end India's run of 20 home Tests without a loss.
Day 3
Australia 260 & 285
India 105 & 107 (33.5 ov)
Australia won by 333 runs
Fortress India has been sacked. Or should that be SOKed? Not since 2012 had India lost a Test at home, and rarely in that stretch of 20 matches had they even been held to a draw. Last time Australia toured India for Tests they were crushed 4-0. They entered this match having lost their past nine Tests in Asia. Not since 2004 and the days of Gilchrist, McGrath and Warne had Australia won a Test in India. Not even Nostradamus could have seen this result coming.
Australia not only beat India, they thrashed them. Humiliated them. On a dry, turning pitch that should have suited India's spinners, Steven Smith scored the only hundred of the match and Steve O'Keefe took as many wickets as R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja combined. So many, in fact, that his 12 for 69 were the best figures ever by a visiting spinner in a Test on Indian soil. India were humbled for 105 and 107; never had they scored so few in a home Test loss.
The match was over inside three days, Australia the victors by 333 runs. The series is still alive, of course, but India have much to ponder over the next week, ahead of the Bangalore Test. It would be easy to look at pitch and suggest the toss played a significant role, but that would be unfair to Australia, who outplayed India in all facets of the game, and more than doubled their totals in both innings. In any case, Australia had won all four tosses back in 2013.
No, this a was a victory based on outstanding left-arm spin from O'Keefe, whose accuracy and ability to turn some deliveries but not others made him a constant threat; on a remarkable 109 from Smith in the second innings, which some observers said was the best hundred they had seen; on fielding that was not quite flawless but not far off it. And, yes, on what looked from the outside like a mental capitulation from India's batsmen in both innings.
This was the 10th home Test of India's summer. It would be natural that they might show signs of fatigue, but there are three more Tests in this series. They must find a way to perk up quickly. If they are searching for positives, at least they have two extra days of recuperation ahead of the second Test. They can take little else from this result, their first loss in a home Test since England prevailed in Kolkata in December 2012.
That too was a win that featured a defining hundred from the visiting captain, on that occasion Alastair Cook. In Pune, Smith's 109 - more than the entire India team scored in either of their innings - helped to ensure Australia's victory. It was his 18th Test hundred, his fifth in consecutive Tests against India, and his first on Indian soil. And, given the pitch and the quality of India's bowlers, surely his best.
He made the most of his luck - dropped three times on the second day - and resumed on the third morning on 59, with Australia's lead already standing at 298. Already enough, the way India batted. But Smith made sure of it, scored freely on both sides of the wicket, using his feet to India's spinners, and forging partnerships of consequence with several men in the middle and lower order. When he was finally lbw trying to pull Jadeja, his job was done.
Some late slogging from Mitchell Starc, who hit three sixes in his 30 off 31 balls, helped lift Australia to 285 and set India 441 for victory. They would have to break the all-time record for the highest successful chase in Test history in order to keep their unbeaten home streak alive. They never looked like getting close. Within six overs they had lost both their openers and both their reviews, and all of their hope.
O'Keefe broke through in his first over when he skidded one on to trap Vijay lbw, and in the next over Nathan Lyon spun one in to strike KL Rahul in line and another lbw was given. Both openers asked for reviews, but neither were successful. It mattered little, for the procession of wickets that followed were all straightforward enough that no reviews would have saved India.
The wicket of Virat Kohli embodied India's uncertainty against O'Keefe: he shouldered arms, confident that the ball would turn away from him, and failed to detect that this one was going on with the arm. Kohli lost his off stump. Ajinkya Rahane followed by driving a catch to cover off O'Keefe, and Ashwin was lbw on review when he pressed forward to O'Keefe and the ball struck pad fractionally before bat.
Wriddhiman Saha came and went, also lbw to an O'Keefe skidder, and straight after tea the last remaining top-six batsman, Cheteshwar Pujara, fell in more or less the same way. India kept playing for turn, O'Keefe kept rapping them in front with straight balls. Of course, that is oversimplifying things: he turned enough deliveries to varying degrees that the straight ones became the danger, when the batsmen expected turn that didn't come.
By this stage, O'Keefe had 12 wickets for the match and a realistic chance of overtaking Ian Botham's 13 as the best bowling by any visiting player in India. Instead, Lyon ran through the remaining three wickets: Jadeja was bowled trying to cut, Ishant Sharma was caught at leg gully, and Jayant Yadav gloved a catch to Matthew Wade to make the result official. A result that nobody saw coming three days earlier.
Day 4
Australia 451 & 23/2 (7.2 ov)
India 603/9d
Australia trail by 129 runs with 8 wickets remaining
Cheteshwar Pujara secured the longest occupation ever by an Indian batsman in a Test match as he and Wriddhiman Saha ground Australia into the Ranchi dust on the fourth day. The tourists were unable to maintain their shackles on the middle-order pair after a pair of close calls went against them in the morning, leaving India as the only side who can win this match.
That fact was underlined by the final eight overs of the day, in which Ravindra Jadeja bowled David Warner through the gate and then followed up by skidding through the nightwatchman Nathan Lyon with the day's last delivery. Jadeja's accuracy and variation of spin loom as the gravest threats to Steven Smith's bedraggled team on day five.
In all the Pujara-Saha stand was worth 199, denying Australia a wicket until the evening session when both batsmen fell in pursuit of quick runs to increase India's lead. Jadeja prolonged the punishment with a rapid fifty, and the tourists were left with eight overs to survive before the close, manoeuvred into a position from which India have already won Test matches at home this season.
Patience has always been a strength of Pujara's, and by surpassing Rahul Dravid as the Indian batsman to spend the longest time batting in a Test, he showed fortitude of a truly rare kind. Saha offered excellent support, opening his shoulders to play attractively against a tiring Australian attack and reaching a deserved century.
Pat Cummins, who again bowled with great quality for the tourists and deserved his four wickets, had Saha given out lbw with his first ball of the day, but the wicketkeeper's referral showed the ball to be missing leg stump by millimetres.
Closer to lunch Pujara was given out lbw to a delivery that Lyon straighted down the line of the stumps from around the wicket, but his review showed the ball to be spinning too much and also sliding past leg stump. Steve O'Keefe also came close to a breakthrough when Saha edged a cut shot attempt but the chance was dropped by Matthew Wade.
Chances dried up almost entirely in the afternoon as Pujara and Saha went on to a partnership that has redefined the match and possibly the series. Not least by placing a considerable physical strain on Australia's four-man bowling attack - Glenn Maxwell's offbreaks were used only sparingly.
Pujara's performance has effectively cancelled out the big hundred made by Australia's captain Smith, and put India in the ideal position to pressure the tourists on the final day. Saha's assistance was also vital in frustrating a touring team that had started the day with hopes of quickly rolling up the India tail and setting a fourth-innings target.
Cummins had briefly enjoyed the sensation of claiming a fifth wicket of the innings in his return to Test cricket nearly six years after his storied debut against South Africa in Johannesburg. Saha was nowhere near a ball angled into him, and there was some discussion with Pujara before he reviewed. The Australians were floored when ball-tracking showed the ball to be missing leg stump.
From there Pujara and Saha accumulated slowly, against bowling that remained disciplined under an overcast sky that compelled the umpires to turn on the stadium floodlights. Pujara's 150 was a marker of his concentration and temperament against bowling that rarely lapsed into looseness.
Lyon was not used until midway through the session, and from around the stumps he appeared to have found a way to winkle out Pujara when the umpire Ian Gould raised his finger in response to the lbw appeal. However Hawk-Eye again went the way of India.
Wade's drop of Saha from O'Keefe on 51 drew an apology from gloveman to bowler, then shortly before the interval Lyon again appealed and then referred, this time for caught behind when Saha essayed a sweep shot. But replays found no evidence of contact and left the Australians having made no progress for their morning's efforts.
Smith took the third new ball soon after play resumed, and once more Cummins produced a series of testing deliveries but was unable to claim the wicket Australia so dearly needed. Instead the hosts forged into the lead while the visitors used up their two decision referrals with a pair of overly optimistic appeals.
Pujara's long-batting milestone was followed by Saha's approach to within one run of his century at tea. The stand was worth an unbeaten 175 at the break, with two whole sessions elapsing without a single wicket. Another 24 runs were accrued after tea at an increasing rate, including Saha's century, before Pujara popped a catch to midwicket to hand Lyon his first wicket since day one of the Bengaluru Test.
Saha fell in a similar manner, but Jadeja was more successful in taking the attack to the visitors. O'Keefe's 77 overs were the sixth most ever by an Australian bowler in a Test innings, a tally not surpassed since Jim Higgs against England in 1979. Australia were defeated in that match, and the loss of Warner and Lyon ensures their 2017 descendants now face an almighty struggle to avoid the same fate.
Day 5
Friday 24 March 2017
Emirates Twenty20 Trophy (Thurs 23rd March & Fri 24th March)
Match 1
Lancashire 159/8 (20 ov)
Warwickshire 96 (18.3/20 ov)
Lancashire won by 63 runs
Match 2
Peshawar Zalmi 143/6 (20 ov)
Durham 108 (18.5/20 ov)
Peshawar Zalmi won by 35 runs
Match 3
Lahore Qalandars 144/7 (20 ov)
Warwickshire 138/6 (20 ov)
Lahore Qalandars won by 6 runs
Match 4
Durham 89/5
MCC World XI 90/4 (8.4/10 ov, target 90)
MCC World XI won by 6 wickets (with 8 balls remaining)
Match 5
Lancashire 90/6
Qalandars 74/4 (10/10 ov, target 91)
Lancashire won by 16 runs
Match 6
Zalmi 133/8
MCC World XI 69/3 (9/9 ov, target 69)
MCC World XI won by 7 wickets (with 0 balls remaining) (D/L method)
Final
Lancashire 33/1 (7/20 ov)
MCC World XI
No result
Well, a decision has been made to share the trophy between the two teams as it continues to pour down incessantly.
Lancashire 159/8 (20 ov)
Warwickshire 96 (18.3/20 ov)
Lancashire won by 63 runs
Match 2
Peshawar Zalmi 143/6 (20 ov)
Durham 108 (18.5/20 ov)
Peshawar Zalmi won by 35 runs
Match 3
Lahore Qalandars 144/7 (20 ov)
Warwickshire 138/6 (20 ov)
Lahore Qalandars won by 6 runs
Match 4
Durham 89/5
MCC World XI 90/4 (8.4/10 ov, target 90)
MCC World XI won by 6 wickets (with 8 balls remaining)
Match 5
Lancashire 90/6
Qalandars 74/4 (10/10 ov, target 91)
Lancashire won by 16 runs
Match 6
Zalmi 133/8
MCC World XI 69/3 (9/9 ov, target 69)
MCC World XI won by 7 wickets (with 0 balls remaining) (D/L method)
Final
Lancashire 33/1 (7/20 ov)
MCC World XI
No result
Well, a decision has been made to share the trophy between the two teams as it continues to pour down incessantly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)