It was a fascinating day of Test cricket. 239 runs and 11 wickets on the fourth day of the Boxing Day Test and it has set up a mouth-watering day five in prospect.
Just when it seemed like India have bounced back and are in prime position to win the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland put on a superb 10th wicket stand to defy India and stretch the lead past 300.
The fourth day started with India adding 11 runs to their overnight score before Nitish Kumar Reddy holed out against Lyon. The Indian pace attack came out all guns blazing. They tested the Australian top-order magnificently but were unlucky, given the number of times they went past the edge.
Jasprit Bumrah started proceedings by knocking over Sam Konstas with a beauty before Marnus Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja batted out 12.2 overs for 23 runs. It was Mohammed Siraj who got the breakthrough as he rattled Khawaja’s stumps and left Australia 43/2.
Steve Smith walked in and didn’t really look comfortable. India made scoring tough for him. They built up the pressure and didn’t allow him to score freely. Labuschagne also battled through and managed to survive a few close shaves.
Siraj finally found the edge of Smith post lunch and the Australia No. 4 fell for 13. That triggered a collapse as Bumrah came back to pick three wickets in as many overs. He had Travis Head caught at square leg before forcing Mitchell Marsh to nick off. He then knocked over Alex Carey to leave Australia reeling at 91/6.
At that stage, the lead was just 196. India would’ve fancied their chances of bowling the hosts out cheaply. However, skipper Pat Cummins joined Labuschagne in the middle and added 57 runs for the 7th wicket. Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped a regulation catch at gully and Labuschagne got a reprieve on 46. He then went on to raise his second fifty of the game.
It was once again Siraj who broke the partnership post Tea. He pinned the Australia No. 3 LBW for 70. Once again, Australia lost wickets in clumps as Mitchell Starc was runout due to the brilliance of Rishabh Pant. The India wicket-keeper showed some good awareness and hit the stumps directly at the non-striker’s end after a miscommunication between Starc and Cummins.
Jadeja prized out the Australian captain who was caught at slip. Australia were 173/9 and it seemed like they would be bundled out with a lead of less than 300.
India were well in the game and may have well been thinking of chasing down a record target at the MCG on the final day. But Lyon and Boland had other ideas.
Siraj dropped a return catch to give Lyon an early chance. The score read just 174 at that stage. But after that drop catch, No. 10 and 11 frustrated India big time. Both Lyon and Boland defended really well. There were a few plays and misses but they ensured that the score kept moving forward.
Slowly, Australia’s lead swelled past 300. A few deliveries hit the pads as well and India reviewed in desperation but it went in vain. The duo batted for 110 balls and added 55 runs for the last wicket.
Bumrah gets Lyon off a no-ball
It forced India to take the second new ball and bring back Bumrah for the umpteenth spell. The No. 1 Test bowler bowled his heart out and gave his everything, picking up four wickets. He even got the wicket of Lyon in the final over of the day. But he overstepped and India’s frustration grew. Lyon ended the day with a boundary to third-man, off the edge past third slip. India’s intensity was brilliant for most part of the day but that last wicket stand has deflated them a bit.
The lead is already 333 and the run-chase for India has become trickier if it wasn’t earlier. However, India can take heart from the fact that Australia’s No. 10 and 11 have played in excess of 50 balls each. Hence, it’s not a pitch which has a lot of demons.
But it won’t be straightforward. There is still some help for the pacers in the pitch, especially with the new ball and there is a bit of variable bounce.
It’ll also be interesting to see if Australia declare overnight and send India in straightaway or if they want their last wicket pair to bat a little more.
The highest successful run-chase at the MCG is 231 by Australia which they achieved against England in 2013. India have successfully chased more than 200 only twice in Australia. In fact, they will have to repeat their Gabba 2021 heroics when they hunted down 327 to win the series (2-1) in dramatic fashion.
Irrespective of the result, the game is poised beautifully and is set for a cracker-jacker of a final day.
BRIEF SCORES: Australia 474 (Steve Smith 140, Marnus Labuschagne 72, Sam Konstas 60, Jasprit Bumrah 4/99, Ravindra Jadeja 3/78, Akash Deep 2/94) & 228/9 (Marnus Labuschagne 70, Pat Cummins 41, Nathan Lyon 41, Jasprit Bumrah 4/56, Mohammed Siraj 3/66) lead India 369 (Nitish Kumar Reddy 114, Yashasvi Jaiswal 82, Washington Sundar 50, Scott Boland 3/57, Pat Cummins 2/89, Nathan Lyon 3/96) by 333 runs.
