An innings defeat looked on the cards when Australia reduced India, overnight 128 for 5 and still 29 runs behind hosts’ first-innings total of 337, to 148 for 7 when R Ashwin was bounced out.
Adelaide: India weren’t 36ed this time but the loss was no less crushing. Not unlike the last time they played here, India were humbled on the third morning of the pink-ball Test, helping Australia pull level at 1-1 in the five-match series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
An innings defeat looked on the cards when Australia reduced India, overnight 128 for 5 and still 29 runs behind hosts’ first-innings total of 337, to 148 for 7 when R Ashwin was bounced out. But Nitish Reddy manufactured a few big hits to set Australia a target of 19 runs — after folding for 175 — to level the series, a task Nathan McSweeney (10 n.o.) and Usman Khawaja (9 n.o.) completed with little fuss here at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday.
Skipper Pat Cummins capped off the win with a five-wicket haul (5/57) that would have healed wounds suffered in the course of a 295-run loss in the opening Test.
Australians had pulled the game away from India on Saturday’s second day itself by shaving the cream of their batting. Rishabh Pant (28) was the last vestige of the “mighty” Indian batting coming into third day’s play. Australia knew Pant stood between them and a series-levelling win with Nitish (42, 47b, 6×4, 1×6) having shown enough promise. Even as the tourists’ top-order crumbled under lights, Pant defied a pumped-up Aussie attack with extravagant batting that stood oblivious to the situation his team was in. He had charged down and slammed the first ball he had faced for a four and brought out his now-familiar roll-over reverse slap.
If he had stayed in the crease for an hour or so, Aussies might have been left with a tricky target to chase under lights. All that turned out to be wishful thinking when the 26-year-old fell rather tamely, hanging his bat outside and managing a nick behind the wickets. Then onwards, it was just a matter of when rather than if.
Cummins then unleashed a barrage of bouncers on the Indian tailanders with handsome rewards. After Ashwin, the pacer also dismissed Rana in similar fashion, constantly targeting either his ribs or head. Nitish gave back as good as he got, even hooking the 33-year-old for a majestic six. But the 21-year-old was out trying to ramp a rising delivery from Cummins over third man. And it wasn’t long before Scott Boland (3/51) had Siraj caught by, incidentally, Travis Head to end India’s innings.
It was a thorough professional performance by Australia who came here with their egos bruised and reputation damaged. Any more reversal here could have been catastrophic but they came out all guns blazing right from ball one on Friday afternoon. They looked more proficient, purposeful and hungry. Despite getting the best conditions to bat and bowl on the opening day itself, India blew it all away. This defeat was as much down to their inexperience with the pink ball as it was to their strategic dearth.
The batters lacked application and the bowlers weren’t disciplined enough. The good thing, though, is there is still plenty of cricket to be played, starting with the third Test in Brisbane – the venue of their most memorable overseas series win.
Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/cricket/indians-turn-pink-under-lights-3308883
