Melbourne classic: India's rash batting proves costly as they sink in a nail-biter

Melbourne: The Melbourne Cricket Ground was filled to capacity for the Boxing Day Test as Team India showcased a newfound sense of balance, captivating the entire nation with their performance. The crowd held their breath for two intense sessions as the team displayed a different, more composed approach, moving away from their usual bravado-filled style of play.

Then, in a manic last session, triggered by Rishabh Pant’s rash stroke, India lost their last seven wickets for 34 runs in the space of 20.3 overs. The 184-run defeat means India go into the last Test at Sydney down 1-2 in the Border Gavaskar Trophy series.

In the morning session, the openers had batted carefully — putting on 25 runs in 16 overs even as the Aussie pacers were putting on a show. Skipper Rohit Sharma (9 off 40 balls) was particularly circumspect. But the contest of the session pitted Yashasvi Jaiswal against Mitchell Starc. There was a beautiful shape to the left-armer’s deliveries and good pace too. Jaiswal played and missed a fair bit but, more importantly, survived.

But after a period of restrain, it was clear that Rohit wanted to assert himself. Not so much because India wanted to chase a win, rather he wanted to find a way to put the pressure back on the Aussies. It was precisely what the hosts were counting on.

A miscued pull shot signalled his intent but then he tried whip one from outside off to the leg-side. The ball swung late, took the outside edge and Mitchell Marsh at gully finished the job to give Pat Cummins a wicket. But it wasn’t panic stations yet for the visitors — the approach to this point had been correct.

But then KL Rahul (0) fell off the last ball of the same over. Suddenly, India had lost two wickets and there was a familiar sinking feeling.

Virat Kohli (5 off 29) strode in next and for the next nine overs he seemed ready to battle for his team. He looked focussed, left the ball well and looked pretty solid. But then in the last ball before lunch, Starc got him with a ball that was full and angling away. The crucial factor, though, was that it was wide enough to entice the batter to go for the drive. The resulting edge was taken by Usman Khawaja at slip and India went into lunch at a precarious 33/3.

The post-lunch session was a revelation though. Rishabh Pant, perhaps stung by his dismissal in the first innings, showed that he was in the mood to grind it out. Playing with uncommon composure in the company of Jaiswal, the left-hander scored 28 runs off 93 balls as India played out a wicketless session.

At tea, India were 112/3 after 54 overs and the hopes of securing a draw had substantially improved. But this is where Australia, who were also behind on over rate, decided to bait the young batters. They put spinners (Nathan Lyon and Travis Head) on from both ends for some quick overs, and waited.

For four overs, Pant and Jaiswal continued to bat serenly. Three runs, one run, three runs, one run — the overs ticked by. Then Pant could take it no more. He decided to go for it and went for the pull shot against Head. The ball seemed to bounce on him a bit, went high and Marsh at long-on took a good catch.

It opened the door for the Aussies, and that was all they needed. A pitch often seems to change its nature as soon as a new batter arrives and that is what happened. Ravindra Jadeja (2) and Nitish Reddy (1) were quickly back in the hut and when Jaiswal (82) was dismissed, the writing was on the wall. Akash Deep (7), Jasprit Bumrah (0) and Mohammed Siraj (0) were just not up to the challenge as the Aussies ran riot to seal a famous win.

A crowd of over 370,000 had turned up to watch the Test and it went right down to the final hour before a winner was decided. It was Test cricket at its finest, but at some point the Indians lost sight of their goal. This wasn’t about hitting a four or six, this was about holding out for a draw and going into Sydney with a chance to win the series. A rush of blood undid all the good work they had done through the day.

“It is pretty disappointing. It’s not that we went in with the intent of giving up the fight. We wanted to fight till the end, and unfortunately we couldn’t do it. It’ll be tough to assess just the last two sessions. If you look at the overall Test match, we had our chances, but we didn’t take them,” said Rohit Sharma during the on-field presentation.

Australia skipper Cummins, who was adjudged Player-of-the-Match for his wonderful allround performance, couldn’t hide the rush that comes from winning a close game.

“What an amazing Test match, I reckon one of the best I’ve been part of,” he said. “All week the crowd has been ridiculous, and it’s been amazing to be part of.”

The Aussies will carry this feeling to Sydney while India will seek a way to shake off the regret that often accompanies such a defeat ahead of the series decider which begins on January 3.

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