Geoff Lemon's Blog, page 63

India's epic Adelaide collapse competes with very worst in history | Geoff Lemon

The tourists crumbled to the joint-fifth lowest total in Test history, evoking memories of a more shambolic amateur age

As you meander through a life of cricket, you get to know certain numbers and parts of the historical record as familiar landmarks on your way. You see the 26 that New Zealand made in 1955, or scores in the ’30s that were made in 1896 or 1934, and you nod in recognition of those funny early days.

Related: India slump to new low as Australia cruise to victory in first Test

Related: Virat Kohli challenges India to regroup after humiliating loss to Australia

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India record lowest Test score as Australia romp to victory: day three – as it happened

Australia claim series lead with eight-wicket win over IndiaJosh Hazlewood takes 5-8 as tourists post Test-low score of 36

8.25am GMT

And here’s the match report after a gobsmacking day of cricket in Adelaide.

Related: India slump to new low as Australia cruise to victory in first Test

7.58am GMT

Welcome back, Joe Burns. He’s had a torrid time of it lately, but fought his way into the match today and eventually got his milestone reward with the last shot of the match. Some luck, some humour, some poetic justice.

Australia produce an extraordinary win.

7.55am GMT

21st over: Australia 93-2 (Burns 51, Smith 1) Umesh the bowler, and Smith whips him for a single, which gives Burns the strike but makes the half-century equation a bit trickier. Burns gets width from Umesh, and steer him over the cordon for four! Three to win. He’s on 45. So he could hit a six, or he could take a two and then hit a boundary. Or keep the strike with a single and win it with a four next over. Stabs away a couple of dot balls at the body. Last ball of the over.

AND HE HOOKS IT FOR SIX!

7.50am GMT

20th over: Australia 82-2 (Burns 41, Smith 0) So the match will probably end with Steve Smith in the middle. Burns could almost get a half-century if Smith plays ball. Eight to win.

7.49am GMT

Glory shot! He wants to get this game done, so he comes down the track to Ashwin and aims over midwicket, but doesn’t get anywhere near the pitch, and instead slices it very high to mid-on. Agarwal spends more than enough time under the ball to think about dropping it, but hangs on.

7.45am GMT

19th over: Australia 77-1 (Burns 36, Labuschagne 6) The runs start to flow from Umesh. A couple of singles, a couple of twos, a frustrated bouncer.

13 to win.

7.44am GMT

18th over: Australia 71-1 (Burns 35, Labuschagne 1) So a new batsman for Australia. They have the drinks break as well. Labuschagne almost pops up a catch to short leg when he comes in. Advances, gets tangled, the ball loops up high from his thigh pad, and short leg loses it and can’t spot it. I’m not sure if there was a nick on it. He gets a run next ball, knocked to leg.

Gervase Green emails in. “Just quietly (won’t tell anyone). Have they been a good sport about all this and already given Scott Heinrich the night off? Or have the Grinches at the Graun kept him in stand-by in case, in case...?”

7.38am GMT

India will get one, at least. A strange way to do it. Wade sweeps Ashwin and thinks that he’s got through the man at short leg. Instead the ball hits him again, this time on his shin guard, and ricochets back towards the keeper. Wade is already setting off for a run before realising that he’s in trouble, and Saha pounces on it towards the off side of the pitch and flicks it back, reverse underarm, and hits the stumps. Brilliant keeping.

7.35am GMT

17th over: Australia 70-0 (Wade 33, Burns 35) Umesh will replace Bumrah. How long will Matthew Wade take to join in the hitting? Starts with a glanced single instead. Burns wants to keep going. He pulls Umesh, a big top edge this time that swirls over square leg, who can’t get back fast enough to attempt a catch. Two more runs. Glances another wide of fine leg, two again. Then gets square up and edges through the cordon for two. He’s got more braces than Lisa Simpson.

7.30am GMT

16th over: Australia 63-0 (Wade 32, Burns 29) Ashwin to Burns, with a leg slip, a bat-pad, and a conventional slip, and Burns plays his best shot of the day! Uses his feet, reaches the pitch, and on-drives down the ground for four. That was a quality stroke. Time for the mercy rule, finish this game off. Burns wants to, jabbing the next to the fielder at backward square, then sauntering down again to loft this time, an on-drive again, for four more! Hello, Joe.

Australia are 27 runs from victory.

7.26am GMT

15th over: Australia 55-0 (Wade 32, Burns 21) A little drive down the ground for Burns that hits the other stumps and gets him a single. Wade evades the rest from Bumrah, round the wicket from the Cathedral End. This innings will have done Burns a world of good already. Just getting a few decent shots away. You wouldn’t say he looks fluent or confident, but he’s there.

7.23am GMT

14th over: Australia 54-0 (Wade 32, Burns 20) Wade launches into a pull shot against Ashwin, and he hits Vihari at short leg. That hurts. Vihari was turning away from the ball and so he gets hit high on his shoulder, but it was absolutely middled into him from a couple of yards away. He takes some treatment and a few minutes to recover.

7.18am GMT

13th over: Australia 53-0 (Wade 32, Burns 19) Bumrah continuing, Wade does the tip-and-run thing again, Burns pulls out another big pull shot but this time finds long leg for a single.

7.13am GMT

12th over: Australia 51-0 (Wade 31, Burns 18) Ashwin around the wicket to the left-handed Wade, angling the ball into him, giving it a lot of flight except when he sees Wade’s feet start to advance and spears the ball through. Draws a nick from the next ball, but it costs him a run behind point. Burns dead-bats the rest.

7.11am GMT

11th over: Australia 50-0 (Wade 30, Burns 18) Bumrah from the Cathedral End. So the Umesh over was just to swing Bumrah around. India’s two trumps with the ball. Bright sunshine persists here in Adelaide, as a jumbo flies over the ground on its way in to land. You can actually see the cricket if you’re on the port side of the place on certain approaches to the airport, which is out along Donald Bradman Drive. Wade gets a single off the pad, Burns takes a couple in similar fashion. Bumrah is still bowling an excellent line most of the time, testing Burns around the off stump, and eventually cuts a ball into him that hits him on the pad. India send the appeal upstairs for a DRS exam, but there’s a little inside edge on Hot Spot. Probably would have been hitting. Not much going India’s way.

7.06am GMT

10th over: Australia 47-0 (Wade 29, Burns 16) Ashwin comes on with his off-breaks, the last hope of some kind of miracle for India. Bowls a maiden to Burns to start with, Burns trying to stretch a long way forward in defence.

7.02am GMT

9th over: Australia 47-0 (Wade 29, Burns 16) Wade looking like the one to finish off this match. He leg-glances four from Umesh, then carves away another square drive for the same.

6.57am GMT

8th over: Australia 39-0 (Wade 21, Burns 16)Again Burns climbs into a cross-bat shot! Against Bumrah this time, a sharper bouncer, and a better stroke, Burns hooking really out through backward square and strikes it well. This comes after he fended into that gap at gully for yet another close call. Bumrah bowls a no-ball on the sixth attempt, and his do-over costs him two more runs via a misfield at cover as Burns drives.

6.53am GMT

7th over: Australia 29-0 (Wade 20, Burns 8) They keep finding that gap near gully. Wade this time, on the bounce for a three, having already whipped Umesh for a couple through square. Having taken strike with one ball left in the over, Burns pulls it for four! That’s more like it. Didn’t nail it, but at least went after it, and gets enough on it to reach the rope.

Colum Fordham gives an update from Naples. “Was in a state of semi-slumber, it being early here. Was looking forward to seeing Kohli take on the Aussie attack in his enigmatically elegant manner later this morning but thought I’d just check on proceedings. I let out a shriek and woke my wife who wondered what on earth the matter was. “The cricket”, I said. “Dormi, go back to sleep,” she replied. Just hope Bumrah and Ashwin can perform a miracle so I will nod off again and hope I was just having a nightmare.”

6.48am GMT

6th over: Australia 20-0 (Wade 15, Burns 4) Bumrah with the ball, and Wade gets moving immediately, a forward push that lets him belt through for a single. Burns has to face, and still doesn’t look comfortable doing so. His defensive pushes are skewing the ball away more than firmly stopping it.

Then Burns hits a boundary! Let the angels sing. Uses Bumrah’s line outside the off stump, opens the face, guides the ball into the slip-gully gap. Nicely done.

6.43am GMT

The players are resuming the field. Burns has spent the last 40 minutes on the laughing gas, Wade has done some Fireball shots, and the Indian squad has had a mass dose of Lexapro. We’re good to go.

6.11am GMT

Mann writes in. “Geoff, I have never followed an OBO which wasn’t involving England before, but I like your more descriptive blurbs and thought I’d dip in for 5 minutes, ended up glued to this improbable and amazing collapse. One time… maybe I’ll dip in again for the next 300+ not out.”

A convert! Welcome, stranger. We have fun here on the Australian cricket.

6.06am GMT

And needing 75 more runs to win. If you want to know what happened this morning... scroll down. Too much to summarise, but perversely it won’t take you long to read it. I’m going for a lie down.

6.05am GMT

5th over: Australia 15-0 (Wade 14, Burns 0) The umpires get into position before 16:30 local time, so there will be another over before the break, even though there’s then a long delay of about four minutes while Burns gets medical treatment. He gets the arm bandaged, for what good that will do. A bit like getting his mum to put a Flinstones band-aid on it, maybe. Sufficiently cared for, he faces up to Umesh and blocks out a couple of balls. Wade leans on his bat at the other end in classic style. Burns gets thunked on the pad, but outside the line. Wade stirs into action and nearly runs himself out off the last ball, coming a long way down and being sent back, but he makes it. Burns is in serious pain, and the last thing he was thinking about on the last ball before the break was bolting a single.

5.58am GMT

4th over: Australia 15-0 (Wade 14, Burns 0) Bumrah bowls and hits Burns! On the elbow. That was an extremely awkward way to play the ball. Or really, Burns didn’t play the ball at all. There was one in the first innings that he seemed to lose sight of and it hit him on the shoulder. This one similarly, he was raising his bat as if to shoulder arms, then saw the length, then froze rather than ducking, and got smashed near the point of his elbow with his arms raised around shoulder level. The ball ricochets for an extra, and Burns takes a while to settle at the far end, in some discomfort.

Bumrah comes around the wicket to the left-handed Wade, who punches two runs into the gap at cover. He’s outscored all of India’s batsmen with those two runs. Ducks a bouncer next ball, then guides a ball on the bounce towards the cordon, and hits a gap to pick up four more runs.

5.54am GMT

3rd over: Australia 8-0 (Wade 8, Burns 0) Burns just wants to be there, Wade wants to make it happen. Front foot, strides in, big cover drive for four from Umesh. A couple of boundaries and 10 percent of the total has already been knocked off.

5.50am GMT

2nd over: Australia 4-0 (Wade 4, Burns 0) Bumrah the other opener, and starts with a brilliant ball to Burns! Cuts him in half, searing through his defence from back of a length, somehow misses the edge and clips his pocket going through to Saha behind the stumps. They appeal excitedly but the umpire makes the right call there. A couple of early wickets would make this day extremely interesting.

5.45am GMT

1st over: Australia 4-0 (Wade 4, Burns 0) That score means 4 runs, 0 wickets, which I probably have to clarify after what we’ve just seen. Umesh gets the ball to start with, and Wade is a bit more upbeat than the first innings, carving a boundary through backward point.

5.43am GMT

I’ve never seen an innings where every batsman got single figures before. There’s usually one: Joe Denly’s 12 at Headingley, Mitchell Johnson’s 13 at Trent Bridge. I remember looking through a lot of old scorecards during that Headingley Test and there was always a player who made a dozen or so. Not today:

Shaw 4
Agarwal 9
Bumrah 2
Pujara 0
Kohli 4
Rahane 0
Vihari 8
Saha 4
Ashwin 0
Umesh 4*
Shami 1 retired

5.39am GMT

Australia will be batting within the first session. We have 22 minutes from now until the meal break. The ABC broadcast was worried about their coverage with Ian Chappell forced into isolation after the Sydney covid outbreak, but there’s no worry about being overworked now.

5.38am GMT

I’m a bit shellshocked by that. Seen a few wild collapses but that one is the wildest. It was a lively wicket and the ball was doing a lot, but it was fine quality fast bowling that made that movement happen. Only three bowlers in the innings, Hazlewood 5 for 8, Cummins 4 for 21, and how would you like to be Mitchell Starc, opening bowler in an innings where a team made 36 and you didn’t get a wicket? None for 7 from his half dozen overs.

5.35am GMT

Trevor Tutu writes in “from a sunny but breezy Cape Town. I thought to take a quick look at the score before setting out for my morning stroll, and did a double take. With the score at 19 for 6 the walk is going to take me only as far as the television in the sitting room, so I can see what on earth is going on, as I can’t believe my eyes. Can I blame you for my lost exercise?”

Trevor, we’re here to help you by being blamed for whatever you need.

5.33am GMT

It’s over! Shami can’t hold the bat. Which means that this innings counts as being bowled out. India’s lowest ever total in Test cricket, which before today was 42.

Absolutely extraordinary scenes. And India are probably down a bowler for their attempted defence as well.

5.31am GMT

Shami goes back to bat and then stops again, gets the doctors out again. The umpires come over. If he can’t continue, the innings is over, there’s no chance for him to get off the field and get patched up. They’ll have to make a call one way or the other.

5.28am GMT

He backs away from a Cummins short ball, trying to heave to the leg side, but Cummins follows him, and the ball ends up hitting him on the wrist as he tries to pull. He’s in some serious pain and getting a long session with the medical staff, though it looks like he’ll try to carry on.

5.26am GMT

21st over: India 36-9 (Umesh 4, Shami 1) Any day that you’re relying on Mohammed Shami with the bat is a bad day. He looks better than most though, calmly knocking Hazlewood away for a single to midwicket. Hazlewood goes for a bouncer, and Umesh goes for it too – hooking away over Paine via a top edge.

Hazlewood has five overs, 5 for 8.

@GeoffLemonSport Woke up early for this after late-night covid shift at the ICU. After this collapse, feel like I should have stayed with the covid.

5.21am GMT

Awoooooooooooo. Aaaawooooooo.

Wolf noises.

5.18am GMT

20th over: India 31-8 (Vihari 8, Umesh 0) Cummins bowls, and there’s a boundary for Vihari! That’s against the tide. A nicely played cut shot, really laid into it. That takes India past the lowest score by any team in Tests, and honour that still lies with New Zealand’s 26.

5.16am GMT

19th over: India 26-8 (Vihari 3, Umesh 0) Who was expecting this Test match to be over in the first session? Hazlewood brings up the field for his hat-trick ball: a fourth slip, a short leg, Wade at cover coming in close to catch. No dice though: Umesh keeps the ball out of his pads, just!

5.12am GMT

Hazlewood is on a hat-trick! That length again, that kick, Ashwin tries to defend, pushes at the ball, has his edge clipped. A tiny nick, so he reviews the umpire’s dismissal, but while the Hot Spot camera shows nothing, the Snicko picks up a tiny spike. India’s lowest Test score is on.

5.09am GMT

WHAT IS HAPPENING. TURN THE WORLD OFF. Now the drinks break takes a wicket. This the most comfortable of the lot. Hazlewood bowls at the pads, Saha flicks it away, middle of the bat, nicely struck but airborne, and there’s a midwicket in position to take the catch.

5.01am GMT

18th over: India 26-6 (Vihari 3, Saha 4) A positive move from Vihari, getting onto the front foot and punching two runs through the covers. The grass on the outfield is probably a bit longer than most grounds to help protect the ball, so the shot slows up. Better to see Vihari playing shots like that than going completely into his shell. That’s the drinks break.

4.58am GMT

17th over: India 24-6 (Vihari 1, Saha 4) Hazlewood to Vihari, who manages to get off the mark with a little push wide of mid-on. Saha leaves and blocks, then takes a ball off his pads for two. That’s the first over since Bumrah got out when it didn’t feel like a wicket was coming every ball. But Cummins is still going from the other end, so hold that thought.

4.53am GMT

16th over: India 21-6 (Vihari 0, Saha 2) Pat Cummins, what a bowler. Another beauty, on that relentless line that he hits around the off stump. Sizzles past Saha’s edge. The next ball Saha tries to leave, and it strikes the face of his bat in its backlift and somehow deflects past leg stump for two runs. Which brings Saha back onto strike, ready to be squared up by the next one past the edge! He’s getting out this over, by the looks. Two balls to go. Plays a proper leave to one, on height, which goes over his stumps. Then just squeezes the last one out of his pads in front of the wicket!

Cummins has 150 Test wickets now, by the by.

4.49am GMT

15th over: India 19-6 (Vihari 0, Saha 0) The hesitation is palpable. Vihari plays out a maiden from Hazlewood, and defends well enough, but plays every ball like it’s a grenade.

4.47am GMT

14th over: India 19-6 (Vihari 0, Saha 0) Wriddiman Saha started the day yesterday with the bat after being not out overnight. Who could have guessed that he’d be out here this early on the third day as well? He survives two balls from Cummins, who now has figures of 4 for 12.

India’s lowest Test score all out is 42, at Lord’s in 1974.

4.42am GMT

Three day Test match coming up! Kohli is gone. Cummins has set this game alight. First Kohli plays a clever steer, into the ground and through the cordon for four. But the next ball he flashes a drive and Green takes a diving catch! Long way to his right, and he nearly drops it but the fumbled ball rolls up his forearm and he manages to drap it between his arm and chest. Gets lucky, but gets Kohli.

Extraordinary!

4.38am GMT

13th over: India 15-5 (Kohli 0, Vihari 0) The move from Paine... Starc only bowled three overs to start the day, then perhaps all the bounce that Cummins was getting made Paine want to give Hazlewood a go. It returned value in spades. Two wickets in the over. India still have a pretty handy pair at the crease, in Kohli and Vihari, but they have a massive job to survive this.

Four wickets for none in the last few overs.

4.36am GMT

This is like Headingley 2019. The second day, not the fourth. Hazlewood two in the over! Bowls at the stumps, decks away a bit, Rahane tries a defensive drive down the pitch and gets a thick low edge. What is happening?

4.32am GMT

Another one goes! Three wickets without a run scored! Is this... Australia in the UAE? No, it’s India at Adelaide. The introduction of Josh Hazlewood pays dividends first ball, as he bowls just outside off, moving in at Agarwal’s body, kicking off a length, and taking the outside edge of a flustered attempt at defence. Paine takes another catch. Australia on fire!

4.29am GMT

12th over: India 15-3 (Agarwal 9, Kohli 0) Gracious. India’s king of defence gone for a duck. The captain arriving. The score looks worse than it is due to the nightwatchman’s wicket, but 15-2 would be pretty worrisome for India even so. Kohli is on his toes against Cummins, shuffling across the stumps, playing inside the line of another beauty that rockets into Paine’s gloves from a length. Then plays to short leg on the bounce. Cummins ends the over with 3 for 8!

4.26am GMT

That’s huge! Cummins gets the wicket with a pearler, a ball that seams away at pace and off an awkward length. The length draws Pujara further forward than he likes to play, making him push in front of his pad at the ball, and the movement does the rest. What a big moment for Australia. Kohli to the crease! The lead is 68.

4.25am GMT

11th over: India 15-2 (Agarwal 9, Pujara 0) Starc to Agarwal, another maiden as the batsman is watchful. Gets squared up by a beauty from the final ball, as it leaps from the surface and past the skewed edge of the bat as Agarwal tries to get inside the line.

“Intrigued by Aussie slow scoring yesterday!” writes Gangesh Vadakeyil. Was it a strategy, striving to wear the bowlers down? A case of diffidence, unable to tame Indian bowling? Or the pitch adverse to stroke play? Hard to imagine that the Aussies are defensive players!”

4.19am GMT

10th over: India 15-2 (Agarwal 9, Pujara 0) Now the first drop who is batting at No4 will enter the game, and he starts off by doing Pujara things. The Cummins bumper to him is casually evaded with a lean. A good ball that cuts in off the seam is defended to the ground, so late does Pujara play and with such minimal backlift. The over, you will be stunned to learn, is a maiden.

4.14am GMT

9th over: India 15-2 (Agarwal 9, Pujara 0) So the real business of the day begins. Pujara to the crease, and much of India’s fortunes could rest on whether he can stay there for a couple of hours to help them build around him, or whether the Australians can dislodge his stubborn self in faster time. He’s at the non-striker’s end for the time being, as Agarwal ignores a series of offerings from Starc outside his off stump.

Three slips, gully, point, nobody at cover, mid-off, mid-on, midwicket, long leg. We’ll soon see whether they go with the leg-slip trap for Pujara, but Agarwal has a very conventional field. That makes sense given Starc’s line in this over, which has Agarwal playing a few times straight to the men in front of square on the off side.

4.10am GMT

8th over: India 15-2 (Agarwal 9) The bowling partner for M. Starc will be one Patricio Cummins, with the glossy mane and the high gait. He gets the opportunity to bowl to Bumrah, but Bumrah immediately turns that into runs! Two of them, a deliberate shot behind point, holding the bat to the line and deflecting the ball away. Not only scores but chooses to maintain the strike. Feeling confident! Defends two balls in a row, solidly on the front foot, to which Cummins responds with a bouncer to make him doubt that approach, and Bumrah is sharp enough to yank his body away from the line. But the bouncer does its job, because Bumrah is hesitant to get forward to the last ball of the over, which is full, so he plays it while leaning his weight back, and lifts the defensive shot back at the bowler. Simple catch. A demo of cause and effect.

4.04am GMT

7th over: India 13-1 (Agarwal 9, Bumrah 0) Starc bowls the first over of the day from the River End. Luckily for India, Agarwal is on strike. Bumrah gets a few minutes to take some deep breaths at the non-striker’s end. And to avoid Starc, who is immediately on the money, swinging a ball into the right-hander’s pads and only avoiding a raucous lbw shout courtesy of a smaller portion of bat being injected into the mix. Starc bowls outside off and Agarwal gets loose, spooning his bat at the line but missing, then it’s Starc’s turn to get loose as he bowls outside leg stump, and Agarwal comfortably flicks it square for four. Very wide from Starc gets left alone, twice in a row to finish off the opening exchanges.

4.00am GMT

Alright. Let’s do some cricketball.

3.56am GMT

Vasu Charey agrees with me about Ashwin, and adds a nomination of his own.

“Often there are moments to which we look back upon as being the defining ones of a game, or even a series. If this series turns out to be something special, from an Indian perspective, there are two moments I would attribute it to. Ashwin’s arm ball to Smith, and Bumrah’s 0* (11). Those might well be the most important eleven balls he has, or will have, negotiated. Looking forward to today’s play.”

3.53am GMT

“I like the Hindi,” writes Eamonn Warner, “but surely if you’re to be our oboist, cello would be more apt.”

Duet with me.

3.53am GMT

Antipodean Nomenclatural Variation and Ingenuity: A Study. This will be the title of my thesis.

Painey Wadey Heady Starcy Burnsy Greeny Marnie Smithy Patty Lyno Hoff

3.20am GMT

It’s a gorgeous day in Adelaide, if you’re wondering. Low 20s, sunshine, will be mild all day and cool tonight. Batting will still be tricky given the surface but it’s probably the best time for it.

3.14am GMT

Let’s talk for a moment about R Ashwin. Visiting spinners don’t have an easy time in Australia. Off-spinners don’t have an easy time in Australia. Visiting off-spinners are at the centre of that bad-time vortex. Many have visited, few have prospered, and barely any have left with their reputations enhanced. It’s a country in which spinners are so often called upon to do a holding job with nothing more on offer, and their bowling averages and strike rates blow out accordingly. There is a reason that Nathan Lyon is so highly rated even with an average in the low 30s.

Yet Ashwin was the decisive player yesterday. He took 4 for 55, and he started that with the wicket of Steve Smith. The fast bowlers were excellent but weren’t backed up in the field, and couldn’t further than the first two Australian wickets for a long time. Then Ashwin outfoxed Smith and the middle order fell in a rush. This is what changed the game in India’s favour. Ashwin will bowl last in this match, and a series in which he is ready to be a substantial force can only become more engrossing for it.

2.47am GMT

Really enjoying everyone’s emails and Twitter missives, do keep them coming so that we have some company through the day. My email is in the sidebar box, as is my birdmail. I’m Geoff, I’ll be your oboist for the day. Until the drinks break in the middle session. Challo!

2.45am GMT

What a Test match we have. It’s always my preference to have the bowlers on top, as it makes runs more valuable and tends to make the contest closer. Adelaide has consistently been the most sporting wicket in Australia since it switched to day-night matches and the new drop-in pitches, and this year the dial was turned up a bit more with a couple more millimetres of grass on the pitch. Cricket is a game of millimetres, after all.

To recap: 21 wickets have fallen in the first two days, sending us headlong into the third innings. (A few correspondents have quite fairly pointed out that when a Test in India proceeds at this pace, voices overseas decry the quality of the surface.)

Continue reading...

Australia v India: first Test, day two – as it happened

Fifteen wickets fell on another eventful day at the Adelaide Oval, with India 62 runs to the good

12.02pm GMT

Here’s the AAP take on day two. See you on Saturday!

Related: India take charge against Australia but could pay for crucial drops

11.46am GMT

An absorbing day of cricket that belonged to the ball, and ultimately to India. Fifteen wickets fell for a total of 221 runs scored, with Australia first cleaning up India’s tail and then India causing Australia’s makeshift batting line-up all sorts of trouble.

With Matthew Wade, Joe Burns, Steve Smith and Travis Head all falling for single-figure scores, it was left to Marnus Labuschagne (47, dropped three times) and Tim Paine (73 not out) to get Australia to something remotely resembling parity. Paine’s was a classic captain’s knock, receiving good support from Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood to help the hosts recover from 79-5 to reach 191 all out.

11.36am GMT

A dropped catch by Tim Paine but Australia get the breakthrough they desperately wanted, and needed with Shaw gone again for not many. But the ascendancy remains with India, who will look to build a commanding lead on day three.

"The problem and the worry is his front foot's not planted."@RickyPonting talks Prithvi Shaw's first Test dismissals #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/7Vo8ukUNyg

11.31am GMT

6th over: India 9-1 - lead by 62 (Agarwal 5, Bumrah 0) Bumrah is faced with the prospect of six balls from Cummins. It’s a daunting proposition but the nightwatchman is solid, blocking the straight ones and getting under the short ones. Job done by Bumrah and that is stumps.

11.29am GMT

5th over: India 9-1 - lead by 62 (Agarwal 5, Bumrah 0) Starc to Agarwal and the Indian knows what’s coming - full and onto his pads. He holds sway until the last ball when Starc errs outside off and and taken for two through the covers. One over to go.

11.24am GMT

4th over: India 7-1 - lead by 60 (Agarwal 3, Bumrah 0) Cummins vindicates his captain’s decision to elevate him from first change, knocking the top of Shaw’s off-stump with one that goes right through the opener’s flimsy forward defence. Bumrah strolls to the middle! Even more surprisingly, he keeps Cummins, with his tail up in the air, at bay for five successive deliveries.

BOWLED HIM! In the first innings it was Starc, in the second innings it's Cummins.

Both times Shaw gets knocked over #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/HiX6oxOjo3

11.18am GMT

3rd over: India 7-0 - lead by 60 (Shaw 4, Agarwal 3) Starc is really working Agarwal over here with the one that swings into his pads. A tentative prod to mid-off here, an edge onto his pads there, but the batsman emerges unscathed. No breakthrough for Australia. Yet.

11.15am GMT

2nd over: India 7-0 - lead by 60 (Shaw 4, Agarwal 3) Cummins with a rare go with thge new ball. Shaw punches nicely down the ground but those boundaries down the ground in Adelaide are so bloody long, and what would be a sure boundary anywhere else in the world is kept to three. Cummins errs down leg with his yorker, allowing Agarwal to get off the mark with two runs through midwicket. DROPPED CATCH! A better line from Cummins leaves Agarwal and gets the outside edge, but Paine goes for it instead of leaving for first slip and spills the one-gloved chance. There has been a lot of dropped catches today.

Dropped. Paine dives but can't hold on...#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/Qu0B0m1C37

11.10am GMT

1st over: India 1-0 - lead by 54 (Shaw 1, Agarwal 0) Starc to Shaw, who avoids a pair with a single backward of square. Agarwal takes strike against the swinging ball, slip cordon stacked and with short leg in place. He’s watching for the leg-before trap, the one that swings in to the right-hander - let’s face it, we all are - and the opener survives some testing, searching deliveries.

11.01am GMT

Some good runs from Australia at the end. At 111-7 and then 139-8 they had no right to get near 200, but Tim Paine had a couple of willing helpers in Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood to give Australia’s tally some sort of respectability. India are on top but with 25 minutes to face before stumps that could change rather quickly.

10.58am GMT

Hazlewood edges Umesh to Pujara at first slip and Australia’s first innings is complete. Paine remains unbeaten on 73 and that was a nice little partnership of 24 for the final wicket.

10.55am GMT

72nd over: Australia 191-9 (Paine 73, Hazlewood 8) Eight runs from the over, all off the blade of Paine, including a chancy hook to conclude the over which flies high off the top edge to the fine-leg fence. Potentially pivotal rearguard performance here from Paine and his cohort.

10.52am GMT

71st over: Australia 183-9 (Paine 65, Hazlewood 8) That’s more like it. Paine forgets what format he’s playing, changes clothes like Superman to get out of his creams and into his pyjamas, and reverse sweeps Ashwin to the fence. Dot balls follow until a single off the last ball of the over sees Paine retain the strike. Jolly good.

Here’s something from Andrew Cosgrove: “Morning/Evening Scott, Greetings from a damp and wet London. I envy you being in Australia right now. Sam Perry’s tweet in the 60th over. How refreshingly Australian. Don’t compliment the Indian bowlers, just whinge about perceived cheating. I suppose Bumrah’s elbow is what’s helping Ashwin get all the turn and bounce, and scrambled Starc’s head to call for that second run.”

10.47am GMT

70th over: Australia 178-9 (Paine 60, Hazlewood 8) Bumrah returns to finish off the tail. Obviously. But Paine’s eye is in. The Aussie captain sees off four dot balls, nurdles a single and exposes Hazlewood to face one delivery. One run from the over. Peanuts. I’d suggest Australia would be better off swinging hard and quickening the end. The more overs they get in tonight the better.

10.42am GMT

69th over: Australia 177-9 (Paine 59, Hazlewood 8) Let’s face it: Hazlewood is there to score some streaky runs, not dig in for an eternity, and that just what he does, clubbing Ashwin for two boundaries in three balls. Important runs for Australia.

10.40am GMT

68th over: Australia 168-9 (Paine 58, Hazlewood 0) A Paine single puts Hazlewood on strike for two deliveries, which is sort of asking for trouble, by the No 11 keeps Shami at bay.

And now back to Shane Warne’s tirade on Bruce Oxenford’s umpiring.

Warne was chastising Bruce Oxenford for getting an LBW right (Umpire's Call) earlier @scott_heinrich. Now he's at it again. Do Australians find Warne as unbearable as us Brits do?

Warne was laughing at Oxenford just now because he thought he'd made another error. As replays confirm it's a good decision, he doubles down: "I'd like to ask the umpire why he thought that was not out." Disgusting man. Always has been.

10.35am GMT

@scott_heinrich Paine aught to do a tactical declaration from behind to give our bowlers a look at the Indian top order under lights.

@scott_heinrich So if India have to bat tonight, how about a throwback reversal of the batting order? https://t.co/oSH29FRoOQ

10.34am GMT

67th over: Australia 167-9 (Paine 57, Hazlewood 0)

Lyon’s bright (kind of) and breezy (not really) dig comes to an end as he spoons an easy catch to Kohli at short midwicket. That’s four now for Ashwin. Australia one wicket away from bowling again.

Handy runs by Lyon but he chips it to Kohli.

Australia 9 down, still trailing by 77 #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/iW386qHOu6

10.30am GMT

66th over: Australia 165-8 (Paine 56, Lyon 9) Easy on the eye from Lyon, who pulls Shami through midwicket for four. Proper shot, that.

10.26am GMT

65th over: Australia 160-8 (Paine 56, Lyon 4) Ashwin traps a sweeping Lyon in front of his stumps. The appeal goes up and fair enough, too. The decision is not out but this looks close. The review is (naturally) forthcoming but the decision stands with an inside edge detected. Lyon survives.

And it’s a good morning to Mahendra Killedar: “Good Morning Scott, Pretty clever plan by Indians to drop those catches. Had they held them, they would be 2 down themselves in 2nd inning in these testing times.”

10.19am GMT

64th over: Australia 156-8 (Paine 55, Lyon 1) Paine brings up his half-century with a cut backward of point for four and then doubles down with another boundary past gully. I know us humans are prone to the present, but has the skipper scored a more important fifty for his side? I’d suggest no. Time for drinks.

Paine brings up the 5️⃣0️⃣ - solid captain's knock under pressure. #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/lkpJAOzyQw

10.15am GMT

63rd over: Australia 146-8 (Paine 46, Lyon 1) Ashwin keeps both batsmen on a short leash before finishing the over with what looks to be a wicket but isn’t a wicket at all. Lyon can’t be out leg before if he hit it, can he? Shane Warne is teeing off deluxe about Bruce Oxenford’s umpiring. That was a big deflection off the inside edge.

10.12am GMT

62nd over: Australia 146-8 (Paine 45, Lyon 1) Shami on now as India make a double change. Lyon blows a golden opportunity by hitting a full-toss on his pads straight to short fine-leg.

10.06am GMT

61st over: Australia 143-8 (Paine 42, Lyon 1)

Starc clips one behind square but there’s no penetration on the shot and the decision to risk a second run is a fatal one as the throw from Shaw is flat, fast and accurate. Out. Ambitious running between the wickets. Some might say suicidal.

Some cheer for Prithvi Shaw as he runs Starc out #AUSvIND #INDvAUS

Live: https://t.co/DnJwzycSZn pic.twitter.com/vjpaaF0yTx

10.01am GMT

60th over: Australia 138-7 (Paine 39, Starc 14) Two to Paine to begin Umesh’s over and that’s the tall and the short of it.

2 ways to process India‘s dominance here:
1. Laud India’s thorough dismantling of Australia on a refreshingly fair wicket
2. Nod sagely during discussion about Bumrah, the way his arm “hyperextends”, resulting in “surprising” bounce. “Also why does he wear that thing on his arm.”

9.58am GMT

59th over: Australia 136-7 (Paine 37, Starc 14) Bumrah keeps on keeping on. A yorker gets under Starc’s bat and just misses off-stump before the Aussie skies an attempted hook shot that flies high behind the keeper and is DROPPED by Saha, who makes good ground and gets 10/10 for style ... but still drops the catch.

A segue of sorts to a comment from Aditya Anchuri: “There is a direct correlation between Aussie-style “reverse-cup” catch attempts and catch drops for India. That’s just not how we’re taught to catch a ball growing up in India! It’s the IPL again, with perhaps international fielding coaches trying to change people’s style when they’re already established cricketers.”

9.53am GMT

58th over: Australia 132-7 (Paine 36, Starc 11) Starc again goes the heave, picking up three backward of point and then a single to deep square that would’ve been a boundary if not for that meddling fielder. Runs coming a bit easier now. Unbridled abandon will do that.

9.49am GMT

57th over: Australia 126-7 (Paine 34, Starc 7) Bumrah back for his 18th over. My he’s shouldered a load this innings. Could he be tiring? Looks to be, just a shade. Five from the over, the pick of which was two to Paine behind square.

Saptarshi Paul here, clearing things up once and for all: “There’s a paragraph switch between “Can’t fathom why.” and “Ashwin blah blah blah”. (Unless you’re just pulling my leg...). People are allowed to praise your blog, right?”

9.41am GMT

56th over: Australia 121-7 (Paine 30, Starc 6) Starc has never been a man to die wondering. Or die for that matter. But I digress. The point worth making is he gets off the mark with a brutal boundary over mid-on. Australia to now go the tonk with the express intention of getting some overs in tonight? Stranger things...

9.37am GMT

55th over: Australia 115-7 (Paine 30, Starc 0) Short from Bumrah and Paine is now in the sort of touch that he can’t resist. And he is lucky, oh so lucky, as his hook shot is dropped by a leaping Agarwal at deep backward square. And the cherry on top for Australia is the ball ricochets to the fence.

9.32am GMT

54th over: Australia 111-7 (Paine 26)

Cummins comes and goes and that’s two wickets in the over for Umesh, who ousts his fellow quick with an effort ball that rises sharply and takes the edge en route to Rahane at gully. Australia now need something, anything, from their tail.

9.29am GMT

Umesh gets one to keep low to Labuschange, who is back in his crease and in all sorts of strife as the ball clatters onto the roll of his back pad. Pistol’s finger goes up and the batsman asks for a review, almost by default, but that is plumb. On your way, Marnus. Big wicket. Australia’s last recognised batsman departs.

OUT. Marnus Labuschagne tried a review but he has go, LBW to Yadav for 47 #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/0mc6Dj5uGl

9.24am GMT

53rd over: Australia 111-5 (Labuschagne 47, Paine 26) Now it’s Bumrah’s turn to give Paine a little width outside off-stump - TWICE in the over! - and he punches his own ticket (indulge me now) on the Paine train as the Australia skipper swings hard and then pushes hard for two boundaries in three deliveries. Bumrah responds with a bouncer. Naturally.

9.19am GMT

52nd over: Australia 103-5 (Labuschagne 47, Paine 18) A little short, and a little wide, from Umesh is a little ordinary and Paine does the rest, easing the pressure valve just a, um, little with a boundary through backward point. That’s the 100 up for Australia. And my has it been painful. But this is why we like Test cricket, right?

9.15am GMT

51st over: Australia 98-5 (Labuschagne 47, Paine 13) A single to Paine precedes a couple of ‘NO RUN’ balls faced by Labuschagne.

I like this thing below, especially as the leave (or failure to hit the ball) was my favourite shot as a cricketer.

Marnus displaying all his variations of the 'No Run!' #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/gLQZjI50B7

9.12am GMT

50th over: Australia 97-5 (Labuschagne 47, Paine 12) Umesh from the other end. Paine gratefully clips his loosener past square for two.

Yum would like to clear something up: “Pretty sure Saptarshi Paul meant he can’t fathom why anyone doubted Ashwin, mind you there’s still the question of ‘why’ considering his previous Aussie form.”

9.06am GMT

49th over: Australia 94-5 (Labuschagne 47, Paine 10) And back we are. Ashwin to Labuschagne. Two singles to finish the over, including one to finish it that looked suspiciously like a leg break. Hmmm.

@scott_heinrich If Cameron "Baggy" Green is the first male of that surname to play test cricket, who was the first Chappell?

9.02am GMT

Players are returning to the field.

Here’s Saptarshi Paul: “I’m watching the match live, but I keep coming back to this blog during the breaks. Can’t fathom why. Ashwin was written off from all corners before the match. Even I thought, watching the second practice game, that India should go with four quicks for the day-night game. He has put us all to shame, hasn’t he?”

8.47am GMT

It’s all about the ball in Adelaide and with one session to go on day two in Adelaide, it’s all about India. Three wickets in that middle session for just 57 runs. Labuschagne has been dropped three times but is out there doing his level best. A highly challenging final sessions awaits for the home side.

Here’s another view of the best bit of the session. Shame we won’t see him after Adelaide.

No more jokes on Virat Kohli's fielding

KING#INDvAUS #AUSvIND #AUSvsIND #INDvsAUSpic.twitter.com/G15hWrlf8w

8.42am GMT

48th over: Australia 92-5 (Labuschagne 46, Paine 9) Hectic running earns Labuschagne a single but Paine saves the best for (almost) last as he gorges on a rare full-toss which is sent to the boundary. And that is tea. All honours with India.

8.37am GMT

47th over: Australia 86-5 (Labuschagne 45, Paine 4) Two past mid-off for Labuschange off Ashwin, which makes for a nice change, but normal service is soon resumed with five dot balls following. The short break is nigh. Bumrah back on for some boom and bluster before tea.

8.34am GMT

46th over: Australia 84-5 (Labuschagne 43, Paine 4) Paine is in no rush facing Shami, who is wicketless but has bowled as well as anyone. Another maiden. I love watching him bowl. Understated. Classy. There, I said it.

Love all cricket formats .. they all bring you something slightly different .. But Test cricket like we are seeing from the Adelaide oval cannot be beaten .. High class bowling on a fair pitch with 2 really good teams .. Give me this over anything .. #AUSvIND @FoxCricket

8.30am GMT

45th over: Australia 84-5 (Labuschagne 43, Paine 4) Ashwin rips through his over, which will go down in history as a maiden. He really worked Labuschagne around all parts of the crease. Testing stuff.

8.28am GMT

44th over: Australia 84-5 (Labuschagne 43, Paine 4) Look, it was a ripper of a ball from Shami - too good, actually, to get the edge and it was the thigh that the ball collected en route to the keeper. Awesome bowling for no reward. Labuschagne finishes the over with a risky pull that lands just in front of the fielder in the deep.

8.25am GMT

Labuschagne is given out caught behind off Shami’s bowling but is demanding a review. Sit tight, y’all.

8.23am GMT

43rd over: Australia 83-5 (Labuschagne 42, Paine 4) Ashwin continues. Slip. Leg slip. Bat pad. Paine could be excused for feeling agoraphobic but nothing eases anxiety with bat in hand than a short, wide one ... that goes where it should, through the covers for four.

It’s a big hello to Zal Robles: “Hi Scott, I appreciate the live blog. As an American who has just started following and playing cricket, I appreciate the commentary even though I get confused by the lingo pretty easily. You’re keeping me company as I finish my term paper for law school. Best, Zal.”

8.18am GMT

42nd over: Australia 79-5 (Labuschagne 42, Paine 0) Shami returns. He gets one to nip back to Labuschagne and it’s an lbw appeal worth making, but the umpire’s call is not out and there is no review forthcoming. It’s dot balls as far as the eye can see. Maiden over. Australia under incredible pressure.

8.13am GMT

41st over: Australia 79-5 (Labuschagne 42, Paine 0)

Green plays his first shot in anger and as we all know anger never pays. It’s short enough from Ashwin, and that’s what gets Green interested, but it just sits up and Green’s messy hook finds its way to short mid-wicket where Kohli takes a really, really good catch diving at waist height to his right. Australia in all sorts right now. Quite apt that Paine is the incoming batsman.

Ashwin again! He's wreaking havoc!

Kohli takes a diving catch to dismiss the debutant #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/pJqzFbrOGC

8.10am GMT

40th over: Australia 79-4 (Labuschagne 42, Green 11) To Gary’s point below, Bumrah might as well be a spinner given his short run-up and how quickly he gets through his deliveries. But I am all for that. Better than the alternative. Green manages a single and that’s more or less to type for Australia’s run rate this innings.

Australia are 79-4 after 40 overs.

The last time Australia were on a lower score after 40 overs of a Test innings, was 1999.#AUSvIND

8.06am GMT

39th over: Australia 78-4 (Labuschagne 42, Green 10) Beautiful shot from Green, who registers his first Test boundary courtesy of deft footwork past point. This is what we’ve come to expect from a young man who shoulders great expectations.

India need to slow this over rate or they'll miss out on the half hour with the pink ball swinging sideways in the dark @scott_heinrich. Mind you, 30 minutes less of Shane Warne on the mic is always welcome.

8.03am GMT

38th over: Australia 71-4 (Labuschagne 42, Green 3) A single to Labuschagne to fine-leg returns Green to the strike and the latter picks up one of his own off the last ball to reward himself with the possibility of six balls to Ashwin.

Abhijato Sensarma is back for more: “Oh my my, look at that cross-sectional leave! Has Steve Smith walked back onto the field in the disguise of Labuschagne? These two keep getting eerily similar every time they walk onto the field.”

7.59am GMT

37th over: Australia 69-4 (Labuschagne 41, Green 2) Ashwin again. I heard a commentator, who shall remain nameless, remark earlier that India only have four bowlers. Right now it seems it’s all they need. It’s lean pickings until Labuschagne is offered a full-toss on the last ball of the over, which by rights should be sent to the fence, but pressure doing what pressure does, the batsman can do no more than muff it away for a single.

7.54am GMT

36th over: Australia 66-4 (Labuschagne 39, Green 1) Bumrah to Green. A wise man once said Test cricket was called thus because it tested you. Green is watchful, happy to leave, and is showing no signs of nerves. Which is commendable. Because he must be absolutely bricking it. Maiden over.

7.50am GMT

35th over: Australia 66-4 (Labuschagne 38, Green 1)

Ashwin continues to Labuschagne, who resumes battle with a single off the first ball after drinks. That’s the good news. The bad news is Head gets on strike and prods a nothing sort of ball straight back into the hands of the bowler. Poor dismissal. Soft dismissal. Green enters the fray, on debut, with Australia four down for not many and gets off the mark with a single. Welcome to Test cricket, Cam.

R Ashwin strikes again

The India off-spinner takes a good catch off his own bowling to send Travis Head back for seven!#AUSvIND scorecard https://t.co/Q10dx0r4nXpic.twitter.com/3umGdN28a2

7.44am GMT

Thanks Geoff. Mesmerising stuff with the ball from India, particularly after the break. After Bumrah exposed Australia’s vulnerability at the top of the order, India’s quicks then went to work on Smith and Labuschagne before Ashwin cashed in with the big wicket of the former (for a 29-ball 1, if you don’t mind). Labuschagne is digging deep and riding his luck but it’s hard work out there for Australia and it’s only going to get harder as the day goes on. Some great cricket in the offing. To have your say, send me an email or tweet @scott_heinrich.

7.42am GMT

34th over: Australia 64-3 (Labuschagne 38, Head 7) Travis Head, meanwhile, always wants to be going. Clips Umesh off his pads but straight to square leg. Twice in a row. Interesting field. That square leg fielder is three quarters of the way to the fence, but there’s also a leg gully, and a fine leg. Leading to the assumption that Umesh wants to bowl very straight. But instead he angles across the lefty and Head hits the gap at cover for two.

The rest of the field: slip, slip, gully, point, mid-off, mid-on. Umesh tightens the line and shortens the length to avoid conceding any more runs.

7.38am GMT

33rd over: Australia 61-3 (Labuschagne 37, Head 5) Itching to get going, is Marnus. Backs away to Ashwin and cuts, but finds point. Walks to the off-side and stabs square, finds backward square. A very good over from the off-spinner, tying his prey to the crease. A maiden. Lyon was excellent yesterday, Ashwin is warming into it today.

7.36am GMT

32nd over: Australia 61-3 (Labuschagne 37, Head 5) Still not entirely convincing from Labuschagne. Has a wide drive at Umesh and misses out. Plays another pull shot for a single. But he’s still there. And he’s too good a player to drop...

7.33am GMT

31st over: Australia 61-3 (Labuschagne 37, Head 5) Ashwin is very keen on an appeal against Head, and convinces Kohli to go upstairs. Off-spinner around the wicket to a lefty, who gets a big stride forward and is hit on the front pad. Given the distance, looks like it’s going down leg. DRS agrees, showing it’s fractionally umpire’s call on clipping leg stump. So India keep the review. Head square-drives a couple of runs to follow up. Loves to go square of the wicket.

7.31am GMT

30th over: Australia 59-3 (Labuschagne 37, Head 3) If at first you don’t succeed, hope that you keep being dropped. Labs should have been out to the pull shot twice today, but he hits one cleanly against Umesh, a compact version against a ball that doesn’t bounce enough, hit well in front of square for four. Then he gets a half volley to drive through mid-on for another boundary. Suddenly onto 37.

7.24am GMT

29th over: Australia 51-3 (Labuschagne 29, Head 3) Australia still crawling along at about 1.5 runs an over. They get the team’s 50 up with a few singles. Slip, leg slip, and bat-pad for Marnus against Ashwin.

7.22am GMT

28th over: Australia 47-3 (Labuschagne 27, Head 1) Umesh Yadav returns, haven’t seen him since the opening few overs. He’s had a change of ends with Ashwin bowling from the River End. Umesh charges in as he does, hurls away. Labuschagne flicks a run. Head drives his first into a cover gap. Only one wicket away from Keith Miller / Cameron Green having a bat.

7.17am GMT

27th over: Australia 45-3 (Labuschagne 26)

Steve Smith is out! Ravi Ashwin comes on with his off-breaks, and first India nearly get him run out. They burned their best batsman yesterday, run out at the non-striker’s end after being sent back, and Australia so nearly does the same. Labuschagne flicks to square leg, says no, Smith is halfway down, a direct hit would have him but Ashwin has to gather to break the bails, and that just gets a sliver of Smith’s bat over the line.

7.12am GMT

26th over: Australia 42-2 (Labuschagne 23, Smith 1) Who will blink first? Shami keeps burrowing the ball in towards the stumps. Marnus eventually finds a single to turn over the strike. Smith nails an off-drive but straight to the field.

7.08am GMT

25th over: Australia 41-2 (Labuschagne 22, Smith 1) And a second maiden, this from Bumrah to Smith. Happy to defend on the front dog, until the length shifts and he slips under a couple of short balls.

7.06am GMT

24th over: Australia 41-2 (Labuschagne 22, Smith 1) After the day’s events so far, old mate Labuschagne decides it’s time to dust off the trusty old pull shot. Miscues it. Doesn’t get out. Put it away, son. Shami bowls a maiden.

7.00am GMT

23rd over: Australia 41-2 (Labuschagne 22, Smith 1) You will not believe it. You cannot believe it. Labuschagne has been dropped again.

THREE TIMES NOW.

6.57am GMT

22nd over: Australia 40-2 (Labuschagne 21, Smith 1) A maiden from Shami to Smith. An interesting email in from Aditya Anchuri.

“Bumrah’s drop is a perfect example of what happens when you play too much T20 and train for too much white ball cricket. The bias in T20 is saving runs, so people are trained to ‘save’ sixes in those situations rather than just focusing on catching, and that’s how their muscle memory works. Whereas in Test cricket it almost doesn’t matter if you catch the ball outside the boundary and give away 6, I feel that the bias should always be about catching the ball – and if you happen to be within the field of play, you’ve got a wicket.”

6.55am GMT

21st over: Australia 40-2 (Labuschagne 21, Smith 1) And as we say that, another edge through slip for four! Labuschagne has three of his four boundaries that way. On the bounce past Kohli. Marnus gets his defence in order for the next five balls.

6.45am GMT

20th over: Australia 36-2 (Labuschagne 17, Smith 1) And we’re back. Back in the hands of Shami, who drops in a bouncer that has Labuschagne gangling and shoving the ball away for an awkward single to square leg. Hasn’t looked fluent at all today, the first drop. India can’t afford to give him the chance to become so.

6.04am GMT

We’re in a contest here. Australia’s two most important bats at the crease, and India’s bowling going beautifully. Their fielding less so. Two chances for Labuschagne already. Put your feet up, we’ll keep posting when there’s more to post.

6.02am GMT

19th over: Australia 35-2 (Labuschagne 16, Smith 1) Bumrah gets an over to try to make amends, but it doesn’t come that soon. A maiden to Smith, and that brings the non-lunch long break.

6.01am GMT

18th over: Australia 35-2 (Labuschagne 16, Smith 1) Right, the Twins are together at last. Facing Shami. Marnus gets a leg bye. Smith gets off the mark but hopping up and stabbing a run off his hip. Shami bowls short, Labuschagne hooks, and he’s dropped! Horribly, comically dropped at fine leg by Bumrah. A top-edged hook travelling pretty quickly, Bumrah comes around to greet it, but he thinks that he’s closer to the boundary than he is. So he jumps up high, thinking he might need to tap the ball back into play like he would in the IPL. He’s got two metres of space behind him though. And his jump means that he spills the ball in mid-air, dropping it down by the rope and over for four. He had space to just stand his ground and take that catch. Australia should have been 3 for 31.

5.55am GMT

17th over: Australia 29-2 (Labuschagne 12) Last ball of the over, and Burns falls at last! He’s battled through an hour and fifty minutes of the first session, and seen off some excellent opening bowling, so to some extent he’s done his job even with such a low score. Faced 41 balls in so doing. Couldn’t cope with the last of them though, as Bumrah swings it in a middle, into the right-hander from over the wicket, and nails him on the ankle in front of middle. Burns takes the review, and it’s umpire’s call for clipping leg stump, but that just looked morally out when it was live. The bowler deserved that decision.

5.46am GMT

16th over: Australia 29-1 (Burns 8, Labuschagne 12) Good bouncer to start from Shami, who has Labuschagne hopping and lucky not to pop up a catch. Another good ball squares him out and takes a big edge for four! Through the gap between slip and gully this time. Marnus is living on luck. Not so for his third boundary, which he smartly directs off his hip through a very fine leg as Shami bowls not short enough.

5.41am GMT

15th over: Australia 20-1 (Burns 7, Labuschagne 4) Here he comes then, the man with the golden touch, Champagne Labuschagne. Who picked that Burns would not be the first wicket to fall for Australia? Marnus pulls out the absurdist leaves from ball one, dancing across to Bumrah. Then be nicks one past the keeper for four! Dropped catch if you want to be tough. That catch was going to first slip, but would have fallen short. So Saha goes for it, and gets a glove at full stretch. But only a touch.

A lot of balls have fallen short, in both innings. Might need to shuffle the slips closer.

5.36am GMT

There it is for India! Reward for toil. Bumrah around the wicket, fast, and the ball decks in at the left-handed Wade. Nails him a bit high but well back and dead in front, and Wade’s reluctant DRS review shows the ball hitting the very top of middle, flush enough to avoid umpire’s call.

5.34am GMT

14th over: Australia 16-0 (Wade 8, Burns 7) India desperate for a wicket as reward for all this disciplined bowling. A few times the ball has been squeezed between bat and pad on a defensive stroke, and the cordon keeps going up as though they were stone dead appeals. Burns squeezes two more runs through the gully from a half edge.

5.31am GMT

13th over: Australia 14-0 (Wade 8, Burns 5) Bumrah comes on for Umesh in the old do-si-do, and batters Wade on the body again. This time the short ball hits him on the arm. They’ll be wanting to marinate and then crumb Wade once they’ve finished tenderising him. 14 runs in 13 overs.

5.24am GMT

12th over: Australia 14-0 (Wade 8, Burns 5) Shami comes around the wicket to Wade and is bowling a shorter length at him, up the body and making him think. Again Wade sees out the over and farms the strike, this time by getting up on his toes and cutting with no backswing into the gully gap for a run.

5.21am GMT

11th over: Australia 13-0 (Wade 8, Burns 5) Another full over of Umesh to Wade, except this time Wade drives a single from the last ball and keeps strike.

Neil Titterington writes in. “A strange thing occurred last night between me leaving the ABC commentary in the car, walking into my house, patting the dog and turning on Channel 7.

5.16am GMT

10th over: Australia 12-0 (Wade 7, Burns 5) Mohammed Shami gets his first run in place of Bumrah. He bowls a tighter line, making Burns play almost everything and making him aim towards the leg side. Burns does scrabble a couple of runs off his pads.

5.15am GMT

9th over: Australia 10-0 (Wade 7, Burns 3) Umesh around the wicket to Wade, and hits him in the body! Wade wanted to go under the short ball but it wasn’t short enough and he wasn’t quick enough. He won’t mind though, likes a good cricket ball to the chest to get the heart pumping. Another maiden.

5.10am GMT

8th over: Australia 10-0 (Wade 7, Burns 3) This is much like India’s start yesterday, when the Australian bowling was hostile and accurate and gave no scoring chances away. The difference is that the Indian bowlers haven’t got that early wicket. Two singles nudged away from Bumrah’s over.

5.05am GMT

7th over: Australia 8-0 (Wade 6, Burns 2) Another maiden over from Umesh to Wade, who is happy to play the Test opener’s game of leave, leave, block.

4.59am GMT

6th over: Australia 8-0 (Wade 6, Burns 2) Wade takes the first run of the day from Bumrah, a tap-and-run single, after which Joe Burns gets off the mark! That’s significant. Too straight from Bumrah so Burns can glance it for two, urged back for the second by Wade. Makes it with a sprint. Bumrah bounces him, and there’s a raucous appeal from the cordon as the ball comes off his shoulder and through for a catch. Burns barely picked up that short ball, he’d hardly moved before it hit him. Got lucky that he wasn’t hurt. No bat involved either.

4.54am GMT

5th over: Australia 5-0 (Wade 5, Burns 0) Umesh loses the radar, leg side, gives Wade a couple of free leaves. Back on the stumps to draw a block. That makes 27 scoreless deliveries for Australia. Two slips and a gully, not a very attacking field with a couple of players around the point region, but they’re the two that Wade gets between with the first runs of the day, forced off the back foot for four! Good one. Follows up with a single, and for the first time today the bowlers will have to change lines between the right-hander and the left. Umesh is bang on straight away, just on the off stump, but short enough for Burns to shoulder arms.

4.51am GMT

4th over: Australia 0-0 (Wade 0, Burns 0) Meanwhile, Bumrah tests out Burns. Draws a little edge from him first ball that bounces into the gully, then has him falling across his front foot and playing across his pad to keep a ball out of his stumps. Lets him leave the next few though. Got to get that line across. Still no score.

4.47am GMT

3rd over: Australia 0-0 (Wade 0, Burns 0) Umesh continues, and he’s turning this into an excellent spell to Wade. Movement again to just beat the edge, then the other way crashing into the pad. A wide tempter, left along, then a straight one that squares him up. Three scoreless overs to start.

4.42am GMT

2nd over: Australia 0-0 (Wade 0, Burns 0) Bumrah off his short approach, and allows Burns to leave the first four balls. The fifth draws a solid forward defence which is roundly applauded by the crowd. Not a great sign for a batsman, but at least he has support.

4.39am GMT

1st over: Australia 0-0 (Wade 0, Burns 0) Umesh Yadav opens the bowling. Interesting, you would have assumed that Bumrah and Shami would do it. Bumrah is warming up and will take the other end. Umesh bowls a good line across the left-hander, a couple of times beating the outside edge, but the ball doesn’t make contact with the bat at any stage in the over.

4.35am GMT

The Australians are about to bat. Will there ever be as much focus on a Joe Burns innings in his life as this one? Perhaps the one in the second innings.

Matthew Wade may be a makeshift opener, but being the ball of confidence that he is, he elects to face the first ball.

4.34am GMT

Abhijato is feeling the fear of big things to come. “This OBO shall guide me through the morning once again as I try to survive my ongoing online classes. Our curriculum is finished, and most teachers are revising intensively because of the end-of-year exam which often turns out to be life-defining for Indians ... I compose this mail during a short break in between classes, even as the scoreline does not inspire confidence in me.”

4.26am GMT

A surrender this morning, bowled out within 4.1 overs despite having four wickets in hand overnight. That’s poor. The score is little different to the 250 they made here two years ago, but that felt like a triumph after Pujara’s rearguard masterclass. This feels like a waste. They’ll need the antithetical bowling performance to this batting.

4.25am GMT

There’s a reason that Shami has been shuffled down to 11 in the order. He has shown no appetite for the contest while batting lately, noticeably through the tour matches. He gets a short ball, can’t cope, and gloves it up in the air to land in the hands of short leg.

4.23am GMT

93rd over: India 244-9 (Bumrah 4, Shami 0) The last pair, and Bumrah is nearly bowled by Starc after swishing at a ball the just misses the off stump. Bumrah finishes off the over better with a cover drive for four.

4.20am GMT

That didn’t take long. Umesh has a huge swipe, gets some variety of edge on it, and hits it very high between mid-on and mid-off. Wade gets under that high ball from cover in the end and takes it lunging forward.

4.18am GMT

92nd over: India 240-8 (Umesh 6, Bumrah 0) That’s the stuff! Nice and simple, Umesh shuffles back in his crease and bashes Cummins over mid-on for four! Took on the fuller length. Cummins goes short next, so Umesh backs away and baseballs at it. Misses. Ducks a shorter ball, has another fresh-air swing, then dinks a single.

4.13am GMT

91st over: India 235-8 (Umesh 1, Bumrah 0) India’s only hope now is some true tail-end clouting. Bumrah made a first-class 50 a few days ago in the SCG tour match for the first time in his career, but this bowling is a different level.

4.10am GMT

Except Saha doesn’t do anything of the sort. Starc takes the ball, the key man that Saha needs to see out. And instead of doing that, Saha plays an airy drive at a wide ball and edges it off the angled bat to his rival keeper.

That is an absolutely appalling shot.

4.05am GMT

90th over: India 234-7 (Saha 9, Umesh 1) Cummins knocks over Ashwin, then bowlers a similar beauty to Umesh Yadav for his first ball. Somehow it misses the edge as he gropes forward. The Indian quick manages to survive the over, even edging a run. Saha will have to take the senior role very strongly.

4.03am GMT

Wrong, it’s Cummins to start the day, and he starts it with a wicket! A bouncer to Ashwin first ball, a length ball the second, then a peach with the third ball, pitched up but bouncing and decking away, and Ashwin is on the move across his stumps and pokes at it, fearing it will deck in to hit him on the pad. Instead it leaps, takes the edge high on the bat and flies through to the wicketkeeper. Australia’s ideal start.

3.54am GMT

Murray Henman is similarly adjusting to Australia’s bold new economy.

“The one advantage of not having full time work these days is the freedom to watch the cricket uninterrupted. Looking forward to an interesting day’s play - though being in Brisbane, it’s a bit weird not having the game here.”

3.53am GMT

A reader who I will only name as Tom, because he sagely says that you can never be sure who’s reading, has got in touch.

“It’s the second day of my new job, WFH (up on the roof as it’s sunny here today) trying to get my old head to learn new things that I need to understand before I get going. I will not be distracted by the cricket!”

3.43am GMT

Kohli has gathered his Indian team into a circle and is giving them one hell of a pep talk. He really wants his charges to go into today believing they can compete, rather than hoping to survive. Kohli’s run-out last night was such a vital moment – he and Rahane threw that wicket away, and it let Australia back into the match.

3.43am GMT

Here’s yesterday’s match report, including the brain-fade in question.

Related: Australia edge ahead in Adelaide Test after India rue Virat Kohli run-out

3.12am GMT

Drop us a line. As ever, hit the email address in the sidebar or find me on Twitter. Let me know how you’re going, where you’re listening, whatever you like.

2.51am GMT

We’re away for day two. India finished the first evening on 233 for 6, with two decent lower-order bats at the crease in Saha and Ashwin. What that pair can build will be key. India made 250 in the first innings here in 2018 and went on to win that match, on the back of an outstanding bowling performance across the team. That sort of total could have them in the game here as well. There looked to be a fair bit in this surface and a fair bit in the pink ball yesterday, when either was used well.

Two wickets for Starc, one each for Hazlewood, Cummins and Lyon.

Continue reading...

Australia's instability gives India something to target in first Test | Geoff Lemon

The hosts are a more rounded batting side now but their main weakness lies with David Warner’s initial absence

As Australia and India shape up for four Test matches across December and January, it is impossible to look at the series without overlaying the context of two years ago, when India last visited for the same sort of engagement and departed with a 2-1 win.

The home team’s preferred bowling attack this summer will be identical: Mitchell Starc, Patrick Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon. The first match will again be at Adelaide, and the captains shaking hands at the toss will again be Tim Paine and Virat Kohli. India’s attack will again be led by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, with Ravi Ashwin as spin support, while their batting starch will again come courtesy of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.

Related: Australia and India can give life to the World Test Championship | Jonathan Liew

Related: Cameron Green to make Australian Test debut if passed fit for India match

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Australia beat India by 12 runs in the third T20 international – as it happened

Virat Kohli’s dazzling 85 not enough for Indian clean sweepMatthew Wade hits 80 and Glenn Maxwell 54 for Australia

11.53am GMT

It looks close in the end, but really that match was beyond India’s grasp from the point where the two leg-spinners closed down the scoring through the middle of the second innings. They pulled out that sort of chase the other night, but you can’t do it every time, not leaving that much to the end. Kohli ended up playing more or less a lone hand with his 85 off 61, and if he’d had consistent company towards the end he might have got them home and brought up his first T20 International century. Not to be.

A consolation win for the Australians after losing the first two in this series. Matthew Wade should have inked himself in at the top of the order for the foreseeable future, another 80 after his 58 the other night, though of course that won’t happen once David Warner comes back. Glenn Maxwell played the ultimate #Maxwellball innings: dropped a couple of times, out off a no-ball, reverse-sweeps, sixes aplenty, other sixes saved, driving Australia to a big score with his 54 scored at nine an over. Then picked up the early wicket of Rahul and should have had Kohli but for another catch.

Related: Australia weather Virat Kohli storm to end T20 series with India on winning note

Related: The Spin | From Bob Willis to Barnard Castle, cricket books to lift our spirits

11.51am GMT

20th over: India 174-6 chasing 187 (Thakur 17, Chahar 0) Four balls remaining after Sundar’s dismissal, and Thakur has the strike after crossing. Chahar is at the non-striker’s end. Thakur hits another six! A low full toss, over the leg side. They need 17 from 3 balls, and it’s still possible. But not when Thakur can only get two runs along the ground to deep backward. Now Australia can’t lose without extras, and a deflated Thakur swings and misses at the penultimate delviery, short and wide. He collects the next one, out to deep midwicket, where Sams drops the catch. The match ends as it began, ropey in the field, and Abbott is cost another consolation wicket after another dirty night, but Australia wins.

11.48am GMT

Sean Abbott to bowl that last over, with his figures reading 0 for 35 from three. Washington Sundar drives off the back foot over cover for four to start things off. 23 needed from 5 balls, but Abbott’s full toss does the job, Sundar slicing it to deep third where Tye slides in on his knees like a kid playing rockstar. That ball was touch and go for being a no-ball for height, but just crept in.

11.45am GMT

19th over: India 160-6 chasing 187 (Sundar 3, Thakur 7) The over doesn’t end without one more bit of interest though, with Shardul Thakur swinging Tye off his legs away for six!

So they need 27 from the last over. Possible, as long as the sixes keep coming.

11.43am GMT

Not any more though! Tonight, Hans Gruber wins. As played by AJ Tye, whose bowling has been decisive. Full and wide, Kohli drives square, gives it everything, which gives it the power to reach Sams at deep point, who takes the catch tumbling forward. That’s the game.

11.41am GMT

18th over: India 151-5 chasing 187 (Kohli 84, Sundar 1) Kohli responds the ball after the wicket by skipping down to drive four, straight, but his next shot is a single. Can’t afford to lose strike at this point, you wonder if he should be declining those runs. Washington Sundar misses a sweep, then drives a run. Had Kohli stayed on strike, one of those balls might have been a boundary. Or he could be stumped, like he should have been from the last ball of that over! Down the track, hard swing at a flat ball, it clips his back pad right on the flat and deflects so that Wade can’t take it, and Kohli gets a leg bye and keeps strike. More lives than John McClane so far tonight.

11.37am GMT

Finch hurls the ball skyward! It was a gamble throwing the ball to his spinner, with overs still available for Abbott and Henriques, but Zampa is the best quality bowler remaining. And it works! Some flight, Pandya wants to put it into space, and his shot over midwicket instead edges into his pad and loops to short third man. That’s clutch.

11.35am GMT

17th over: India 144-4 chasing 187 (Kohli 79, Pandya 20) Rod Tucker is playing havoc with India’s captain tonight. At the start of Tye’s over, Kohli steps well across, so Tye goes wider still. That ball goes wide of the return crease. Tucker says that because Kohli moved, it’s not a wide. I’m not sure that’s correct when the ball almost lands off the cut strip. Next ball Kohli drags a single, then Pandya has a fresh air shot, before smoking four through the covers.

Back and forth, cat and mouse. Fifth ball, Pandya backs away and batters it down the ground for six! Swings through a length ball, more height than distance, but enough of both as it lands near the sight screen.

11.31am GMT

16th over: India 131-4 chasing 187 (Kohli 78, Pandya 9) Total crash-bash isn’t his style, but Kohli is the set player and he has to go for it. Has Sams bowling left-arm over the wicket, into his pads, and Kohli heaves six over the leg side! Up off his legs and away into the crowd. Next ball, steps to the off side and plays a pick-up pull shot for six! Over fine leg this time. That’s a deft shot, just used the pace and deflected it away.

Needs plenty more of those, though, and can only flick a single square. Pandya swings and misses. Doesn’t miss the last one though. Cuts it for six. Backs away for room, and muscles that over deep point. That’s a shot not many can play.

11.26am GMT

15th over: India 111-4 chasing 187 (Kohli 65, Pandya 2) Tye has only bowled one over so far tonight. Starts his second with a wide ball that Kohli leaves, but it just sneaks in within the guidelines. Then can’t get more than single. Wants to tee off. They’ve left too much to the end, India. Pandya booms and misses at a change-up. Makes contact with a big off-drive, but mostly via the outside edge and it slices to the deep cover fielder for one. Long chat between Finch and Tye. Deep third, deep point, long-off. That field supports Tye bowling wide, and he wins another little contest! Wide and shorter, and Kohli misses, then wider still and Kohli leaves again but the umpire won’t call it! Kohli did take a step across before leaving, and Umpire Tucker was obviously saying that if the batsman moves across, so does the wide line, because that ball was clearly outside the guides.

Two runs from an over, in this stituation! India aren’t getting 76 from 30 balls.

11.21am GMT

14th over: India 109-4 chasing 187 (Kohli 64, Pandya 1) Abbott comes back – Finch wants to give his internationally inexperienced bowler a chance to work his way back into the game. It starts well, with Pandya fiddling at a couple and missing a push outside off. It doesn’t end so well when Kohli fakes a step to the off side, then skips down a step and plays a check-drive over long-off for six! Some shot there. Takes a single from the last, nine from the over in total, but India need 78 from 36 balls now and within a couple of overs of spin the balance of the contest has changed drastically.

11.16am GMT

13th over: India 100-4 chasing 187 (Kohli 56) Quite the over. In between the two wickets we saw top quality from Smith again! The ball after taking the catch for the first wicket, Kohli decides to show the departed Samson how it’s done. Hits his on-drive sweetly from Swepson, looks for all money like it’s sailing for six, but Smith produces an effort like Samson’s earlier, getting aerial and launching himself backwards to parry the ball back into play and save the six.

There’s a long delay while they check that his foot hadn’t touched the rope before he took off, which would have made it six, but the video is too grainy to tell, and it looks ok. Six runs become two runs.

11.15am GMT

Two in the over for Swepson! Golden duck for Iyer. He watches a couple of balls from the non-striker’s end, but when he faces the bowling for the first time he misreads the googly and it hits him in front of off stump, going straight. See ya.

11.10am GMT

No mistake from Smith this time. A low full toss from the leg-spinner, dipping on Samson, who tries to lump it down the ground. Doesn’t strike it sweetly at all, and Smith cantering in from long-on makes easy work of this opportunity. Shreyas Iyer comes in next. Not time for Pandya yet?

11.08am GMT

12th over: India 94-2 chasing 187 (Kohli 50, Samson 10) Kohli down the wicket to Zampa, driving a single to deep point. Samson plays similarly but opens the face better, directs it further behind point and it takes a dive from Short on the rope to keep it in. Kohli advances again, more of a cut shot, finds the sweeper again. Gets the strike back and drives one more run for his minor milestone: that makes 25 such scores in T20s for India.

11.04am GMT

11th over: India 87-2 chasing 187 (Kohli 47, Samson 6) The double leggies continue, fast and flat from Swepson as Kohli cuts, then Samson dabs, then Kohli drives, but there’s nothing but singles. Until there’s a very unenthusiastic DRS review for leg-before, with Samson sweeping over the top of Swepson and being hit on the back leg. It was marginally pitching in line with leg stump, but going on straight and missing leg. Even Wade didn’t really want the review, he was basically indicating that they might as well have a look. Which isn’t what the system was intended for, and it has to evolve and move beyond being at the players’ request. Five runs from the over, helps tip the scales in Australia’s favour.

11.00am GMT

10th over: India 82-2 chasing 187 (Kohli 44, Samson 4) Zampa to Kohli, always an interesting one. Inside half of the bat as Kohli advances to drive, straight to the bowler. Driven for a single, later forced off the stumps on the back foot. Samson picks up three where he should have had one, first with an overthrow, then with a misfield of it. Kohli in the cap just checks a defensive push for a run to point.

India need 10 an over now, 105 from 60 balls.

10.57am GMT

9th over: India 75-2 chasing 187 (Kohli 41, Samson 0) The batters cross, so Kohli has strike for the last ball of the over, and keeps it with a single. Get ready for some double leg-spin, with Adam Zampa warming up.

10.55am GMT

Almost another drop, but it ends up looking great. Swepson bowls a flat half-tracker, Dhawan pulls but can’t get power or elevation. Sams about two third of the way to the midwicket rope runs across to his left and should take it cleanly with both hands, but the ball is travelling and it slips through, hits him lobs forward, but luckily he’s falling in the same direction, so he dives and sticks out his left hand the ball lodges. Doesn’t matter how, he’s got the snare!

10.53am GMT

8th over: India 69-1 chasing 187 (Dhawan 27, Kohli 36) Finch gives Maxwell another shake, and this time he gets a taste of his own medicine: reverse-swept by Dhawan for four. A few singles and they take eight from the over.

10.52am GMT

7th over: India 61-1 chasing 187 (Dhawan 21, Kohli 34) As soon as the Powerplay finishes, the leg-spinner comes on, Mitchell Swepson going for six singles. India more or less on target at this stage, not far behind the required run rate.

10.45am GMT

6th over: India 55-1 chasing 187 (Dhawan 18, Kohli 31) Shawwwwwt! That makes up for some of the chances! Kohli steps down the wicket like he’s strolling down the promenade and drives Abbott away, scorching the turf, through cover for four. Then wrists a single and runs so fast that he’s hit by the throw from midwicket at the non-striker’s end. Dhawan has been little more than a spectator to this point, so the lefty has a huge on-drive at Abbott and gets an outside edge over short third instead for four. A couple of balls later Dhawan gets full contact, stepping into Abbott’s length ball and swinging it hard through straight long-off for another boundary. Knee half bent, bat angled, that wasn’t a conventional drive, more a utilitarian bosh. Still worked.

Abbott’s first two overs cost 26. Is that him dragged for the night three matches running?

10.39am GMT

5th over: India 40-1 chasing 187 (Dhawan 9, Kohli 25) AJ Tye comes on to bowl and Kohli is dropped again! Two chances and two other dicey moments already for the champ. This one Tye can’t blame anyone else, as Kohli drives hard back at the bowler, who gets both hands up and has it bounce off his palms and back between his wrists. Saves three runs. But Kohli takes them back when Tye drops short, and the captain uppercuts for four over deep backward.

10.37am GMT

4th over: India 33-1 chasing 187 (Dhawan 8, Kohli 19) Here’s Daniel Sams, who got Kohli to nick off on Sunday night, but then got smashed in the final over as India won. Kohli starts the night for Sames by playing his neat pick-up flick off his legs, away for four. That start lets them milk 10 from the Sams over.

10.33am GMT

3rd over: India 23-1 chasing 187 (Dhawan 7, Kohli 12) Maxwell to continue after a wicket in his first over, and this time he has Kohli dropped in the deep! Smith again with the chance, but this time it’s coming flatter and he’s lost it in the lights. We could see him holding his hand up to the glare as the ball comes in, and in the end it hits high on his fingers as he’s reverse-cupped with the palms out, and it bursts through to hit his chest and go down. Kohli came down the wicket for that shot and was trying to loft straighter than that, over long-on, but miscues it squarer to deep midwicket. The over ends up going for six singles plus a wide with an extra run. Hard luck, Glenn.

10.28am GMT

2nd over: India 15-1 chasing 187 (Dhawan 5, Kohli 8) Sean Abott from the other end. He’s taken a battering lately: only two overs in each of the first two matches after being smashed about, and that came after he was mauled at the back end of the third ODI in Canberra. Singles to start with tonight, and one very wide wide. Kohli tries the baseball shot against Abbott’s length balls a couple of times, but one goes off the toe back past the bowler, almost a catching chance, and the other off the bottom edge past the leg stump. Neither reaches the boundary but Abbott is unlucky.

10.22am GMT

1st over: India 4-1 chasing 187 (Dhawan 2, Kohli 2) The captain Kohli to the middle at just about the earliest opportunity. Takes a single. So does Dhawan. They end up with four runs. Points to Australia, points to Finch. The move has worked.

10.20am GMT

MAX
WELL
BALL

Except that it’s Maxwell with the ball. He opens the bowler for Australia! He bowls a dot, driven to cover. His off-breaks that no one thinks too much about. KL Rahul tries to swing the second one away. Out to deep midwicket. Straight to the man in the deep. Gone-ski!

10.04am GMT

Another well placed match. India chased 195 the other night, but that did take a minor miracle of an innings from Hardik Pandya. They can get this total if they start well, but that’s probably the key tonight. End of the series, everyone feeling a little weary, who knows how that may go. Also I’m pretty sure this is the same pitch that they played on the other night, so it might be a little harder to strike through the ball. For all their hitting, we did see the Australians struggle at times through that innings. Should be a good reply.

9.59am GMT

2oth over: Australia 186-5 (Henriques 5, Sams 4) Daniel Sams comes in with two balls to face, drives one hard through cover for four, then swings and misses at the other. That’s the innings: 11 runs and two wickets from the final over bowled by Natarajan.

9.57am GMT

Short and sweet. The Northen Territorian squeezes two runs square, drives four over cover, then plays down the ground and has to come back for a second. The throw is spot-on coming into the striker’s end, and keeper Rahul beats Short’s dive.

9.55am GMT

That helps India. It isn’t a great ball, a high full toss that slipped from the hand while attempting a yorker, but Maxwell has premeditated the reverse deflection, hoping to use Natarajan’s pace, and in the end the straighter line of the ball makes it too hard to get any bat from it. It sneaks through Maxwell’s tangle of pads and body to hit the stumps.

9.53am GMT

19th over: Australia 175-3 (Maxwell 54, Henriques 5) Mo Henriques is the next in on his home ground, and he’s off the mark with a four! Down the track, drives Thakur out to deep cover, and there’s protection there but Washington Sundar loses his footing as he tries to change direction, his feet shooting from under him. Thakur closes out the over well though: one, dot, one.

9.49am GMT

Finally the Indians have one go their way. Wade has missed a lot of balls on his pads tonight but has survived. This time Thakur bowls over the wicket, hits him in front of leg stump low on the pad, and it’s a fairly straightforward call. He reviews, because why not, but it doesn’t save him. Another good performance from Wade tonight.

9.47am GMT

18th over: Australia 168-2 (Wade 80, Maxwell 52) It feels like Wade has barely seen the bowling in the last few overs. He’s certainly taken a back seat. That continues as he jams out a single from a wide Natarajan yorker. Maxwell has fine leg drop back, square leg come up. So he steps outside and flicks along the ground through that vacant square leg for four. He has two fielders at short third inside the circle and one back at deep point, so he drives over cover but the deep point saves four.

9.42am GMT

17th over: Australia 157-2 (Wade 76, Maxwell 46) Another over, another lost review looking for a reverse-sweep nick against Maxwell. Again KL Rahul is convinced, and again he gets Kohli to play ball, but again there’s no contact. Thakur is the bowler this time. Again they can’t find the boundary. 11 balls without one at this stage. Maxwell calls for a change of bat. Then he tries his helicopter cover drive, but skews it high over backward point, and is dropped! Chahar running in spills it.

So what does Maxwell do? SIX! Thakur bowls what would have been a filthy wide, well outside the tram tracks on the off side, almost off the pitch. Except that Maxwell steps that far across, gets all but outside the line of it, and sends it flying over the square leg fence! A length ball, a flick, another truly outrageous shot.

9.34am GMT

16th over: Australia 145-2 (Wade 73, Maxwell 37) Deepak Chahar will be pretty happy with this over. Maxwell misses a reverse dab, Wade gets a filthy full toss but can only drag it for two, and in the end they get six from an over that’s deep in the danger zone with two set batters swinging.

9.32am GMT

15th over: Australia 139-2 (Wade 69, Maxwell 35) There’s Maxwell’s six! And again it’s a shot that he seems to make up on the spot. He’s hoping to go over the leg side from Chahal but the bowler drifts very wide. So Maxwell hits through that width, a fullish ball, with a snap of his wrists, and that gets enough power on it to go dead straight and carry the rope at long-off. He hits that on one leg, too, Hello Sailor style, and still nails it.

Two balls later, six again, as Maxwell goes back on his stumps this time and pulls over square leg for a big one! KL Rahul asks for a DRS review last ball of the over as Maxi misses a reverse sweep, but there’s no edge on the replay.

9.27am GMT

14th over: Australia 124-2 (Wade 68, Maxwell 22) Maxwell tries to celebrate his reprieve with a six down the ground, but that’s an unbelievable bit of fielding from Sanju Samson, who leaps up at long-on and parries the ball back into the field of play! It only scores two. Wade, though, belts Thakur over midwicket into the stands.

9.21am GMT

13th over: Australia 114-2 (Wade 61, Maxwell 19) Chahal to Maxwell, and you can guess what happens next. Not the full switch hit but a regular reverse sweep, getting very low so as to hit it with a horizontal bat and lifting it over backward point for four. Chahal stays wide, Maxwell goes again, three runs this time. Wade takes a single. Chahal bowls wider still. And this time, when Maxwell finally stops looking to the off side and swings across the line instead, he gets a huge top edge and Rahul comes around to take the catch.

BUT IT’S A NO-BALL!

9.13am GMT

12th over: Australia 101-2 (Wade 58, Maxwell 11) Shardul Thakur hasn’t bowled yet tonight, interestingly. Probably wishes he hadn’t started yet as Wade takes a half-volley off middle stump and launches it into the crowd! Long hit. Thakur tries a bouncer to Maxwell who plays... let’s call that a late uppercut, very fine but saved by deep third for two. So Maxwell goes the other way, walking across and dinking the ball over short fine leg for four.

The replays are showing that umpire Rod Tucker initially called for a DRS replay for Natarajan after Kohli asked for it from long-on. But the third umpire overruled and said that it couldn’t take place. This system is better than VAR but it’s a long way from perfect.

9.09am GMT

11th over: Australia 87-2 (Wade 51, Maxwell 4) Natarajan keeps hitting the spot. Gets wided for a bouncer but they can’t get much from him with the bat. Wade slants away a couple of runs off the pad and raises his fifty, two in a row now. This one a touch slower than his work the other night.

Then things get interesting. Natarajan hits Wade on the pad around leg stump, and scrambles to field the ball before appealing. The umpire says not out but Natarajan wants to review. It did look like that ball was swinging into Wade, straightening on the leg stump line. But a lot of time has passed. Eventually Kohli asks to review, but was that too long? Wade thinks so. And what has happened is that in the meantime, a replay has been shown on the big screen. So the umpires refuse a DRS review on that basis, even if it wasn’t too late.

9.00am GMT

10th over: Australia 82-2 (Wade 48, Maxwell 3) Glenn Maxwell to the crease. Into it immediately, three from his first two balls.

8.59am GMT

Washington Sundar again! Three balls after Rahul misses a stumping! That chance was stone-cold, again the faster ball but fuller, Smith has skipped down but is nowhere near it, it races through him but is so quick it hits Rahul in the chest and bounces away. Smith is miles down but the ricochet means he has time to get back.

Sundar follows up by bowling short with Smith carves for four, then Smith drives a couple through midwicket, but finally Sundar foxes him by adding flight to the ball. Smith tries to launch it over cover but misses as it comes slower through the air, and it clips the bail. Straight into Rahul’s gloves from the bail too, a clean take. So it goes.

8.54am GMT

9th over: Australia 73-1 (Wade 48, Smith 18) Kohli drops out to the deep midwicket fence for Wade, which sends the crowd down there into spasms of chanting. Both batsmen are trying to line up big heaves in that direction against Chahal, but can’t split the field. The skinny leggie pauses to order a bright green SCG staffer away from the general vicinity of the sight screen, then closes out an over that costs five singles.

8.50am GMT

8th over: Australia 68-1 (Wade 46, Smith 15) Washington Sundar is back. He bowls that dug-in carrom ball, the one that Wade smashed and that Finch got out to. Smith cuts it off the top edge and down to deep third on the bounce. Uncontrolled. Wade isn’t sure why it’s troubling anyone else, as he backs and slots another one through midwicket for four. That’s the fifty partnership. He aims a big slog-sweep to follow but only drags the under-edge down to deep backward square. Sundar stays round the wicket against the right-handed Smith, who backs away from his stumps to force a run through cover.

8.46am GMT

7th over: Australia 58-1 (Wade 39, Smith 12) The fielding restrictions are over, the Indians now have deep backward, deep mid, long-on, long-off, and deep cover point. Yuzvendra Chahal will bowl his leg-breaks. Wade drives a couple, sweeps a single. Chahal bowls flat to Smith who works a single to midwicket. Hasn’t tried anything big yet. Wade the more likely to swing. Chahal keeps bowling on his leg stump, which could be a bad move considering how well Wade sweeps. Only costs him a run this time, Smith drives another aerially. Wade comes across to off stump to wrist a wider ball away through midwicket. Just one. Chahal concedes seven.

8.41am GMT

6th over: Australia 51-1 (Wade 34, Smith 10) Natarajan will round out the Powerplay, and he holds Smith to one run from the first three balls. Hitting a nice length from over the wicket as a left-armer, not giving Smith room. Bowls a good yorker in at the toes of Wade who digs out a run. A bit of shape and that pitched right on the popping crease. Smith manages another three runs, with a strong on-drive to a length ball, forcing it away with the bottom hand. Kohli puts in a good chase to save the boundary. Wade gets the yorker again and can only find one again, a single to mid-off that might have been dangerous had the throw back to the bowler’s stumps been better. Excellent over.

8.36am GMT

5th over: Australia 45-1 (Wade 32, Smith 6) Runs from the bat to start Chahar’s third though, just a touch short and Wade cracks the pull shot for four. And again the next ball, overpitched and wider so Wade lofts through cover! Not that full, Wade drives on the up. Chahar goes very short and way too wide, and it balloons through to KL Rahul behind the stumps on the angle for an extra. Comes around the wicket does the right-armer to the lefty, hits a better length and Wade can only force to cover for a run. Back over the wicket to the right-handed Smith, who flicks a single hard but to the boundary rider square. Kohli and Pandya both come over to discuss the final two balls of Chahar’s over with him. They drop Kohli to long-on for Wade so Chahar can pitch up at the stumps from around the wicket, but Wade inside edges for runs! A big drive picks him up three. So much for plans. Smith finishes the over with three more! A nicely timed cover drive, bottom handed, into the gap. How often do you see back-to-back threes in a T20?

8.30am GMT

4th over: Australia 28-1 (Wade 20, Smith 2) Sundar slips down the leg side to start his next over, and umpire Gerard Abood wearing a helmet out there signals five wides. Then Sunday gets too short, and Wade sweeps hard for four! Along the ground through backward square. Sundar’s frugality vanishes for a moment. Gets back on track by foxing Wade on a couple of cut shots. Two singles from the rest of the over, and a decent lbw shout that would have hit the stumps as Wade misses a sweep, but the ball has pitched outside leg and they scramble a leg bye. A dozen from the over but only six from the bat.

8.25am GMT

3rd over: Australia 16-1 (Wade 15, Smith 1) Chahar bowls a good inswinging yorker to the right-handed Smith, who plays it straight to midwicket in the circle. Squirts an edge into the covers to get off the mark. Chahar is bowling really well here. Some inswing to Wade has the left-hander driving straight to mid-off, then more inward movement from back of a length cuts the batsman in half as he tries to cut, the ball decking back into him. When he connects a pull shot it only yields a single. Two from the over.

The DRS shows a replay from the previous over where Sundar hit Wade on the pad, it looked like it was going down leg on a live view, but that’s because Wade was moving across his stumps. The replay shows it clipping the bails, umpire’s call. Wasn’t much of an appeal for it from a keeper and a bowler worrying more about fielding the ball to stop a leg bye.

8.21am GMT

2nd over: Australia 14-1 (Wade 14, Smith 0) The batters cross while the ball is in the air, so Wade is on strike when Smith comes to the middle. Doesn’t score from the remaining two balls, so Sundar has 1 for 5 from his first over. Wade has scored all of Australia’s runs to date.

8.19am GMT

Washington Sundar strikes in his first over! No surprise to see him bowl in the Powerplay, the finger-spinner has an exceptional T20 economy rate across what is now a substantial career for a 21-year-old. He makes a mistake first ball , an attempted carrom ball to Wade that the bowler drags down and Wade pulls for four. But once Finch gets strike, Sundar has him bottom-edging a pull shot for no score, then bowls a little short again and Finch tries to slap over the circle on the off side. Only pops it up to mid-off.

8.14am GMT

1st over: Australia 9-0 (Wade 9, Finch 0) Away we go. Deepak Chahar starts proceedings, a muscular right-armer who swings the ball. Wade likes a fast start, so after two dot balls the left-hander walks across and tries to ramp a boundary, but instead gets a big edge on it over short third man in the circle. Same result. Chahar swings a ball into Wade that he misses, but then drops a touch short and gets pulled for four. The ramp comes out again, and this time goes very square to the deep square leg on the bounce.

7.47am GMT

In fact Finch has recovered and will play tonight. He was present at the toss with Kohli. Wade will keep the opening spot with Finch though, as Short drops down the order and Stoinis misses out. One factor in that decision may be that Short can bowl some wrist spin but Stoinis still can’t bowl with injury. India name an unchanged team from Sunday.

Australia
Aaron Finch *
Matthew Wade +
Steve Smith
Glenn Maxwell
D’Arcy Short
Moises Henriques
Daniel Sams
Sean Abbott
Mitchell Swepson
Andrew Tye
Adam Zampa

7.42am GMT

For the third time out of three in this series, the side winning the toss chooses to chase. Virat Kohli’s team won using this method on Sunday at this ground and will get the chance again tonight.

7.08am GMT

Email is in the sidebar, so is my Twitter, use them as you see fit. Only for nice things though, come on.

Here’s the update about England bailing from South Africa.

Related: England to fly home on Thursday after tour pair cleared of Covid infection

7.07am GMT

Two down, one to go. India lost the ODI series in straight sets before winning the third game, and Australia lost the T20 series in straight sets but will try to win the third game tonight. We’re at the Sydney Cricket Ground, it’s been a sunny and windy day in the Harbour City, and we’ll probably get another good sunset over the Members Stand later in the day. The temperature is dropping currently and might keep doing so.

Virat Kohli plays his second-last match for the tour, with only the first Test to come. Matthew Wade will likely be captaining the Aussies again, with Aaron Finch still having trouble with his glute muscle. Second match in charge for Wade. Hopefully he opens the batting again where he put on a show the other night. All of the white-ball games so far have been pretty entertaining, even the ones that didn’t end up as close contests. Lots of firepower, and some wins for the bowlers as well. Stay tuned.

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India beat Australia by 11 runs in the first T20 international – as it happened

Ravi Jadeja hits crucial 44 from 23 balls at Manuka OvalTourists lead 1-0 with second game in Sydney on Sunday

11.59am GMT

The trip to Canberra has done the trick. India got steamrolled by Australia’s batting in the first two ODIs in Sydney when the home team was batting first, but shifting down here and having Australia chase has turned the tables. On both occasions the Australians have turned fairly comfortable positions into losses, and the Indian bowlers have been good enough when it mattered.

Player of the match must be Jadeja-Chahal: one saved the batting innings with that fast unbeaten 44, the other got the key wickets of Finch, Smith and Wade while keeping the run rate low. Them aside, KL Rahul’s runs were important, Samson contributed a few, while Washington Sundar was damaging to Australia’s scoring with his four overs, 0 for 16.

Related: Australia fall short in run chase as India open T20 series with 11-run win

11.57am GMT

20th over: Australia 150-7 chasing 162 (Abbott 12, Swepson 12) Abbott is doing his very best, but Shami lives for these moments. All he has to do is deny the room to swing sixes. Abbott plays the scoop shot but doesn’t time it well enough for a boundary, instead running three. Swepson dinks a single. Abbott lines up a big hit but misses, and sinks to his knees as the equation becomes mathematically impossible barring extras. He takes a defeated single, and Swepson takes the chance to belt six over long-off, and four through cover. But it doesn’t matter. India win by 11.

11.54am GMT

19th over: Australia 135-7 chasing 162 (Abbott 8, Swepson 1) Australia didn’t bring Mitch Swepson into this team for his batting. Here he is. Gets off strike. Abbott gets a chance to swing a few runs back, and pulls a flat six! Great shot, simple and powerful. He keeps strike with a single, but he’ll need 27 from the last over.

Natarajan bowled well in a win during his ODI debut the other night, and has bowled well in what should be a win during his T20I debut tonight. 3 for 30 from his four.

11.50am GMT

Full, straight, bang! The Starc method also works quite well against Starc, historically. Natarajan gets his third wicket for the night.

11.49am GMT

18th over: Australia 127-6 chasing 162 (Abbott 1, Starc 1) Chahar finishes with 1 for 27 from four overs. The Aussies need 35 in two overs.

11.47am GMT

Chahal, Chahar, the hits keep coming. Poor old Deepak Chahar has not had much fun tonight, but lands a wicket in his final over! Bowls the knuckle ball, I fancy? It floats down towards Henriques who swings across it, misses, runs through for a leg bye. Everyone was focusing on fielding and it was only KL Rahul behind the stumps who appealed, but the umpire gave it out after Henriques had reached the non-striker’s end. Henriques reviews, and it has hit him on the knee roll as he was advancing, but the floaty nature of the delivery means that it doesn’t get much bounce, and the projection says it’s smashing middle and leg stump.

11.42am GMT

17th over: Australia 122-5 chasing 162 (Henriques 27) Chahal, the substitute, will bowl his final over of the night. Wade flicks him off leg stump and insists on a second run. Sweeps a single. Hasn’t been able to line one up yet, but is such a good striker of the ball when he can. Both batsmen keep lofting to outfielders on the bounce. They just can’t get hold of Chahal. And again it’s the last ball of the over when the wicket falls, Wade slog-sweeping and not getting enough to Kohli at deep mid. He had to go for it, did Wade.

Chahal finishes with 3 for 25! The cameras keep cutting to Langer every couple of minutes, who still doesn’t look delighted with life.

11.36am GMT

16th over: Australia 116-4 chasing 162 (Henriques 25, Wade 3) So the keeper Wade was listed to bat three but ended up batting six. Left-hander again, replacing left-hander. Sundar keeps him scoreless for a couple of balls, gives up two runs, then has Wade playing a huge slog and meeting fresh air. Three from the over!

Australia need 46 in 24 balls.

11.33am GMT

15th over: Australia 113-4 chasing 162 (Henriques 25) Natarajan the bowler, Henriques skews a drive off the inside half and just over the bowler’s upstretched hands. One run. Short drives a single. Then Henriques is in such good touch that he scores five runs! Cuts to point, Pandey throws at the striker’s stumps as they dash the single, the throw is hard enough to race to Samson where he’s backing up at deep midwicket, and he lets it through his legs to the fence.

After a couple more singles, Short should be in good position to close out the over, but he lofts a tired-looking shot down the ground for a simple catch at long-on.

11.26am GMT

14th over: Australia 104-3 chasing 162 (Short 32, Henriques 18) Chahal into his third over, trying to burrow through onto Henriques’ pads, but there’s a decent battle going on. Moises gets one short enough to cut for four, and chips a couple more over cover. Short can’t go with him though, the opener is now 32 off 35.

58 needed from 36 balls.

11.21am GMT

13th over: Australia 95-3 chasing 162 (Short 31, Henriques 11) Welcome back, Shami! First ball back the crease and Henriques hooks him hard and flat over deep square for six! Quite the shot, that had no elevation on it but cleared the rope easily. A very strong striker is Moises. Drives nicely into the covers but only for one. Ten from the over. Australia need 67 from seven overs.

11.17am GMT

12th over: Australia 85-3 chasing 162 (Short 29, Henriques 3) Washington Sundar back, and the spinner carries on doing what he’s done so well. Six runs from the over, all in singles or leg byes. The Australians take a breath.

11.14am GMT

11th over: Australia 79-3 chasing 162 (Short 27, Henriques 1) Five runs from the Natarajan over. Short is still out there having watched things fall apart. The job falls to the junior man to sort things out. Australia need 83 from 54 balls.

11.10am GMT

India get one on the DRS! Natarajan the left-armer coming close to the stumps, over the wicket, to the right-hander. Pitches it just in line with the leg stump and then swings the ball back in. It nails Maxwell on the back leg in front of off stump. The umpire says no, given Maxwell’s wide stance outside leg to start with must have made it confusing to know where it pitched and whether there was too much angle across. But Kohli’s fondness for a review pays off this time. Australia’s destructo machine is out early.

11.06am GMT

10th over: Australia 74-2 (Short 23, Maxwell 2) Maxwell nearly makes it two wickets in two balls, hitting straight down the ground, but he gets it straight enough to land between long-on and long-off as they converged, Pandya not quite reaching it. Chahal has 2 for 10 from two overs.

11.03am GMT

Chahal gets another one! And it’s the big one of Smith. The leggie has him lifting a ball towards midwicket, neither here nor there in terms of distance, but Samson produces the second brilliant take of the night, sprinting in and diving full length forwards. Perhaps with the angle of the light towers here it’s a bit easier to take the flatter catches than the higher ones.

11.00am GMT

9th over: Australia 68-1 (Short 22, Smith 9) Chahar and Chahal in bowling tandem: one a solid pace bowler, the other a very slight leggie. The pace bowler is having less luck though. One ball drops short, Smith unfurls those rubber arms, and smacks the pull shot over backward square for six.

10.54am GMT

8th over: Australia 57-1 (Short 19, Smith 1) The captain gone, the former captain to the middle. A couple of singles and Chahal has 1 for 4 from his first over.

10.52am GMT

Here’s the most interesting moment: Chahal the spinner has the ball. One can only assume that the Australians thought that Jadeja’s leg injury was the problem and that India were being tricky by withdrawing him from the game on concussion grounds. He wasn’t examined by the doctor on the ground. But that was four balls before the end of the innings, and he was clobbered in the head. Steve Smith of course kept batting at Lord’s after being hit last year, and was later subbed from the game.

So what does Chahal do? Takes a wicket fourth ball. Flight, dip, Finch tries to hit big down the ground, and Pandya gallops in from long-off to take a sensational catch diving forward. He’s had back injuries, his teammates have been dropping them, but he hurls himself at the ball and hits the ground hard, holding onto the catch.

10.48am GMT

7th over: Australia 54-0 (Finch 34, Short 18) Chahar returns, and he has Finch dropped second ball! A big drive, a thick outside edge, and Pandey diving across at backward point gets both hands to it and spills it.

Finch gets off strike. Short plays a slog across the line and is dropped too! This one was a sitter. Kohli the culprit, has so much time to come in under that ball, hands pointing up, has to tip backwards a bit at the last minute, and it bursts through his hands and knocks his cap off his head via the peak.

10.44am GMT

6th over: Australia 53-0 (Finch 33, Short 18) T Natarajan will bowl the last of the Powerplay. (If anyone is wondering about naming conventions, he’s from Tamil Nadu so the Thangarasu in his name is his father’s name.) The left-armer goes around the wicket and angles the ball in, hitting his line well, giving away only a few singles, but then Finch gets an inside edge past the stumps for four. Everything is running in Australia’s favour so far.

10.38am GMT

5th over: Australia 45-0 (Finch 27, Short 16) Aaron Finch is in some touch against the quicks. Waits back against Shami and plays almost a late cut, but with more force than the usual, away for four. Then gets a ball on leg stump and picks it up sweetly, away over deep backward for six! Shami’s first two overs cost 21.

10.34am GMT

4th over: Australia 33-0 (Finch 16, Short 15) Finch finds the fence against Sundar this time around, going back to pull hard from the first ball. But Sundar gets right back on the spot, keeping them to three singles from the next five.

10.31am GMT

3rd over: Australia 26-0 (Finch 10, Short 14) No more Chahar, instead Kohli will go to his blue-chip option in Mohammed Shami. It doesn’t work, though. This is the best that Short has looked for Australia. Two boundaries in a row, first the cut, then the cover drive. Ping, ping.

10.26am GMT

2nd over: Australia 16-0 (Finch 10, Short 3) Where Chahar was rough, Washington Sundar is smooth. The spinner starts perfectly, giving Finch no room to move and racing through the over to keep him rushed. Finch’s only scoring shot is a drive for two, and even that is thanks to a misfield.

India’s management has confirmed the concussion sub story. We got there.

10.20am GMT

1st over: Australia 14-0 (Finch 8, Short 3) In the meantime, Australia get off to a flyer. Deepak Chahar is the opening quick, and he doesn’t open well. Too full throughout, and Finch clobbers him for a couple of driven boundaries before Short adds one of his own.

10.18am GMT

In the meantime, England’s match against South Africa has just been called off. Never a quiet moment.

Related: South Africa v England first ODI called off at last minute after Covid positive

10.17am GMT

Ok, here’s the latest press-box brainstorm: Jadeja while batting apparently had a ball ricochet off his helmet, the one that Henrqiues dropped. So they might have been able to take him out of the game as a concussion substitute. The rationale for this is that Yuzi Chahal is out on the field, the leg-spinner. He could be there as a like-for-like replacement, but they wouldn’t use him as a normal sub fielder because he’s far from the best available in that department. If he’s a concussion sub then Chahal will be able to bowl. And Langer might be blowing up because a player with a muscle tear has been replaced through the concussion rules.

10.10am GMT

There’s something going on here! Justin Langer down on the boundary line is getting very upset with David Boon, the match referee. Aaron Finch is sitting in the dugout with his helmet off. Is he not being allowed to open the batting? The Indians are out on the field waiting, the Australians are still by the rope. The umpires are coming out. Langer was shaking his head demonstratively in the conversation with Langer, and fairly clearly said “Duck me,” or something to that effect.

Maybe it was just a slow over-rate thing? I can’t imagine that’s worth getting that upset about though.

10.02am GMT

An email from Peter Salmon. “Sorry, I’ve missed a bit of vital information from the thousand cricket articles I read each week. Is there a reason Carey keeps in the 50 over and Wade in the T20? Need to get my Excel spreadsheet spot on.”

I think it’s simply that there’s a big white-ball squad and they’re giving everyone a run. Carey has nailed down the 50-over spot since the World Cup last year, and Wade’s most emphatic run-scoring has come in T20 cricket the past couple of years, so he has more claim in that format. And they don’t need two keepers in one XI.

9.57am GMT

What a performance at the end from Jadeja, and what a loss he’ll be if that injury keeps him out of future matches. He made 44 not out from 23 balls, and saved the day again. India have something to bowl at now, and D’Arcy Short has a history of being pretty nervous when he takes the step up to play for Australia.

9.56am GMT

20th over: India 161-7 (Jadeja 44, Chahar 0) Sundar is out from the third ball of the over. Jadeja drills the fourth, lofted and straight, and Abbott sprinting across from long-on dives but can’t quite reach it with his straining outstretched fingers. You can see his knuckles popping up white on the replay as he tries to get there.

Fifth ball, short, hooked for four. Flat, long, and that very nearly carried for six while barely getting more than a few metres of height.

9.52am GMT

Starc with the last over. Sundar gets a run pushing straight, and that’s all he needs to do. Jadeja swings lustily to the leg side, gets a thick outside edge, and leaping back at short third is Henriques, trying to catch the ball but only able to parry it back with one reverse-cupped hand. Then Sundar swings down the ground and is caught by Abbott. No celebrations from Australia, and Sundar at least gets Jadeja back on strike.

9.49am GMT

19th over: India 150-6 (Jadeja 34, Sundar 6) Hazlewood from the Manuka Shops end of the ground, and Jadeja creams the first one! Loves that shot, front leg cleared, the bat swinging sabre-like through the ball, splitting mid-off and cover inside the circle. He then moves across outside off stump and goes leg side, hitting the gap between long-on and deep mid, but Smith gets there just in time to palm the ball back after it has bounced inside the rope. Saves two. Jadeja scores another couple with a soft top-edge on a pull shot that limps down the ground, but this time Smith being so far back means they get the second run.

But it looks like Jadeja has done his hamstring here. I think it happened as he played the shot, he flinched, then ran through for the double, but has spent a long time in the hands of the trainers afterwards. He’s had his leg taped up and will continue. Washington Sundar spent the whole break shadow-batting. He going to smoke some shadow balls now.

9.38am GMT

18th over: India 127-6 (Jadeja 12, Sundar 6) Starc comes back and wants to clean up, but it doesn’t go his way at first. A couple of wides, a draw shot from Sundar – edged between the left-hander’s legs and away to the fine leg fence. A dozen from the over.

9.35am GMT

17th over: India 115-6 (Jadeja 8, Sundar 0) First ball of the next over is the one that goes for six! Henriques’ night of parsimony comes to an end, as he bowls a length ball that Pandya leans back on and smokes over wide long-on. The next ball is similarly well hit, a cut shot, but the one player within a mile of it at cover on the circle is lined up by the shot directly. It’s still hit so hard that they run a single by the time Swepson recovers to throw the ball back in. Jadeja, a left-hander now, cuts in the same direction and Swepson can’t stop it, but deep cover will.

Pandya back on strike goes long down the ground and Abbott pulls off a ridiculous save. All the way back on the rope, at long-off, the ball looks like it’ll clear him but he gets up and taps it back into the field of play before landing, and keeps the scoring to two.

9.32am GMT

Has to go for it, Pandya, and gets more height than distance as he tries to hit Henriques over long-off. Smith comes in from the boundary to take the high ball securely.

9.27am GMT

16th over: India 104-5 (Pandya 7, Jadeja 6) Pandya walks across to try to glance Hazlewood and misses, and the ball soars over his middle stump. That’s the second ball of the over, and it makes five overs without a boundary for India. Pandya is content to nudge a single. They’ll have to take on somebody at some point. Not Hazlewood. Jadeja drives a run, Pandya another. Then two from a fumble, seven from the over.

9.22am GMT

15th over: India 97-5 (Pandya 3, Jadeja 3) Zampa isn’t letting the brakes off. He gives them four singles, driven down the ground, and finishes his bowling for the night with figures of 1 for 20.

9.21am GMT

14th over: India 93-5 (Pandya 1, Jadeja 1) A leg bye, a single and a wicket. That’s the Henriques over. He’s got 2 for 11 from three. India have Pandya and Jadeja together, the two who saved the day on Wednesday. They put on 150 from 108 balls there. They’ve got a lot less time to do something here.

9.19am GMT

Another simple wicket goes down. Rahul feels the need to up the ante, tries to lift Henriques down the ground, but the cutter doesn’t give him good enough purchase and Abbott runs in from long-on to take the catch.

9.12am GMT

13th over: India 91-4 (Rahul 51, Pandya 1) What an over, Adam Zampa. Dives across to field the last ball and keep it scoreless, and all up the over cost two singles and returned the wicket.

Lovely bowling from Zampa. With the pressure building on Manish, Zampa varied his speed nicely 87 kph (wrong'un), 90 kph, 92 kph, sowing doubt & creating uncertainty. #AUSvIND

9.10am GMT

They’re falling with the soft pitter-patter of summer rain, now. The Mullet strikes with a shortish ball outside off, Pandey’s cut shot loops off the top edge, and Hazlewood uses his long reach at short third on the circle to lunge forward and take it low about the ground. Cheers as Hardik Pandya comes to the middle.

9.08am GMT

12th over: India 89-3 (Rahul 50, Pandey 2) First ball of the over when the wicket falls, which lets Henriques get through a quiet one to new man Manish Pandey. A brace down the ground and a wide are the only scores.

9.06am GMT

Swepson into the act with his fielding now too. A straightforward one, Samson trying to power a cover drive, instead lofting it flat to the edge of the circle. Henriques vindicates the decision to bowl him.

9.03am GMT

11th over: India 86-2 (Rahul 50, Samson 23) Abbott just can’t stop being clobbered. Bowls a short ball, maybe the chance of pace, that sits up outside off. Samson leaps like a salmon and makes good contact while mid-air, cutting over cover for four. KL gets strike and turns a single for his fifty. Abbott bowls Samson a wide, then a ball on the pads that lets Samson hare back and dive into his ground for a second run after playing it square.

“So what do we think about the switch-hit controversy?” emails Dave Langlois. “To me it seems as though the batter is taking a considerable risk in changing his or her stance at the last moment, and this probably offsets the advantage of outwitting fields. And it’s so exciting and counter-intuitive to watch. The curmudgeonly complaints have quite surprised me.”

Related: 'That’s not a cricket shot!’: Glenn Maxwell and the art to flicking the switch | Geoff Lemon

8.58am GMT

10th over: India 75-2 (Rahul 48, Samson 15) Moises Henriques with the ball. Underused during Wednesday’s ODI when others were being clobbered. Starts well with his seamers, hitting a length and keeping them to three singles, then two runs nudged square. A couple more singles, seven from the over, you’ll take that.

8.53am GMT

9th over: India 68-2 (Rahul 45, Samson 11) Swepson for his second, and gets dealt an absolute monster by Samson! It’s that top-spinner again, but Samson is much more decisively back on his stumps, pulling ferociously. The ball carries all the way to the concrete pedestrian concourse that circles Manuka, where it hits the ground, half-volleys into the wall, and does that so hard that carries all the way back onto the field of play. That’s a rebound of probably... 20 metres? Travelling. A few balls later, Rahul gets a ball short enough to pull for four, despite two outfielders in front of square on the leg side.

8.50am GMT

8th over: India 56-2 (Rahul 40, Samson 4) Double leg-spin in this game, that’s a treat. Adam Zampa backs up Swepson with an over conceding five singles. A triumph in T20 cricket.

8.48am GMT

7th over: India 51-2 (Rahul 38, Samson 1) It’s been all on Rahul tonight, and it still is as Sanju Samson joins him.

8.46am GMT

Swepson, back in the team and gets the biggest prize of all! His first over, having played a solitary T20 for Australia at Edgbaston back in mid-2018. He bowls flat and fast and gets bounce, looks like a top-spinner. Kohli sees the length and tries to pull but the ball is through him too fast and bounces too much, hitting high on the cross-bat and looping back to the bowler. Quite the moment.

8.41am GMT

6th over: India 42-1 (Rahul 31, Kohli 8) Sean Abbott on for his first bowl of the day... and India will pick up where they left off against him on Wednesday. He went for 49 from three overs at the back end of that ODI. Tonight, after a couple of singles, Rahul aims a big loft over midwicket, gets a thick outside edge and it flies up and just over short third man for four. Undeterred, Rahul goes for the same shot next ball and completely nails it over deep midwicket for six! That’s more like it. Abbott pulls it back at the end with a couple of dot balls, jamming up Rahul for room.

8.35am GMT

5th over: India 30-1 (Rahul 20, Kohli 7) Adam Zampa comes on. Leg-spin in the Powerplay. Two fielders out at long-on and deep mid. Everybody up on the off side. Zampa bowls a nice curling leg-break, teasing just outside off. KL Rahul scorches it along the carpet for four.

What a start.

8.31am GMT

4th over: India 21-1 (Rahul 11, Kohli 7) That’s the definition of dismissive. Hazlewood bowls a decent length ball, fast, a touch straight, and Kohli just wafts it off his pads over midwicket for four. Poetry. Hazlewood has got Kohli out the last four times they’ve played an ODI, but India collect eight runs comfortably from that over.

8.27am GMT

3rd over: India 13-1 (Rahul 9, Kohli 1) Well, Rahul got that over going with the first boundary of the day, slashed over backward point, but Starc comes back with the first wicket of the day. Kohli is at the crease early, and off the mark first ball guiding a run to deep third.

8.25am GMT

There’s Mitchell Starc back! Full, swinging, lighting up the stumps. That thing he does better than anyone. This ball is left-arm over to a left-hander, angling in at middle stump, Dhawan plays an unconvincing waft across the line, and it swings away to evade his bat and clip the outside of off stump, still going fast enough to knock it out of the ground. Some delivery.

8.20am GMT

2nd over: India 6-0 (Rahul 4, Dhawan 1) Josh Hazlewood at the other end, Australia’s Test set-up continuing in the shortest form. How well did he bowl in the one-dayers? Such a good operator now. He’s starting off perfectly here, almost a full over at the left-handed Dhawan, just the right angle across him, back of a length so it’s hard to hit, drawing some missed shots and some outside edges, conceding a nicked single and a leg bye.

8.16am GMT

1st over: India 4-0 (Rahul 4, Dhawan 0) Mitch Starc to bowl after missing the third ODI the other night. Starts pretty nicely. Full, swinging, pitched up outside the off stump. Four balls in similar fashion, which isn’t always his go. Rahul drives at a few but can only beat the field for a couple of runs. Finally gets a straighter ball and flicks two more to fine leg.

8.05am GMT

The Australian team and extended squad come out onto the field without their shoes and stand around the Walkabout Wickets artwork, in a display of solidarity with Indigenous Australians. They’re also wearing their new Indigenous art uniforms tonight, which look excellent. It’s quite the picture with the late sun over the ground and the long shadows of the light towers stretching from one side to the other. If you want some trivia, Cameron Green is out there wearing AJ Tye’s shirt.

8.01am GMT

While we’re waiting, feel free to read this terrific, insightful, brave, incisive essay on the switch-hit, authored by... yeah, it was me.

Related: 'That’s not a cricket shot!’: Glenn Maxwell and the art to flicking the switch | Geoff Lemon

7.47am GMT

Interesting for Australia with D’Arcy Short opening now that Warner is out injured. Finch there with him, Matthew Wade keeping and batting at three. Swepson the leg-spinner comes into the team from outside the white-ball squad, which is interesting. Ashton Agar hurt his calf muscle the other night and left them short on spin. Swepson was in the Australia A squad to play the red-ball warm-ups before the Test series.

Australia
Aaron Finch *
D’Arcy Short
Matthew Wade +
Steve Smith
Moises Henriques
Glenn Maxwell
Sean Abbott
Mitch Starc
Mitch Swepson
Adam Zampa
Josh Hazlewood

7.45am GMT

Kohli says, “It’s a great chance to have a look at a few players. Pretty excited for them.” Lots of changes from the ODI side. Jasprit Bumrah rested after a tough couple of games. T Natarajan bowled well on ODI debut and keeps his spot. The IPL boys in Chahar and Sundar get a run. KL Rahul to the top of the order, Samson into the middle. The form players remain: Dhawan, Kohli, Pandya, Jadeja.

India
Shikhar Dhawan
KL Rahul +
Virat Kohli *
Shreyas Iyer
Sanju Samson
Hardik Pandya
Ravindra Jadeja
Washington Sundar
Deepak Chahar
Mohammed Shami
Thangarasu Natarajan

7.40am GMT

And the hosts will bowl first, says captain Aaron Finch. So they’ll take the common approach and chase. Didn’t quite work for them in the last ODI here on Wednesday but they should have won that one, really.

7.36am GMT

Drop us a line. The email and the Twitter channels are open as usual, so if you have any thoughts on the game or the wider world, feel free. Email or tweet @GeoffLemonSport

7.28am GMT

A change of pace today, as we move from the 50-over game to the 20-over game. The first of three Twenty20 Internationals between Australia and India, this one in Canberra before the next two in Sydney. The home team was playing the 50-over games as though they were 20 overs a lot of the time, so perhaps that won’t make much difference. The Indians have just come off months of IPL, so they should be well attuned to the demands of this format. They won the ODI in Canberra on Wednesday so they’ll be feeling a bit more cheerful about playing again at this ground. It’s a warm sunny late afternoon at the moment, so we’ll look forward to a mild evening with the cricket on. What better?

Continue reading...

'That’s not a cricket shot!’: Glenn Maxwell and the art to flicking the switch | Geoff Lemon

The innovative Australia batsman has led the charge as cricket evolves and all kinds of reverse hits become widespread

There can be times during a Glenn Maxwell innings when traditional methods of cricket commentary are not enough to describe what has taken place. The spirit of invention burns bright enough to dazzle the observer.

I’ve had that experience: on radio for a one-day game in Barbados in 2016, it went something like: “Braithwaite in to bowl to Maxwell, and – I actually don’t know what to call that shot. He’s effectively played... a reverse hook shot. Down through first slip. For four.”

Related: Up to bowlers to adapt to innovative shot-making, says big-hitting Glenn Maxwell

While it is seen as showmanship, the switch or reverse might at times be the percentage option

Related: India avoid whitewash with 13-run win over Australia in third ODI

Continue reading...

Australia's Indian summer states case for ODIs to precede Tests | Geoff Lemon

This tour is a real-time refresher course on why starting with limited-overs matches is the best method

The argument for playing one-day matches before a Test series has always been straightforward. You have an entree before the main. For spectators, shorter matches rouse the appetite. For players, it follows the principle of building up training loads, working their way into the most demanding format a day at a time.

On both sides of the boundary it creates continuity, an earlier start to the threads of a story. It sets up rivalries within rivalries. Some players get an early boost, some slump and have to recover. When they step out for the first Test match against the same opponent, there is already context rather than writing from scratch.

Related: David Warner in race to prove fitness for Australia's Test series with India

Related: Steve Smith hits another 62-ball century to clinch ODI series win over India

Continue reading...

WBBL 2020 final: Sydney Thunder stun Melbourne Stars – as it happened

Sydney Thunder 87-3; Melbourne Stars 86-9Thunder win WBBL06 final by seven wickets

11.31am GMT

Related: Sydney Thunder cruise to WBBL title against Melbourne Stars

10.49am GMT

WBBL06 goes to the Thunder. Rachael Haynes is on the telly. “I can’t believe it. It’s a huge effort from the team, coming up against some world-class players who’ve had a great tournament. Season 1 was pretty special, but tonight is right up there.”

Haynes had an early contract with Australia up until 2013, then had a very unexpected second chapter to her national career from 2017 on. That kept her in the pro cricket system, and playing WBBL as well. Now she’s captained this winning side.

10.45am GMT

13.4 overs: Thunder 87-3 (Knight 26, Haynes 21) King’s last over, last roll of that particular dice for the Stars, but the Thunder roll four, then roll six! Haynes comes down and drives a lofted straight four, then when Knight gets strike she goes even bigger in the same direction.

A title won with a six, and the Thunder players stream onto the ground!

10.41am GMT

13th over: Thunder 74-3 (Knight 20, Haynes 14) Sciver bowling her last over, Lanning throwing whatever she has left at this match. There are dots aplenty, but Knight has already whipped the first of the over for four, so they don’t hurt.

10.36am GMT

12th over: Thunder 68-3 (Knight 15, Haynes 13) Erin Osborne for her first over, and Haynes decides that off-spin is what she wants to hit. Down comes the left-hander, and away goes the ball for six! Over long-on, and a long way back. The next ball has Osborne sliding in for an illegal tackle on Knight, taking the non-striker’s legs as the bowler tries to field. It definitely ensures there’s no run. But there are four from the next ball, as Haynes skips down and hits flat and straight! That over has all but squashed the contest.

10.33am GMT

11th over: Thunder 58-3 (Knight 15, Haynes 3) Brunt is back with the ball, and the batters don’t want to take any risks against her. A cautious and sober over yields three singles. They only need 29 more to win.

10.27am GMT

10th over: Thunder 55-3 (Knight 14, Haynes 1) The King over takes the wicket, but it also concedes eight runs thanks to a Knight paddle shot for two followed by a Knight straight drive, lofted, for four. The main Thunder partnership comes together with Knight and Haynes united for a final time this season, and they should have the level heads to see it home. Shouldn’t they?

10.25am GMT

The pinch-hit fails again! All pinch, no hit. Simple enough, Johnson aims a big swing at a leg-spinner bowling full and loopy at the wicket, and it’s through to hit off stump.

10.22am GMT

9th over: Thunder 47-2 (Knight 7, Johnson 1) A pinch-hitting promotion for Sammy-Jo Johnson. This has worked this season exactly once, when she made 30 off 13 against Adelaide out at the Showgrounds. Every other time she fell cheaply. A gamble today on whether she can basically kill the game in an over. Not this over, as Johnson top-edges a short ball from Sciver that the keeper can’t quite reach, then Sciver bowls one of the worst slower-ball attempts of her life, looping up way outside the wide line on the off side, and Johnson steps across and hits it for none to spare Sciver a wide.

10.18am GMT

8th over: Thunder 44-2 (Knight 5) Flintoff to bowl, a right-arm seamer with a behind-the-back sort of action. Errs in width and Trenaman cuts four, then glances one. They’re halfway to the target. Knight happy to just run a single to deep third and hand back strike. But just as Trenaman has started to look like she’s up and running, she stretches forward too early at a push, gets a thick edge, and is caught at backward point last ball of the over.

10.13am GMT

7th over: Thunder 38-1 (Trenaman 18, Knight 4) The fielding restrictions are over, which notionally should help the Stars but actually might complicate things. If they have players back, Thunder batters are more likely to find ones and twos into gaps, and that’s enough to win them the match. The restrictions can sometimes force fielding captains to be more aggressive, and thus more competitive.

Knight works the field as predicted, two runs to midwicket then a single. Then it’s Trenaman playing another class shot, standing up against Brunt to punch through point off the back foot, splitting the field for four.

10.10am GMT

6th over: Thunder 30-1 (Trenaman 13, Knight 1) Powerplay still active as the leggie gets another over. King nearly yorks Trenaman as the batter charges, only able to dig out a dot ball in the end. But that doesn’t stop Trenaman, who goes again and drives dead straight, along the carpet for four. King keeps tossing up the ball, and dives across the pitch to field when Trenaman drives straight again. Mignon du Preez is the most vocal player on the field at point. Good tussle.

10.07am GMT

5th over: Thunder 26-1 (Trenaman 9, Knight 1) Brunt gets rid of her England teammate Beaumont, and immediately has to bowl to her England teammate Knight. Such a composed looking batter, she is. Stands up tall and defends, takes a single from that defensive push as it comes.

10.05am GMT

There’s the one they needed. Brunt swings around and changes ends, angles a ball in at Beaumont, and it beats the inside edge as she drives. Hits her back knee in front of leg stump and that’s enough for the umpire.

10.03am GMT

4th over: Thunder 22-0 (Beaumont 14, Trenaman 8) Tammy Beaumont keeps the show going as Alana King comes on, with Beaumont walking at the leg-spinner and smacking her down the ground for four. There’s only another single from the over, but the boundary enough can be deflating.

What’s more deflating for the Stars is that King hits Trenaman right in front of middle stump, stretching forward, and the umpire rules that there was an inside edge. Doesn’t look like it on the replay! Should have been given.

9.58am GMT

3rd over: Thunder 17-0 (Beaumont 9, Trenaman 8) Sciver continues, length ball and Beaumont picks it up over midwicket for six! Classier than a slog, a straight-bat shot to the leg side, and that got plenty of air on the way. Beaumont’s problems with strike rate won’t arise if she can hit those. She follows up by crucifying a couple of cut shots, but one sizzles on the bounce to the fielder at backward point, and the next beats her but is stopped at deep third. One run from two top shots.

9.56am GMT

2nd over: Thunder 10-0 (Beaumont 2, Trenaman 8) Katherine Brunt bowling from the other end, and Lanning is standing at slip for Brunt, who is bowling seam-up and getting some outswing. But we said the batters need to take some initiative, and Trenaman does! Walking at Brunt to reduce the swing, and outside off a little to straighten up the line, so that Trenaman can drop-kick it over square leg for four. Two balls later, a similar movement and Trenno, as she is inevitably called by her teammates, can play in a similar area but along the ground for another quatro. Last ball of the over Brunt is up in a big appeal, swinging in and hitting pad, and it takes an excellent decision from umpire Eloise Sheridan to rule that the ball was missing leg stump. It was, says the computer, just.

9.52am GMT

1st over: Thunder 1-0 (Beaumont 1, Trenaman 0) That’s one run, no wickets, for newcomers and the perennially nervous. The Thunder openers may be nervous too, small target syndrome. They don’t want to start too slowly and put pressure on themselves though. Sciver opens the bowling, Beaumont works a single to square leg, and that’s it for the over as Trenaman faces out most of it.

9.39am GMT

A complete blindsider of an innings there: it’s not that the Stars were some incompetent mess, it’s that they were completely outbowled. Sydney dropped five catches and still took nine wickets. The swing and pace bowlers up top were outstanding, with Ismail getting 2 for 12 from four overs, and Johnson 2 for 11, with Darlington also frugal early. Then the spinners kept that going: Bates 1 for 18 from four, Smith 1 for 18 from two, Knight 1 for 9 from two. And Darlington came back to finish it off with 1 for 15 from her four.

That leaves Johnson on 22 for the season (first), Darlington 19 (equal second), and Bates 18 (equal third), unless Sciver goes on a tear in the second innings for the Stars. For their batting, Sutherlands 20 from 20 and Brunt’s 22 from 27 were the best scores in a dismal card. The best all season, and their absolute worst on the most important day.

9.32am GMT

20th over: Stars 86-9 (Brunt 22) Last over, Darlington to bowl. Brunt lashes two down the ground. Faltum calls her through for a leg bye, then belts through for her own run off a bottom edge. Brunt baseballs at a shorter ball but only miscues a single, straight, and there’ll be a run out from the last ball as the Stars try to steal a bye.

Faltum run out (Darlington) 3 (7)

9.29am GMT

19th over: Stars 81-8 (Brunt 19, Faltum 2) Sammy-Jo to bowl her final over, Brunt batting out of her crease and trying to get momentum, walking at the bowler, but still can’t get beyond ones or twos. Faltum tries to swing one down the leg side but misses, gets glove or arm into the ground, no wide called. Johnson’s last ball is in at the leg stump, through the gate as Faltum leaves it wide open aiming over midwicket, but somehow the ball misses the woodwork and she survives.

9.25am GMT

18th over: Stars 76-8 (Brunt 16, Faltum 2) Time for those Faltum Prison Blues. She’s only batted three times this season. Brunt tries a big loft over cover, and Haynes nearly takes another blinder running back and diving, put in every effort, but can’t quite get there.

9.22am GMT

Darlington does what Darlington does: straight at the stumps, and after a couple of dot balls late in the innings, Flintoff is desperate enough to try backing away to cut off her stumps. She misses. Hello, Vegas.

9.20am GMT

17th over: Stars 72-7 (Brunt 13, Flintoff 1) Brunt is giving every shot her all, but hasn’t timed one all night. Lots of exclamations and heaves, three singles and a leg bye from Bates’ over.

9.19am GMT

16th over: Stars 68-7 (Brunt 11, Flintoff 0) You can understand the rationale of Trent Woodhill’s team that they should just keep attacking no matter their position. The thing is, they’ve attacked looking flustered and panicky, not looking in control. It’s a big like when Maradona the coach was in charge of Argentina at the 2010 World Cup, packing a team with strikers and no defence. It looked great when it worked against lesser teams in the group stage, but looked messy when it didn’t against Germany in the knockouts.

Johnson has bowled three overs, 2 for 6.

9.15am GMT

Osborne falls – you’ll never believe it – caught at cover. Tries to muscle yet another shot in that direction, mis-strikes in exactly the same way, and this time it loops more comfortably to Haynes for another. Sammy-Jo Johnson goes further ahead.

9.13am GMT

15th over: Stars 64-6 (Brunt 8, Osborne 5) It’s all finger spin after the start was all swing. Knight following Bates following Smith. Osborne is trying to keep the scoring going. Charges and gets a thick outside edge for two. Charges and is dropped at cover, this time by Haynes: a skewed lofted shot that has Haynes running backwards, back-pedalling at speed, and unable to clasp as it hits her collarbone and free. Then Osborne plays the same sort of shot and skews it flatter between cover and point for a run. For all that swinging, still only six from the over.

9.08am GMT

14th over: Stars 58-6 (Brunt 6, Osborne 1) Sam Bates bowls her third, finishes it with 1 for 15 after conceding five runs. Brunt is trying to find something, walking at the bowler, swinging hard, but keeps finding the outfielders.

9.05am GMT

13th over: Stars 53-6 (Brunt 2, Osborne 0) The Stars are out of hitters, with Osborne more of a nudger with the bat.

9.03am GMT

And another one! The Stars still trying to hit their way out trouble. Sutherland advances to Smith and smashes the first off-break a mile up and long enough to leave the ground for six. Then anticipates a wider ball and drives it over point for four. But tries to go big three balls in a row, heaving a shorter ball to the leg side, not getting much of it, and it’s flat to Haynes at short midwicket. Five wicket-takers for the Thunder.

9.01am GMT

12th over: Stars 43-5 (Sutherland 10, Brunt 2) Darlington keeps the screws tight, curving her deliveries full up at the stumps. The outfielders are well placed, and Brunt and Sutherland both hit hard but without placement. Four runs from the over.

8.58am GMT

11th over: Stars 39-5 (Sutherland 7, Brunt 1) Four wicket-takers for the Thunder with Knight added to the list. Johnson further ahead on the season tally with 21. The Stars are getting rinsed! Who saw this coming?

8.56am GMT

That doesn’t last long! Alana King gets a promotion to try to hit the Stars out of trouble, and she gives it a shot. The only problem is Litchfield perfectly positioned this time at deep midwicket. Knight lives up to her Golden Arm nickname once again with the first over of her off-spin.

8.53am GMT

10th over: Stars 36-4 (Sutherland 3) With spin still on offer, this pair still want to attack. First it’s Sutherland, who is dropped at long-on. Down the wicket to attack, lofts the ball, and Ismail who has had so many catches dropped from her bowling now has to throw a coin back in the tin. Down on one knee, takes it comfortably enough, then somehow the ball burrows out from between her hands and bounces off her ankle and into the ground.

No matter for the Thunder though, as the single brings Sciver on strike, at which point she plays towards midwicket for a single but gets a leading edge, up to cover. Haynes again, and all four of the big guns have been spiked.

8.48am GMT

9th over: Stars 33-3 (Sciver 10, Sutherland 3) Lauren Smith on, Haynes trying to burgle a couple of overs of spin. Sciver wants to take her own, sweeping hard to deep backward but Beaumont gets around to slide and save. So Sciver lofts to deep midwicket and it should only be a single, but Phoebe Litchfield yorks herself coming in off the rope and lets it through for four. Water in the desert for the Stars.

8.45am GMT

8th over: Stars 25-3 (Sciver 3, Sutherland 2) Hannah Darlington to bowl her first over: she does some wonderful work with inswingers at the death, but she’s on to have an impact further up the innings. She helps keep the stifle going, conceding three singles. The Stars have a long road back to get a competitive score.

8.42am GMT

7th over: Stars 22-3 (Sciver 1, Sutherland 1) So it’s Sciver and Annabel Sutherland at the crease, and Sutherland is dropped second ball! That would have been a worldly effort, Heather Knight at slip flying away to her right as Sutherland edges a big swoosh with an angled bat, and Knight gets a fingertip to it but can’t fly far enough. Great effort, great bowling. Ismail finishes her four overs at the earliest possible point of the innings, and leans over to get her breath on this hot Sydney night, congratulated by her teammates. She has set them up to perfection.

8.39am GMT

That’s the big one! The biggest fish. Ismail has had Lanning dropped twice and gets her on the third attempt. Rising from back of a length outside off, Lanning just flirts with it, a nothing push, almost as though she’s trying not to play the shot as the ball decks away, but she does, and it does, taking the outside edge, through into the keeper’s gloves! The favourites are in disarray!

8.36am GMT

6th over: Stars 20-2 (Lanning 13, Sciver 0) Sciver, the England all-rounder, emerges to block the last ball of the over, and SJ Johnson has 1 wicket for 2 from 2 overs.

8.34am GMT

Johnson back on, so the spin experiment is over and the swing comes back. And what a good call! SJJ is beating the bat repeatedly. One ball swings in to hit Lanning on the pad, going down the leg side though. A couple more beat her outside off, then a thick edge flying airborne to deep third. That brings du Preez on strike, and Johnson gets the inswinger going again. Mignon doesn’t read the length at all, playing across the line even though the ball dips on her, hitting her on the toe in front of middle stump. That is Max Gawn.

8.31am GMT

5th over: Stars 19-1 (Lanning 12, du Preez 4) Ismail continues from the Fig Tree end, a hard length outside the off stump, giving very little away. Two singles are all that comes from the over, one of those via a misfield from Trenaman at point. The Stars 19 from five overs! It’s struggle time.

8.27am GMT

4th over: Stars 17-1 (Lanning 11, du Preez 3) Sam Bates with the ball, Haynes not using her swing bowlers even though there’s movement through the air. The left-arm spinner ties down Lanning for a couple of deliveries, to the field on the off side, but when Bates drifts a bit towards leg stump, Lanning picks her up over square leg for six! Way back onto the hill! So clean through the ball with that sort of pull-sweep, standing, that Lanning prefers.

8.24am GMT

3rd over: Stars 10-1 (Lanning 5, du Preez 2) Well. First ball of the over Ismail gets Villani. Second ball, she’s nearly through to hit du Preez on the pad, but the batter edges a single. Lanning takes a run to deep third, du Preez wafts and misses. Turns a straighter ball square for another run, then Lanning is dropped again! Or might have bounced an inch short. Lanning uppercuts over the cordon, down to deep third, where Johnson runs in and lunges forward but can’t get there. It escapes through her dive for four.

8.20am GMT

Gone! Ismail pitches up, first ball of her next over, and Villani tries to drive over cover. Hits it flat instead and Haynes take it chest-high. The length drew Villani into the shot, and she’s soaked up 11 balls for her single run.

8.19am GMT

2nd over: Stars 3-0 (Villani 1, Lanning 0) Brilliant first over from Ismail, and Sammy-Jo Johnson follows with another. The ball swinging about all over the place, and Villani is streaky as Canadian bacon. Comes down the track, swinging, and nearly loses her leg stump. Then swinging outside off and nearly giving up an edge. Just a single skewed to deep third from the over.

8.17am GMT

1st over: Stars 2-0 (Villani 0, Lanning 0) The score will be written in international style: runs then wickets. Shabnim Ismail with the ball, and she starts perfectly! Fast outside the off stump and a bit of outswing. Villani pokes forward and misses. Second ball, same again. And again! Three times past the outside edge. Finally Ismail bowls straighter and Villani gets a leg bye. Lanning sees a wide go past her legs. Last ball of the over, Lanning is dropped! Fends outside off stump, surprised by the bounce that kicks off the surface. It loops to Beaumont at backward point, an experienced international player, and she puts it down!

That’s massive.

7.56am GMT

Melbourne Stars
Elyse Villani
Meg Lanning *
Mignon du Preez
Natalie Sciver
Annabel Sutherland
Katherine Brunt
Erin Osborne
Alana King
Tess Flintoff
Nicole Faltum +
Sophie Day

Sydney Thunder
Tammy Beaumont
Rachel Trenaman
Heather Knight
Rachael Haynes *
Phoebe Litchfield
Sammy-Jo Johnson
Tahlia Wilson +
Hannah Darlington
Lauren Smith
Shabnim Ismail
Samantha Bates

7.46am GMT

This is curious. Most of the teams this season have done better chasing. But the Stars definitely have the batting edge over the Thunder, and perhaps they reason that they’ll use the best of the remaining daylight and put up a score, and be able to put more pressure on Sydney in the chase.

7.11am GMT

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7.11am GMT

It took 58 matches in a condensed schedule of barely more than four weeks, and in the end it has come down to this. The Melbourne Stars, also known as Green Melbourne, who for the previous five years have been an absolute pile of pants, even when Meg Lanning used to make a million runs for them back in the opening two seasons. She returned this year after some time in Perth, and suddenly the Stars morphed into the best team in the comp, with a convincing XI all the way down the card.

Then we have the Sydney Thunder, also known as Green Sydney, a team that has often been a contender, and that was the inaugural champion back in 2015-16, but it is a different and younger side this year after losing a few of the veterans of years past. Nowadays, under captain Rachel Haynes, this is a team featuring a lot of teenage and early-20s players. They should have lost the semi to Brisbane, but somehow found a way back in the field. Tonight they’ll try for one more win.

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India creep into Australia but Virat Kohli's cricket team will not be intimidated | Geoff Lemon

The India skipper will return home early but finally a semblance of normality is about to return for the Australian summer

In a way, the India-Australia summer about to start has snuck up on us. The visiting players arrived from quarantine in Dubai to be whisked away to quarantine in Sydney. They have been training alone in a cordoned-off stadium that is already a long way from the bright lights out in Blacktown, a ground on a patch of bushland squashed between a freeway and a creek, with no company bar a couple of obsessive journalists crawling around in the bushes near the perimeter fence to report on movements inside the wire.

But this Friday, that team dressed in retro dark blue will emerge from behind the fences and the masks to appear on the Sydney Cricket Ground, led out by captain Virat Kohli, even playing in front of a live crowd after all the canned foley of recent months in empty monoliths.

Related: The redemption myth: sporting comebacks are as predictable as they are overblown | Geoff Lemon

Related: Steve Smith 'finds hands' in ominous sign ahead of Australia's first ODI against India

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