MELBOURNE — The
fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series is set for a grandstand finish
at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, after a solid 55-run stand for the final
wicket between Nathan Lyon (41 not out) and Scott Boland (10 not out) helped
Australia extended its lead to 333 runs.
At stumps, Australia reached 228/9 in 82 overs, surviving a
deadly four-wicket haul from Jasprit Bumrah, which reduced them to 91/6, with
the pacer clinching his 200th Test wicket in the process. But Marnus Labuschagne
stood up to make 70, while skipper Pat Cummins made 41 to stage Australia’s
initial recovery.
But Lyon and Boland batted together for 110 balls, and
ensured their resistance left India agitated in front of 43,867 fans. It would
be interesting to see if Australia would continue batting tomorrow or declare
overnight and push India into a remarkable chase – the highest-ever in the MCG
- on final day’s play, something which will make many fans recall the epic 2021
Gabba chase.
In the morning, India added only 11 to the overnight total
before Nitish Kumar Reddy holed out off Nathan Lyon for 114. Pat Cummins
believed he had Siraj caught at slip, as the third umpire said it was a bump
ball. Reddy flat-batted Lyon for four, before slicing to long-off as he became
the last batter to fall for India, ending his memorable maiden Test hundred
which lit up MCG.
But the highlight of the first session was India putting in
a disciplined bowling effort, especially with their impressive intensity in
using the new ball to excellent effect. Australia’s second innings began with a
reprieve for Usman Khawaja, as Yashasvi Jaiswal at leg gully dropped his catch
off an ever-excellent Jasprit Bumrah.
Despite that drop, Khawaja struggled for fluency against
Bumrah, while Akash Deep caused trouble to Sam Konstas as the duo and Siraj got
some seam movement. Bumrah finally struck in his mesmerising new-ball spell
when he got one to nip back in and beat Konstas' forward defence to rattle the
top of the middle stump.
12 overs later, Khawaja’s painful stay at the crease ended
when he went for an extravagant drive, but was castled through the gate by
Siraj. Smith and Labuschagne then successfully negotiated the rest of the
session to ensure Australia’s lead went past 150 before lunch break came.
The second session saw India claw back in the game, thanks
to Bumrah taking out Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh and Alex Carey in quick
succession, becoming the fastest India pacer to reach 200 Test wickets.
In the second session, just when it looked like the
partnership between Labuschagne and Steve Smith would go big, Siraj had Smith
chasing a full and wide ball with very little foot movement and got him to nick
behind to Rishabh Pant.
The Bumrah show under bright Melbourne sunshine began when
birthday boy Head was on the back foot and flicked straight to mid-wicket for
just one, giving the pacer his 200th Test wicket.
Bumrah wasn’t still satisfied – he got Mitchell Marsh to
poke at a rising ball indecisively and took a faint shoulder edge behind to
Pant, as the all-rounder was out for a five-ball duck. Alex Carey was next to
fall for just two as Bumrah got a ball to jag in from outside the off-stump and
sneak through the gate to hit off-stump.
Akash Deep was beating Labuschagne and Cummins consistently
and got the former to edge to Jaiswal at gully, who dropped a straightforward
chance, leaving the pacer, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli irate.
After Labuschagne got his fifty in 105 balls, he and Cummins
got three more boundaries collectively, before the latter was dropped by
Jaiswal again, this time at silly point, before tea break came, as the duo
survived very top-class Indian bowling.
The final session began with Siraj striking with his first
ball – getting to jag off the pitch to trap Labuschagne lbw. The batter went
for the review, but ball tracking said the ball was clipping the bails on the
umpire's call, and Labuschagne had to walk back for 70. Starc was run-out in
pursuit of a second run, with Pant removing his glove and effecting the run-out
at non-striker’s end.
The end of Australia’s innings looked imminent when Ravindra
Jadeja got one to pitch on off stump and turns away to take the edge of
Cummins's bat, and dismiss him for 41 runs off 90 balls. But with India's
bowlers being tiring and the ball becoming soft, Lyon and Boland got the platform
to launch their resistance.
The desperation meant Siraj dropped a chance on
follow-through off Lyon, who also survived the lbw attempt, as India burnt
their final review. While Boland cut Siraj for four to bring up Australia’s
300, Lyon was sweeping, dancing down the pitch, chipping and slicing for
boundaries.
There was some drama on the last over of the day when KL
Rahul took a tumbling catch by using his legs of Lyon against Bumrah, but the
replays showed a no ball. India’s frustration continued as Lyon took a brace to
bring up the 50-run partnership of the final wicket before getting a four off
an edge on the last ball of the day as an exciting day of Test cricket came to
an end, setting the stage for a cracking day five’ play.
Brief Scores: Australia 474 and 228/9 in 82 overs (Marnus
Labuschagne 70, Nathan Lyon 41 not out; Jasprit Bumrah 4-56, Mohammed Siraj
3-66) lead India 369 in 119.3 overs (Nitish Kumar Reddy 114, Yashasvi Jaiswal
82; Scott Boland 3-57, Pat Cummins 3-89) by 333 runs
