Legend calls out ‘un-Australian’ ploy; Smith exposes farcical loophole

Australia has battled into the ascendancy in Indore on the back of some Nathan Lyon brilliance late on day two of the third Test at Holkar Cricket Stadium.

A defiant 59 from Chesteshwar Pujara helped India set Australia a 76-run target for victory in the fourth innings, as Lyon ran riot with a staggering eight-wicket haul. It was Lyon’s second eight-wicket haul in Tests, something no other Australian spinner has ever achieved.

Earlier, Australia was bowled out for 197 on Thursday morning following a frantic collapse of 6-11, with spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and paceman Umesh Yadav each snaring three wickets.

In response, India was dismissed for 163, leaving Australia with a small target to chase on day three.

Handscomb's 'un-australian' batting

Peter Handscomb was shrouded with praise for his patient knock on Thursday morning, but former Test batter Matthew Hayden branded his performance as “un-Australian”.

The Victorian combined with Cameron Green for a 40-run partnership for the fifth wicket during Australia’s first innings, ensuring the visitors were unscathed for the first hour of day two.

Handscomb was particularly defensive at the crease, hitting one boundary in 98 deliveries before falling victim to Ravichandran Ashwin for 19 – the rest of his runs came from singles.

He repeatedly prodded forward and blocked out India’s world-class spinners, carefully shifting onto the back foot whenever they dropped short, cautious of the wicket’s variable bounce.

While Green freed his arms and attacked the tweakers on a couple of occasions, Handscomb never attempted a lofted shot.

“He was very, very defensive with his mindset,” Hayden said in commentary.

“His strike rate of under 20 means that you are not going anywhere, and the scoreboard is not going anywhere, and that’s a product of some really tough batting conditions … he was sort of like a sitting duck in many ways.

“It’s almost un-Australian. I don’t want anyone out there to think that I’m overly criticising Pete, I’m not. It’s just not quite attacking enough. It’s such a tricky balance.”

Former Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik continued: “His approach right now in India has been he’s going to wait for the bad ball, defend everything. He’s not going to attack because he feels the wicket is going to do something.

“It’s an interesting tactic, all of the other Australian batters have gone the other way.”

“He’s trusting his defence. It’s given him success in a few innings.”

Handscomb has faced 333 deliveries during this series, more than any of his Australian teammates, yet is only the side’s third-leading run-scorer, behind Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne.

Kohli's agonising 1195-day drought continues

41 innings. 1195 days. Zero centuries.

It’s been a long time since Virat Kohli last reached triple figures in the Test format, with the Indian superstar’s most recent century coming more than three years ago.

In November 2019, several months before the Covid-19 pandemic began, Kohli scored 136 against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens to help India secure a comprehensive innings victory. It was Kohli’s 27th Test century – but he’s still searching for his 28th.

Since December 2019, the 34-year-old has averaged 25.70 with the bat in Test cricket, scoring six fifties in 23 matches. His highest Test score during that period was a patient 79 against South Africa at Newlands last year.

“I cannot believe a player of his class has gone that long without a hundred,” former Test batter Mark Waugh said.

“He’s been in good touch recently, he’s batted well in one-day cricket. I know it’s not Test match cricket, but the signs have been there in his last three innings in Test cricket that he’s actually playing pretty well.

“He’s middling the ball, he’s watching the ball well, his defence is strong. He’s just making the odd error and it’s proving costly for him. He hasn’t had a lot of luck. He makes one mistake and he’s out.

“He’s a world-class player and I feel like a hundred is just around the corner for him.

“He’s feeling the pressure, no doubt about it … I feel like he is a little bit tense when he goes out there in the middle.”

In the first innings at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Kohli fell victim to young spinner Todd Murphy for a third time in the series, trapped on the pads for 22.

Just over 24 hours later, the Indian No. 4 was thwarted by Australian tweaker Matthew Kuhnemann, once again out LBW for 13.

“Virat Kohli was outstanding in that first innings, he looked in control,” former Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin said on Fox Cricket.

“Then there was one mistake, he played around his front pad. It’s a bit of luck on this surface to bat long periods of time.”

Waugh continued: “He actually does play with quite hard hands, he likes to feel bat on ball. That dismissal in the first innings he just played that too square, if he played that to mid on he would have been okay, but he played it around his front pad.

“He does tend to plant his front foot, which technically is not a great thing to do in India. We have seen him play back in the crease in a couple of innings, which is quite well-suited to slower pitches. There’s no obvious weakness, but he seems to make one mistake and he’s gone.”

Why lefties in asia are a 'must'

Matthew Kuhnemann’s impressive performance in Indore has proven why Australia “must” play a left-arm spinner in the subcontinent, according to Haddin.

Australia broke tradition and picked two off-spinners for the series opener in Nagpur, suffering a heavy innings defeat against India at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium.

Kuhnemann was flown to Asia ahead of the second Test in Delhi, making his Test debut at Arun Jaitley Stadium without much success.

However, the 26-year-old flourished on Indore’s raging turner, claiming career-best figures of 5-16 from nine overs to help roll India for 109 in the first innings. He then removed the dangerous Virat Kohli in the second innings at Holkar Cricket Stadium, trapping the Indian superstar on the pads for 13 on day two.

Kuhnemann should have added Cheteshwar Pujara to his bag of wickets in the evening session, but Marnus Labushcagne put down the chance at mid-wicket.

“We’ve seen how Australia have played left-arm spinners in the past, they’ve been really effective,” Haddin said on Fox Cricket.

“You’ve got to get your length right – and that’s the one thing Kuhnemann did. He didn’t overplay his hand and he got his length right, so they had to make decisions off the stump.

“You need a left-arm spinner in these conditions.”

Former Australian batter Mark Waugh continued: “The second Test, they realised they needed a left-armer for a bit of variety, and he came in.

“You need a left-arm spinner who can bowl at the stumps in India.

“He’s done a job in both Test matches. He didn’t get the wickets in Delhi, but I liked what I saw from him. He bowled very accurately.”

Kuhnemann and Victorian spinner Todd Murphy, who claimed 7-124 on Test debut in Nagpur, were flown to Chennai last year to refine their craft in the subcontinent’s unique conditions, fast-tracking their development.

“(Kuhnemann) and Todd Murphy both went to Chennai last year on a bit of a reconnaissance mission,” Waugh explained.

“They bowled in Chennai to get used to the conditions, and it’s shown because they’re bowling the right pace and the right lengths.”

Aussies expose stumping 'loophole'

It’s been a common ploy throughout the Test series, but needless stumping appeals quickly became farcical on Thursday afternoon.

India and Australia discovered that when a stumping decision is sent upstairs, the third umpire must also check for an outside edge. Subsequently, if the fielding side can convince the square leg umpire to check a stumping chance, they don’t need to waste a review on potential caught behind dismissals.

It worked for Australia in the first innings – on day one in Indore, Ravichandran Ashwin feathered a delivery from Matthew Kuhnemann through to the wicketkeeper, with Alex Carey whipping off the bails before appealing for caught behind.

Umpire Nitin Menon, standing at the non-striker’s end, didn’t raise the finger, but Joel Wilson at square leg sent the stumping decision upstairs.

Before even checking the stumping, third umpire Richard Kettleborough found there had been an outside edge, and Ashwin departed caught behind for 3.

The Australians continued the ploy on day two – on the final delivery before lunch, Carey dislodged the bails after Kuhnemann beat the outside edge of Rohit Sharma’s bat.

The Indian captain didn’t bother waiting for the decision to be handed down, trudging off the field before Kettleborough’s not out verdict flashed on the screens.

Replays showed that Sharma was comfortably in his crease when the stumping took place, with cricket fans understandably questioning why the decision had been sent upstairs in the first place.

India shredded for 'baffling' strategy

Peter Handscomb and Cameron Green were the heroes for Australia on Thursday morning, surviving the first hour of play unscathed to extend the visitors’ first-innings lead at Holkar Cricket Stadium.

The pair were patient in the middle, mustering just 30 runs from 16 overs before drinks to frustrate India’s bowlers in the morning session.

Bizarrely, veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, India’s second-leading wicket-taker in Test history, was not introduced into the attack until 54 minutes after day two got underway.

The 36-year-old has taken 17 wickets at 14.05 in the series to date, but was ignored for nearly an hour, much to the frustration of former Indian all-rounder Ajit Agarkar.

“I don’t think India’s been spot on with their tactics,” Agarkar said in commentary.

“No Ashwin so far this morning … it’s quite baffling.”

Former Australian bowler Mitchell Johnson continued: “It’s what he does around the wicket to these right-handers that could really cause them trouble.

“It’s a really good option to bring your best spin bowler in.”

Ashwin is also the most successful bowler at Indore’s Holkar Cricket Stadium in Test history, averaging 12.50 at the venue before this week’s contest against Australia.

After he was finally thrown the SG ball, Ashwin only needed 12 deliveries to have an impact. Coming from around the wicket, he got a delivery to turn sharply and hit Handscomb’s inside edge, with Shreyas Iyer taking a smart catch at short leg to break the 40-run partnership.

Handscomb returned to the sheds for 19, sparking a frantic collapse of 6-11. Ashwin finished the innings with 3-44 from 20.3 overs, also accounting for Alex Carey and Nathan Lyon’s wickets.