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Bengaluru (Reuters): Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked up six wickets to lead India to a dramatic 75-run victory over Australia in the second test on Tuesday, the win enabling the hosts to level the four-match series at 1-1.
On a M. Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch offering unpredictable bounce for the pacemen and sharp turn for the spinners, Australia were bundled all out for 112 in their second innings late on the fourth day after being set a victory target of 188.
India’s hopes of squaring the series looked all but dead when they were dismissed for 189 in their first innings but the world’s top-ranked side fought back to keep Australia within reach and then batted resolutely to set a testing target.
Ashwin’s five-wicket haul was the 25th for the world’s top-ranked bowler, who finished with figures of 6-41 in an enthralling test match that witnessed four different bowlers pick up six wickets for a first time.
“It is a great feeling to beat Australia, the way things went in the first innings and the way we came back, it was a memorable test match for all of us,” India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara said in a post-match interview.
“Anything about 200 was almost impossible too chase but once we crossed 150, we all believed we could defend this total and once we had 188, we definitely believed it.”
After dismissing the free-scoring opening batsman David Warner for 17 in his first spell, Ashwin returned before tea to send back Mitchell Marsh and Matthew Wade.
Peter Handscomb was Australia’s last hope but he too, fell to Ashwin in the final session, as did Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon as the off-spinner took five wickets for just nine runs in a devastating spell either side of the interval.
Fast bowler Umesh Yadav also chipped in, getting the big wicket of Australia captain Steve Smith, who was out leg before to a grubber that stayed so low it almost hit his boot.
Smith was out for 28 and also angered the Indian fielders when he appeared to look towards his dressing room for advice before opting against a review of the decision.
Umesh also dismissed Shaun Marsh leg before for nine, when he padded a delivery outside the off stump. The batsman would have been saved if he had reviewed the decision with replays showing the ball was missing the wicket.
Josh Hazlewood earlier picked up career-best figures of 6-67 to rip through India’s batting on the fourth morning and remove the hosts for 274 in their second innings when it appeared they would score much more.
Smith started with spin from both ends to try and break the fifth-wicket partnership between Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane but when the new ball was available after 80 overs, he handed it to his pacemen.
Left-arm quick Mitchell Starc was erratic at first but then made a key breakthrough by dismissing Rahane leg before for 52 with a full inswinger that ending a vital partnership of 118.
Starc then rattled the stumps of Karun Nair with his next ball and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha only just survived the hat-trick delivery.
The 26-year-old Hazlewood, who had taken three wickets on Monday, took up the gauntlet in the following over and struck a major blow to India’s hopes by dismissing Pujara for 92, caught at gully.
Ashwin was also out in the same over for four to the right-arm paceman and Umesh became Hazlewood’s sixth victim as India lost five wickets for just 20 runs in 19 deliveries.
Reuters: India captain Virat Kohli said the 75-run win against Australia in the second test was the best under his captaincy, after his side fought back to level the four-match series at 1-1.
Under Kohli, who was appointed full-time test captain in 2015, India were unbeaten in 19 tests before they were thumped by 333 runs inside three days in the series opener against Australia in Pune.
India’s hopes of squaring the series looked all but dead when they were dismissed for 189 in their first innings. But the world’s top-ranked side fought back to keep Australia within reach and then batted resolutely to set a testing target.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin then picked up six wickets on the fourth day to lead India to a dramatic victory. Kohli has scored just 40 in his four innings in the series and Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon recently said their target is the “head of the snake”, referring to India’s batting mainstay.
“Till now, this is the best one definitely. It was a quite emotional game for us, quite draining as well,” Kohli told reporters.
“Everyone got along together, we showed the team spirit, and a lot of people were talking about the head of the snake, but I think the snake did pretty well by itself, so it’s not just about one individual.
“I’m pretty happy if they keep focussing on the head of the snake, and the snake can sting from a lot of directions. I think (this was) the sweetest victory for us.”
The manner of the Pune defeat drew criticism for the world’s top-ranked side, but Kohli said the team believed they will bounce back.
Kohli lauded the fifth-wicket stand of 118 in the second innings between Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane that allowed the hosts to set Australia 188 for victory.
“In the last two years, it’s one of the top two partnerships, or maybe number one, because retrieving the lost momentum and giving the team the lead was a question of character, and they both showed why they are India’s best test batsmen,” Kohli said.
Reuters: India captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday accused Australia counterpart Steve Smith and his team of “crossing the line” by looking towards the players’ area while deciding whether to review the umpire’s decisions during the second test.
Smith was out leg before for 28 in the tourists’ second innings off a delivery by paceman Umesh Yadav that stayed low and struck him above his left boot in front of middle stump during their 75-run defeat that levelled the series at 1-1.
Smith and partner Peter Handscomb were then caught looking towards the area outside Australia’s dressing room, where television replays can be seen, while discussing whether to review the verdict, prompting umpire Nigel Llong to intervene.
Players are not allowed to have any outside input while challenging the umpires’ decisions, according to the rules
An angry-looking Kohli ran towards Smith to let him know of his displeasure, as Long sent him on his way with the batsman walking towards the changing rooms amid boos from the crowd.
Kohli said it was not only time it had happened and he had already complained to the match officials about the issue during a match in which there were a number of verbal confrontations.
“I saw that happening two times when I was batting out there,” Kohli said. “I pointed that out to the umpire as well that I had seen their players looking upstairs for confirmation. “And that’s why the umpire was at him (Smith). When he turned back, the umpire knew what was going on exactly. We observed that, we told the match referee and the umpire that it’s been happening for the last three days and it has to stop.
“There is a line that you don’t cross on a cricket field. Sledging and playing on the opponents’ mind is different but I don’t want to mention the word but it falls in that bracket. I would never do something like that on the cricket field.”
Asked by an Australian reporter if “the word” was cheating, Kohli replied: “I am not saying that, you did.”
The 28-year-old Smith, ranked number one batsman in tests, received flak from former cricketers on social media. He said it was a “brain fade” from him and he should not have done it.
“I obviously got hit on the pad and looked down to Petey (Handscomb) and Petey sort of said, ‘Look out there,’ and I turned around and said, ‘What do you reckon?’” Smith told reporters after the second test of the four-match series.
“It was a bit of brain-fade on my behalf and, yeah, I shouldn’t have done that. I was looking at my boys and shouldn’t have done that. I think it was the first time it’s happened.”
On-field sledging was a big topic before the series, with both teams led by demonstrative captains in Kohli and Smith.
India and Australia share an acrimonious past on the cricket field and tempers had been running high during the second of the four-match test series between the world’s top two ranked sides, needing interventions from the umpires to calm the players down.
