Brisbane: The Indian batters’ inability to grind it out against a relentless Australian pace attack in testing conditions left the team precariously placed at 51 for four at the end of a rain-marred day three of the third Test here on Monday.
On a stop-start day, India bowled out Australia for 445 in their first innings, the hosts adding 40 runs to their overnight total, as the peerless Jasprit Bumrah continued to do the heavy lifting to finish with excellent figures of 6/76.
Alex Carey chipped in with an entertaining 70 off 88 balls after contrasting hundreds by Steve Smith and Travis Head on the second day laid the foundation for a total which looked more than enough just 14 overs into the Indian first innings.
With the exception of the gutsy KL Rahul (33 batting), who was willing to hang in there, none of the Indian top-order batters showed the stomach to fight.
Playing the red Kookaburra has become tougher since they changed their ball in 2020 by adding extra lacquer on a reinforced seam, making it firmer and ensuring more movement off the pitch.
Under the circumstances, the Indians needed to be patient and play out the first 25-30 overs when bowlers of the calibre of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were in operation.
But the visiting top-order batters did not do what was required of them. The likes of Virat Kohli once again fell to deliveries in the channel just outside the off-stump.
There is no doubt that the conditions were challenging but the Indian batters could have taken a leaf out of Smith’s book as he initially negotiated testing spells of fast bowling from Akash Deep and Bumrah on way to a drought-breaking hundred.
Starc, Hazlewood strike early
After Australia racked in nearly 450 runs, left-arm pacer Starc struck twice and Josh Hazlewood once as the two teams took an early lunch with the visitors reeling at 22 for three.
Pat Cummins got the big wicket of Rishabh Pant in the second session to make matters worse for the Indians.
Returning to the middle after the lunch break, Rahul and Pant faced some hostile fast bowling from the duo of Starc and Hazlewood before heavy showers interrupted the proceedings, one of the many on the day.
Cummins kept three slips and a gully for Pant, as opposed to the four men in the slip cordon, and a gully for Rahul, when Hazlewood was operating.
Starc had three slips, and two gullies when he had the red cherry in his hand.
The only fielder in front of the wicket during that phase of play in the second session was the man stationed at mid-off, reflecting the Australian bowlers’ dominance.
Starc removed Yashasvi Jaiswal in the second ball of the India innings and then dismissed Shubman Gill before Hazlewood accounted for Kohli as the visitors once again stared down the barrel after their failures in Adelaide.
Jaiswal was out caught by Mitchell Marsh at short mid-wicket while he tried to clip a Starc half-volley off his pads.
Gill was sent back when Marsh pulled off a brilliant catch in the slip cordon off the bowling of Starc after the India number three played away from the body.
Kohli was dismissed in what has now become a familiar scene as he once again chased a length delivery outside off before nicking it to Alex Carey.
Starc too had a hand in the wicket of Kohli. After KL Rahul pulled a short ball from Hazlewood to long leg, Starc dived to save what seemed like a certain boundary, bringing the former Indian captain back on strike. Kohli was dismissed off the very next delivery.
This was after Hazlewood delivered a full-length ball outside off-stump to Kohli, who, instead of leaving the ball, attempted a drive, resulting in an outside edge.
This is the fourth time Kohli has been dismissed in such a fashion. Former India player Sanjay Manjrekar has already advised him to explore an alternate route to tackle his weaknesses against deliveries on the fourth and fifth stump.
Earlier, with two slips and a gully, Bumrah started the proceedings with a 21-over old ball.
Batting on 45 overnight, Carey swept Ravindra Jadeja for a boundary towards fine-leg to reach his half-century off just 53 balls.
Bumrah came back to bowl another maiden over before Mitchell Starc decided to get down on one knee to slog sweep Jadeja for a six over square leg.
For someone who is known for keeping one end tight with his accurate bowling, Jadeja was going at five runs an over, and the seasoned left-arm spinner’s profligacy put additional burden on a strained pace attack.
The surface at Gabba offered a bit of turn and bounce but Jadeja was guilty of bowling too straight to the left-handers.
