Left-arm spinner Matthew claims five as Indians tumble to 109 in first innings; Australia end Day One at 156-4 to lead by 47 runs at Indore
Matthew Kuhnemann (centre) celebrates an Indian wicket with teammates at Indore yesterday. Pic/AFP
With a spot in the final of the World Test Championship at stake, India chose the most inopportune time to endure their worst day in a home Test for more than two years. A slew of errors with the bat and a plethora of avoidable mistakes in the field have left them so far behind the eight-ball at the Holkar Stadium after Day One that Australia will feel they are in with an outstanding shot at narrowing India’s series lead to 2-1 ahead of the final Test in Ahmedabad.
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India’s travails against the turning ball are no longer a surprise, nor is their propensity to welcome little-known opposition spinners with a rash of wickets. If it was Steve O’Keefe who benefitted from their munificence in Pune six years back, fellow left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann too filled his boots on a dramatic Wednesday that dawned with Rohit Sharma winning his first toss of the series and ended with the visitors 47 in front with six wickets standing.
Kuhnemann did little more than put the ball where needed to on a pitch that initially was beyond excuses, but eased out a touch later on. In just his second Test, he cashed in on India’s unwillingness to learn from mistakes—such as playing off the back foot and against the turn without sizing up how much turn and invariable bounce might be on offer.
His maiden five-wicket haul, backed up beautifully by the experienced Nathan Lyon, sent India plummeting to 109 all out, but any hopes that their own spinners would return the compliment proved unfounded as Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and stand-in skipper Steven Smith steered them to 156 for four at the draw of stumps.
India shot themselves in the foot while on the park too, burning up their three reviews with calls that were born out of wild optimism rather than even token conviction. Add that to the fact that Ravindra Jadeja overstepped, once again, on picking up a wicket, letting Labuschagne off when the batsman played on without opening his account. Had Jadeja not transgressed the crease, Australia would have been 13 for two; thrown the lifeline, the right-hander played the support act to Khawaja superbly while realising Australia’s highest partnership of the series, an invaluable 96 that drove daggers deep into Indian hearts.
Khawaja unleashed a master class on the art of negotiating turn on a dicey surface by moving decisively and playing the ball late, traits that had eluded India in the morning after Rohit and comeback man Shubman Gill had briefly feasted on the pacers. Jadeja’s four wickets might suggest India are still in the game when, in reality, they have a mountain of work ahead of them.
Brief scores
India 109 all out (V Kohli 22; M Kuhnemann 5-16, N Lyon 3-35) v Australia 156-4 (U Khawaja 60, M Labuschagne 31; R Jadeja 4-63)
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