MS Dhoni’s inspirational double-century and his hundred-run stands with Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar helped India take control of the Chennai Test against Australia. We’ll have live coverage of day four from 3.00pm AEDT.
Strategies will need to change for Australia next game but their immediate concern will be to come back into this Test match after losing the initiative.
Sachin Tendulkar’s early dismissal would have raised the Australian hopes but Virat Kohli raced to his own century and Dhoni produced a counter-attacking innings against the second new ball to take the advantage.
Difficult pitch or not, India got themselves a score of more than 500 and ensured that Australia will need to do all the catching up over the next couple of days.
With a lead of 135 under their belt India will consider themselves favourites on a fast deteriorating Chennai pitch. R Ashwin will look to build on his seven-wicket haul from the first innings and could do a lot of bowling from the word go.
What Dhoni will hope is for Harbhajan Singh to find some of his rhythm that had made him the world-beater in the early 2000s with Ravindra Jadeja looking to stifle the run flow.
Australia will first need to bowl India out quickly. Dhoni hasn’t given them too many chances but what will worry captain Michael Clarke is that even number 10 batsman Bhuvneshwar Kumar came nowhere close to getting out after an early dropped opportunity.
The last thing Clarke will want is for India to bat up to the lunch break, in effect batting them out of the game.
Later when Australia get their chance to bat again, it will definitely be a test by spin. Given how the track has behaved for Nathan Lyon over the third day, likes of Ashwin and Harbhajan will be licking their fingers.
It will be interesting to see if the Australian top-order gained anything out of watching how the Indians batted against Lyon and even some of the pace bowlers – they were not allowed to settle down and attacked hard.
India hold all the aces with an Australian fightback a real possibility. For that though, they will have to play out of their skins from here on.
Live coverage of the game begins from 3.00pm AEDT on Monday, don’t hesitate add your opinion in the comments section below.
abdulhai
Guest
i think Australia is a very strong team but now this time is India.so india
fadida
Guest
Ed Cowan = John Dyson. Takes ages to get to 30, gets tired and gets out
Duppers
Guest
Taking nothing away from India & the two magnificent innings from Kholi & Dhoni. What hope does Australia really have when you get deliveries spitting at & shooting through low in a manner that you would never see in 10 seasons of cricket on home soil. The Indian pitches are a joke & are so heavily in favour of their spinners I wonder if its a really fair contest.
Red Kev
Guest
Not really. For us to force a fifth day is a positive we can take to the next test. We'll still lose this but there was some fight.
JGK
Roar Guru
That drop by Cowan is looking like the crucial point in the match now.
Richard
Guest
Momentum shift? That is Rose colored glasses my friend. Worst of all is the limp capitulation in the second innings. If Henriques could tough it out, then we should have expected much more from the top order. Big questions to be asked there and Clarke shouldn't be immune. Time to toughen up in the brain Australia and that includes the selectors.
Richard
Guest
Why can't the selectors pick a team for the conditions. We have this problem that if a team won the last test then that is the team that goes forward regardless (excepting injuries). Apart from injuries and bowler rotations to protect them from injuries we have no other plan. If we took Doherty why didn't we play him? He did ok in the warm ups like Henriques, who got a gig. We didn't play Xavier? Because it would have upset the dogma. Its crazy, the Poms showed you have to play 2 spinners, the selectors must be brain dead, all of them!
jamesb
Guest
No surprises where this game was headed after day 3. India 8/406, and managed to get 572, an extra 166 runs is the real tell tale difference in this game thanks to Dhonis 224. A real pity that Patto didn't have any support. 5/96 does prove that fast bowlers can be successful in India. Australia has made it to day 5 thanks to Moises, who is having a terrific debut. A lead of 40 with 1 wicket remaining is not enough. Australia need to add another 100 odd to make this match any interesting! If only it was 5 or 6 wickets remaining. Well played India.
Matt
Guest
If you think Australia has problems: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX8N9nrm_8I Too bad for the bowlers actually trying, half a dozen missed outs a game.
Praveen
Guest
Get Khawaja in for starters, very impressed by muses
Praveen
Guest
Thanks Suneer
Lukeling
Guest
I like your optimism Suneer, would love to see Moises score a century. Thanks for the commentary!
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
1979 it is, thanks pope!
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Just a single from the Ishant over but that's that for the day. No extra half hour taken and the game will be pushed to the fifth day. Australia are 40 ahead and will now be aiming to carry on from here and take the partnership up from its current 57 runs. Henriques has been the star of the Australian batting and is now looking good to get to a maiden Test century, unbeaten on 75. India did almost everything right to push Australia to the brink of defeat before this last-wicket stand. Ashwin scalped another five wickets as Australia struggled on an admittedly treacherous pitch. Back tomorrow with the final day's play of the Test and despite all that has happened, cannot see India not take a 1-0 lead from here. Ciao!
Felix
Guest
I think you'll find their thoughts were that a bad day out for one of our quicks is better than a good day out for Doherty, Smith or Maxwell.
Red Kev
Guest
I can't believe we lasted to a fifth day - that's a momentum shift in my opinion. Poor work from Dhoni, Australia will take some positives from that. Now we just need the selectors to come to the party with some sense.
Richard
Guest
Very interesting statistic! Thanks
Aduardo
Guest
Shades of Haddin in Sth Africa in Wade's batting?
Amith
Guest
Grit is the key, otherwise its hard to digest
Lukeling
Guest
haha not in this match just in general. Where's Johnno? Need the stats on the last time Australia clung on to a draw.