As I watched the third day of the Brisbane Test, I wondered whether I was watching a Test match or a Big Bash League hit-out.
The second session was most entertaining when skipper Steven Smith, Mitchell Johnson and the tail comprising Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and debutant Josh Hazlewood went ballistic.
Australia were struggling at 6/247, trailing India by 61 runs, when Smith was joined by Johnson. They added 148 runs for the seventh wicket in 26 overs at 5.7 runs per over and the match tilted Australia’s way.
I expected the tail to fold up after Johnson and Smith departed. But it wagged vigorously as Starc and Lyon added 56 runs for the ninth wicket, and Lyon and Hazlewood put on 51 for the last wicket at a fast tempo.
From 6/247 Australia’s last four wickets added 258 runs to lead a deflated India by 97 runs.
Here is how the Aussie tail frustrated bumper-happy Indian bowlers:
Johnson scored 88 runs (13 fours, one six) at strike rate (SR) of 94.62, Starc 52 (6 fours) at SR of 88.13, Lyon 23 (3 fours) at SR of 100, and Hazlewood (7 fours) at SR of 64.
The first three days of the Brisbane Test have witnessed a total of 124 fours and 4 sixes. Will it exceed the number of fours and sixes hit in the Adelaide Test last week? Between the two teams, 179 fours and 12 sixes were smacked. This works out at 36 fours and 2.4 sixes a day. It may be common in T20, but awesome for a Test match.
The Brisbane Test, like Adelaide, is on a knife edge as India trails by 26 runs with nine wickets in hand. Although Australia was ahead at stumps on Day 3, any result is possible.
If the overnight not out batsmen Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara, followed by the in-form Virat Kohli get going, Australia has a fight on their hands.
Capable batsmen Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, captain MS Dhoni, and Ravichandran Ashwin are all to follow.
Starc, Hazlewood and Shane Watson bowled line and length yesterday. If Johnson regains his mojo early tomorrow anything can happen. Disappointingly, Johnson has gone wicket-less in this Test so far.
If India sets Australia a win target of 300 runs on the fifth and final day, it could be the repeat of the Adelaide Test, with the result in doubt until the last hour.
Whoever wins, it promises to be an engrossing series as we move on to Melbourne and Sydney for the subsequent Tests.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy, currently held by India, is in the balance.
More heartening is the fact that Test cricket is alive and well, with the rival teams batting with flourish. My one criticism is that there is too much time wasting and atrocious over-rates.
Test great Steve Smith is to play for Washington Freedom in the second season of Major League Cricket as the Australian influence in the…
Nathan Lyon has revealed his disappointment that Australia's cricket chiefs have prevented him from playing his first full season of county cricket in England…
Some of you may have watched the recent Fox Sports Series 'A Brief History of Australian Cricket: the Eighties'. If not, I’d definitely recommend…
Nathan Lyon's spell with English county Lancashire has been halved as Cricket Australia looks to protect the fitness of the star spinner. The Australian,…
Cricket Australia insists Optus Stadium can replace the Gabba as the men's Test team's new fortress after handing Perth the first match against India.…
It's no longer about how many runs score individually - it is about the team's ability to win Test in pressure moments.
