Australia's patient batting is sapping India

The biggest difference between Australia and India so far in this Test series has not been between the spin attacks, but rather the contrasting discipline showed by the respective batting line-ups.

Australia yesterday again showcased admirable patience and caution with the blade after the Indians had frittered away wickets on day one.

There has been a heavy focus on the extraordinary success of Australian spinners Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe, compared to the relative struggles of India’s star tweakers Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

Yet the fortunes of each spin unit have been heavily influenced by the disparate batting approaches of their opponents. India’s batting, at times meek and at others arrogant, has made life easy for O’Keefe and Lyon.

Meanwhile, Ashwin and Jadeja have had to graft long and hard for their wickets against an Australian batting line-up which is placing a lofty price on their wickets. Australia finished yesterday on 6-237, giving them a lead of 48.

Rarely has such a modest total been so impressive. On a nightmare pitch offering crazy variations in bounce, the Australians forced the Indians to earn their breakthroughs.

On such a surface, surviving for 106 overs is a fine effort, and Australia still have four wickets in hand. It has been a shock to see Australia bat with such circumspection and determination in this series after years of meek surrenders on surfaces less difficult than those they’ve encountered in India.

The Bangalore pitch is so tricky that Australia easily could have succumbed in less than 50 overs. Instead, they’ve batted for time and tested the resolve of the Indians. Australia’s batsmen have been criticised over and over for their inability to shackle their natural aggression when conditions favour the bowlers.

Finally, in this series, we’ve seen major progress in that regard. In this Test, they’ve scored at a tortoise-paced rate of 2.23 runs per over. Rookie opener Matt Renshaw and veteran Shaun Marsh both stayed at the crease for almost 200 balls apiece in making scores of 60 and 66, respectively.

Their shot selection was fantastic. Renshaw and Marsh both played well within their limits, happy to let the bowlers be in control on the horrid pitch, as long as it meant they were still at the crease. India bowled brilliantly for most of the day, before getting a tad loose in the final session.

On another day, India, bowling as well as they did, would have scythed through their opposition with ease. But that wasn’t possible yesterday because of the bloody-mindedness of Marsh, Renshaw and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade, who scrapped to 25 not out from 68 balls.

Even Steve Smith, who was dismissed for just eight, refused to be easily removed, staying around for 52 balls while playing with uncommon caution.

Although this match has been marred by an awful pitch, yesterday was among the most engrossing day twos of a Test I have ever seen.

After looking half-asleep for the first four days of this series, India were an entirely different side. From the moment they took to the ground they were intense, focused and feisty.

Captain Virat Kohli was positively swollen with energy, buzzing around in the field, loudly encouraging his troops and offering frequent advice and steely glares to the Australian batsmen.

India created an atmosphere of hostility, not just through their confrontational behaviour but also via some wonderfully precise and testing bowling. Indian seamers Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav both bowled better than their figures suggest.

They maintained searching lines and lengths which exploited the massively variable bounce offered by the heavily-cracked pitch.

Kohli appeared to miss a trick, however, by under-bowling Jadeja. Quite remarkably, Jadeja bowled just four overs in the first 62 overs of Australia’s innings. By that stage, Ashwin had already sent down 26.

Yet it was Jadeja who proved clearly the more effective of the Indian spinners, removing Smith, Renshaw and Peter Handscomb amid figures of 3-49 from 17 overs. The wicket of Renshaw was especially important. The 20-year-old has looked more comfortable against spin in this series than any batsman from either side; no-one has faced more than his 402 balls across three innings in this series.

Renshaw may never encounter tougher conditions than this in his entire career. To be mastering them at his tender age is extraordinary. Along with the much-maligned Shaun Marsh, Renshaw has helped put Australia on top in this Test.

But the tourists will be acutely aware that batting last on this sorry pitch will be phenomenally difficult. Even a chase as low as 120 would not be elementary, which makes a sizeable first-innings lead ever so important.

If they can earn one today and then press on, win the Test and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Australia will have their strong-willed batting to thank.