Australia is in position to win a rare Test in India because of Nathan Lyon’s impressive eight-wicket performance.
But, the game was far from over as the Indore hosts remained in the match despite the visitors’ shocking first-innings batting collapse and Cheteshwar Pujara’s tough half-century that kept them in it.
Day two was even more chaotic than day one, and Lyon claimed 8 for 64 to bowl India out for 163 in the second innings on the stroke of stumps, giving Australia a target of just 76.
Pujara’s 142-ball 59 would not have made it that many. Without yet another wild Australian collapse in the morning session, which will give India’s bowlers hope on the third day, it might not have been as many.
During drinks on the second morning, Australia had a 77-run lead and six first-innings wickets in hand. However, they lost 6 for 11 in a chaotic 34 balls, allowing India to retake the lead.
Umesh Yadav finished with 3 for 12 after taking three wickets in three overs on a pitch that was ideal for spinners, while R Ashwin claimed three wickets at the other end to dismiss Australia for 88 runs. This was statistically among the worst lower-order collapses in Australia’s Test history, despite the fact that their tail has offered no opposition throughout the entire tour.
Lyon never gave India’s top order batsmen a chance to catch their breath during an unbroken stint from around the wicket after lunch, so Pujara had to work especially hard to reduce India’s deficit without much assistance from them. Pujura maintained his composure throughout the nearly four hours of effort to save India, but he never stopped moving.
He played almost completely on the front foot with a vertical bat, always playing in front of his pad after learning from his error in the first inning, and he used his feet well to smother the spin of Lyon, Todd Murphy, and Matthew Kuhnemann.
It was a task that his teammates were unable to do. In the first over following lunch, Shubman Gill was struck by a reckless throw across the line to Lyon.
Going back to a full ball from Lyon, Rohit Sharma missed the length. Before Ravindra Jadeja was caught by Lyon with his back to the plate, Virat Kohli attempted a disastrous cross-bat shot off his back foot against Kuhnemann.
However, India’s deficit had been reduced to 9 at tea, and just four overs after the break, it had grown to a lead of 23, with six wickets still remaining. Australia was left wondering if they had allowed the match to slip from an unbeatable position, just as they had done in Delhi, as Shreyas Iyer slammed three fours and two sixes.
But Steven Smith, who led brilliantly without Pat Cummins, gave Mitchell Starc the green light to join the attack. Usman Khawaja, who had spent almost the entire second session off the field, dived to his left to take a catch after Shreyas chipped the ball to midwicket.
Nathan Lyon was able to re-attack from around the wicket because of Shreyas’ departure. He trapped R Ashwin in the middle with a shot that twisted back beyond the inside edge after beating KS Bharat on the outside edge with one that slid on to slam into middle and off.
Axar Patel joined Pujara, giving India a lead of 52 and three wickets remaining, but Australia was still in danger. Smith and Lyon kept probing the area, and ultimately the prize appeared.
Smith grabbed a remarkable one-handed catch at leg slip after frequently leaving that position open during Pujara’s innings. Without causing Axar any significant harm, Lyon was able to take the final two wickets, saving them from a tense opening few overs of the chase on the second night.
Australia was happy because they had earlier blown a chance to put the game firmly out of India’s reach in the first innings. In the opening hour of day two, Peter Handscomb and Cameron Green had contributed 30 runs without surrendering a run and without any complications.
Both batters had played solid defense and used their feet shrewdly to locate scoring opportunities without taking a big risk. After losing 6 for 11 in 34 deliveries, Australia was all out with a lead of just 88 runs less than 30 minutes later.
Ashwin and Umesh, two bowlers Rohit Sharma had scarcely used in the first hour, were the catalysts for the remarkable turnaround. As Ashwin looked to get Handscomb at short leg on day one, he found the ideal length and added some bounce and turn.
The crucial wicket of Green was subsequently taken by Umesh with a delivery that only strayed slightly off the seam and got Green to play in the wrong direction as he attempted to work through the leg side. After striking his back leg, Joel Wilson ruled him lbw.
India would not have had any reviews to draw upon if he had not been distributed. Ball tracking revealed that it had clipped the leg stump’s outside corner.
Like they have frequently in this series, Australia fell after that as Umesh rook Starc and Murphy’s off stump with quick, reverse-swinging deliveries from around the wicket and Ashwin easily went past Carey and Lyon’s defenses.