DHARAMSALA:In the 13 Tests India have played this season, the batsmen have hardly been tested by high-quality pace bowling. However, the pitch at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala is unique as it has given the visiting side an advantage.
Not that India are complaining but with the series tied 1-1, this isn’t the kind of wicket they would like to play on. After Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood ruffled the hosts with pace and swing, off-spinner Nathan Lyon utilised the bounce to take four wickets as the hosts ended Day 2 at 248 for six — 52 runs behind Australia’s first innings total of 300 — on Sunday.
Lyon, who weaved his magic in the final session, accounted for the wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara, Karun Nair, Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin as India, beginning the post-tea session at 153 for two, lost a golden opportunity to bat Australia out of the contest.
Ever since he picked eight wickets on the first day of the Bengaluru Test, Lyon hadn’t been much of a threat for the Indian batsmen, especially with the wickets slowing down considerably in the latter half of the second Test and in Ranchi. But Dharamsala possesses turn and bounce, which is essential to Lyon, who prefers taking wickets caught bat-pad or at slip.
“After bowling a couple of overs on it before lunch, I sat down and thought about what it (pitch) is and it was closer to a home wicket where I can try and generate bounce — my biggest weapon,” Lyon said.
But it wasn’t Lyon alone who had a good day. Cummins and Hazlewood might like to wrap this pitch and take it back home, as they made the Indians dance to their tunes. There have been concerns in the Aussie dressing room over the workload of Cummins before this Test as the injury-prone bowler playing his first Test in six years at Ranchi had bowled 39 overs. But the 23-year-old is Steve Smith’s trump card as his sheer pace and bounce along with movement can make any batsman’s task hard in conditions like these.
In-form batsmen KL Rahul and Murali Vijay barely got a loose ball from Cummins and Hazlewood in the morning session. The 64 runs India took in the morning session for the loss of Vijay was a luxury given the way the two operated, especially Cummins.
With just two pacers in the side, Smith had to rotate between the two, so that he could use them throughout the day and hence both operated in short bursts, bowling not more than six overs in a given spell. Hazlewood was consistent in making the ball curve after hitting the cracks and often surprised the batsmen with short deliveries. The wicket of Vijay wasn’t a spectacular delivery but he earned it by creating doubts in the batsman’s mind, which forced him to finally poke one to Matthew Wade.
Cummins, on the other end, was all about pace and lift. His duel with Rahul was as good as any pacer has bowled in India and if Matt Renshaw had held on to the catch when the right-hander was on 10, things could have been worse for the hosts.
Though his 10 overs in the morning session didn’t get him any wicket, he bowled nine overs in the second to get the wicket of Rahul for 60 and make Rahane look uncomfortable. He even had to see Renshaw drop Saha in the final session but Cummins will definitely get more chances.
“I think he really showed he is world class, I think Josh has been the same. There hasn’t been much life for the big quicks but the way Josh and Patty went about it has been exceptional. It shows the class of those two individuals,” Lyon said.
venkatakrishna@newindianexpress.com