After Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed, with India 184 runs behind the tourists, the game was delicately balanced. Australia would have backed their prospects of taking the lead. But an hour after lunch-break, their hopes had diminished, as Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli tore into them, a vigorous rendition on counter-attacking, in complete contrast to their previous partnership, the 507-ball 198-run stand against England in Nagpur.
But the preconditions were contrasting. In Nagpur, with the series at stake and the top four ejected for 71 runs, Kohli and Dhoni had to toil on a surface Kevin Pietersen reckoned the toughest he had batted on. India were better placed and the Chepauk wicket for all its twin-fold bounce was ideal for stroke-play.
Nonetheless, the situation was tricky, a deadlock scenario and India were crawling — 11 overs had cost as many runs. Australia’s pressure-measure with the in-and-out field, though unconventional, was utilitarian. Four overs went by without disturbing the game’s subdued tenor. Lyon’s rare short hopper was hit for a six but nothing suggested the impending onslaught.
The reference point was over number 72, when Dhoni’s double-barrelled bottom hand twice ferried Lyon to the fence, a typical thwack over mid-on followed by a sweep from outside the off-stump. Moises Henriques replaced Lyon, but Kohli invited him in with a brace of boundaries.
Lyon was bought back, and Dhoni dittoed. Not just the boundaries, they rotated the strike and added 67 runs in 15.5 overs, shifting the momentum towards India. If this one hour restored the innings, the hour post break, until Kohli’s departure, gave India the upper hand.
Post the 40-minute break, batsmen usually start circumspectly and the game takes a mellow course. Not to be though, and the new ball only resulted in a torrent of boundaries. The ensuing hour cost the Australians 61 runs in 10 overs, a remarkable stat in itself.
Dhoni pummelled James Pattinson’s fourth ball beyond point, a shot of unblinking power. In his next over, Kohli smashed him through wide long-on. Pattinson, Australia’s most productive bowler, looked exasperated.
So did Mitchell Starc after Dhoni tonked him for three boundaries in five balls. Kohli intersected the deep fine-leg and square-leg fielder for a boundary to secure his fourth Test hundred. They plundered 21 in the next two overs, rendering Henriques pedestrian and Pattinson deflated. With their plans gone awry, Australia, for once, turned reactive. Soon after, Kohli perished and understandably the run-rate slowed down. But their 128-run-alliance in 26.1 overs had already eaten deep into their lead, diminishing Australia’s prospects of a handy first-innings lead. And Australia, if they go onto lose this match, would red-mark this passage as the phase that took the contest away from them.