NEW DELHI: India were tottering at 139/7 when Ravichandran Ashwin joined Axar Patel in the middle on Day 2 of the second Test against Australia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday. The visitors were in firm control and needed just three good deliveries to walk away with first innings honours and probably the match as well.
The deficit at that moment, to be precise 124 runs, is a margin big enough especially on the subcontinent pitches, where batting in the fourth innings becomes extremely difficult. But what transpired next not only saw Australia losing their grip over the contest but also highlighted the fact that India's lower-order batters have been bailing them out of precarious positions more often than not, especially in the last two years.
The duo of Axar (74) and Ashwin (37) batted for 177 legal deliveries, forging together a 114-run eighth-wicket partnership to take the team closer to Australia's first innings total of 261. In the end, India fell short by the thinnest margins, 1 run.
It was India's 13th partnership of 50 or more for the seventh wicket or below in home Tests since the start of 2021. What's more heartening for the team is that five among them have gone beyond the century mark like Saturday. During this period, no other team has had as many half-century stands at home as India. England and Pakistan are second on the list with eight such partnerships each.
Speaking about India's lower-order batters' contributing generously to make life difficult for bowlers from the opposite camps, Australia's premier off-spinner said, "I will not say they are lower-order batters. I will say India has a long top-order."
This trend has paved the way for India to dominate in Test cricket at home since the start of 2021. Ever since they lost their last Test on Indian soil in February 2021 against England, the hosts have won seven and drew one against New Zealand out of eight matches they had played till the Nagpur Test of the ongoing series.
If one talks about the performances of these bowling all-rounders during this period including first innings of the ongoing match, they have scored valuable runs in matches they have featured in to help their team extend its home dominance. Ashwin has scored 406 runs including a century and a half-century with an average of 29.
Ravindra Jadeja, who missed out on action for almost five months before returning to competitive cricket with the Australia series, has made 347 runs at an average of 57.83. In this period he has slammed 175 not out, his highest in the format, and two fifties. Ever since his debut, Axar too has been performing consistently with the willow scoring 355 runs including three half-centuries at an average of 35.50.
What makes their show even more remarkable is the fact that their batting averages are even better than India's top guns like Virat Kohli (26.53), Cheteshwar Pujara (19.58) and KL Rahul (18.50) in the given period.
"Pressure was on us, we were trailing so it was necessary to get as close to their total as possible," Axar told reporters after the day's play.
"Then Ashwin and I forged a partnership. The only thought was to get closer to Australia's total. It was good we managed to do that."
The southpaw hopes his purple patch continues so that he can play more such innings for the team. "I did well in my last innings at Nagpur. I feel I am in good touch and want it to extend as long as I can."
The 29-year-old from Gujarat also said that being a bowler helps him and other Indian lower-order batters to contribute with the bat. " We all are spinners (me, Ashwin and Jadeja), so we know a spinner's mentality. We know how to force a tweaker to change his line and length and we usually do that. So I think, being a spinner helps a lot especially while batting against them."
Pat Cummins led side, however, negated the effort put in by the Indian duo to some extent. They batted aggressively in their second essay to finish the day on 61/1 after 12 overs. Top scorer from the first innings, Usman Khawaja, departed early but Travis Head (39 off 40) and Marnus Labuschagne (16 off 19) counter-attacked to force Indian bowlers to come up with new plans when the third day's play resumes on Sunday.