BRISBANE: Just as Australia were getting in their huddle after the second rain break on day three at The Gabba, there was a huge gasp at the media centre. India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, taking throw downs just before going into bat for the first time at his venue, had mistakenly hit one towards the Australian huddle. The ball didn’t hit any player but the video person with Cricket Australia seemed to have taken the blow to the ankle.
Usman Khawaja came out of the huddle to check his leg while Jaiswal apologised, first from where he stood, and then walking closer, checking if everything was okay. All through this, the videographer had a smile, taking it like the sport he is.
That was perhaps the only moment that the Indian contingent would have smiled, at least in the hour that followed.
Seconds later, Jaiswal was in the middle, taking strike against Mitchell Starc. The first ball of the innings, as perfect as it could have been, was pitched full on off-stump line, with a slight swing away that Jaiswal had to play at it. He brought the bat down straight and the ball flew off the outside edge for four.
We were in for a brawl. Either India were going to be bundled out like they were on the first day of the series in Perth or put their head down and bat like they did in the second innings of Perth. Turns out, it was the first. On the second ball, Jaiswal would chip the full delivery on his pads to Mitchell Marsh in square leg. It might have been the shot similar to the one he hit the videographer except this time he didn't time it as well and that brought his downfall. Next. Shubhman Gill got three balls from Starc. One hit the inside half of the bat, the next was worked for a single. In Starc's next over, Gill chased a tease outside off-stump and Marsh took a blinder in what was the second gully position. Starc was letting it rip and the fact that the pitch — which had been under the covers on and off thanks to the intermittent rain delays — had uneven bounce only helped.
Who didn’t help themselves? Indian batters. Virat Kohli. Every cricket watcher in the world knows Kohli chases balls outside off-stump. So one has to assume Kohli knows too. He puts in the time in nets, looks as good as he can, and the sound off his bat is music, but none of it matters when he gets on the field. What matters here is the discipline the batter shows, especially early in the innings.
One of the centurions from the first innings, Steve Smith, who played a part in Australia getting to 445 had explained it after day one. He said that on such a pitch that had bounce, the batters have to look out for themselves in the first 30 overs while having some luck going their way. Kohli knows his luck has run out for a while now. In recent years, there have been multiple occasions where the marginal calls have gone against him. So, all that was left was the discipline outside off-stump — which seemed to have deserted him for a while now as well, especially early on in his innings.
Brisbane, however, was significant on so many levels. On a day that saw as many as eight rain delays from the morning till Rohit Sharma walked out to bat, India needed their most experienced batter to spend some time in the middle. They needed Kohli to do what Smith did, at least for a session. That need, that belief, all went away after the first ball he faced.
Kohli, up against Starc, went for a drive to a full delivery while being in his stance. He got beaten, but that in essence, summed up the way things were going to go. Starc went short, pushing Kohli back and beating him again. He got an inside edge, walked to other end and tackled Josh Hazlewood. Over the next few overs, he stayed in the middle despite his best efforts to chase the ball outside off-stump and nick one.
On the first ball of the eighth over, KL Rahul pulled Hazlewood so well that it should have raced to the ropes. And almost did before Starc put in a full-length dive and kept it to a single. Kohli was back on strike. And Hazlewood floated it on the full and it was enough to take the bait. Another long, disappointing walk back to the pavilion. Kohli scored three off 16 and India were 22/3. While the cricketing world celebrated Kohli’s century in Perth as what could be the beginning of his second coming in Australian conditions, it feels like an aberration at the moment. It is not just that he isn’t scoring runs, but the pattern of dismissals clearly paints a frustrating picture. India would further go down to 44/4 when rain came down again at the fall of Rishabh Pant, trailing by 397 runs.
Another day in the office when the top-order let down Indian bowlers (read Jasprit Bumrah) when all they had to do was stay on the field. While Rohit Sharma has joined Rahul in the middle, the only thing that could save India at Gabba at the moment is the forecast. Heavy showers are expected on days four and five and India would want to try and survive as long as they can. At the moment, one cannot say for sure whether ‘as long as they can’ would be enough.
