The Australians are on the cusp of victory. Their first match post the tragic demise of Phil Hughes hasn’t been all that bad, after all. After pulling up a mammoth first innings total of 517/7, declared that too, two centuries later, the Indians surely felt the heat, heating their cheeks up crimson.
This match was touted to be an easy one for the Indians. “The Australians are in no shape to play,†said the wise ones. Unbelievably, the Aussies spotted a rather meek look on the field. However, the Gods were ever so kind on them, helping skipper Michael Clarke win an absolute cracker of a toss, making the choice very obvious and easy — batting first. The Indian bowlers struggled miserably. Clarke batted through pain, Smith cruised along and the Indian bowlers spotted a clueless look. Of course there was a late-initiated batting collapse in the Australian batting order, too, but that didn’t matter much.
The Rain Gods decided to spoil the show just when India’s turn to bat was around the corner. The clouds started lurking around and then spilling down some venom, to make batting for the Indian team slightly more difficult than the home team. Alien conditions, lousy weather meant the odds were stacked against the Indians. When the Indian skipper Virat Kohli walked into the middle, he was greeted with a Johnson bouncer that kissed his helmet on its way. There was pin drop silence for a while, with creased brows and sweaty foreheads making an appearance before the all is well sign was flashed by Kohli.
Oh what a different looking Australian team, we thought. We even question whether this team has the fiery edge that’s going to cut through the Indian batting line-up? We got the answer soon enough, when the Australian pace battery literally sliced through the Indian batting order, restricting the Indian first innings to 444. The highlights of the Indian team included 50s by opener Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rahane and a century by the skipper. Mohammad Shama produced a late cameo with a very useful 34. On the other hand, what stood out for the Australians was the five-wicket haul by Lyon, that literally ripped the Indian team apart.
As curtains came down on Day 4, the stage is brilliantly set for an Australian victory, as they now lead by 363 runs, with 5 wickets remaining. Any addition to this score would be an absolute headache for the Indians.