Tables turned

Subhash Rajta

Tribune News Service

pune, february 24

If you dig up a hole for others, you will fall into it! Similarly, if you roll out a raging turner for others, you also run the risk of tripping on it. And that’s exactly what happened in Pune on Friday — the on-a-roll India slipped up pretty bad on a turning track, and are on the brink of a dark and gaping hole.

For the numerically inclined, the story goes like this: India bowled out Australia for 260, and then themselves got bowled out for just 105 runs in just 40.1 overs. That they lost their last seven wickets for just 11 runs in 48 balls — they slipped from 94/3 to 105 all out — makes the bigger picture look even worse. Among the collapses involving seven wickets, this was India’s worst ever, and the last time India posted a score less than 105 was almost nine years back — 76 against South Africa on a greentop in Ahmedabad.

And yes, Steve O’Keefe (O’Keefe who?), the left-arm spinner who scripted the collapse, finished with incredible figures of 6/35, the third-best by a visiting left-arm spinner in India. His figures in the six-over spell in which he caused all the damage were even more incredible — 6/8.

Despite having beaten England and New Zealand on ‘normal’ wickets, India’s plan behind rolling out a spinning track here must have been to exploit the storied Australian vulnerability against spin, both in batting and bowling, and put them on the back foot right at the start of the series. Nothing wrong with the plan, except that it brought into play O’Keefe as well, and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

Starc reminder

The scoreboard will tell us that India were bowled out in 40.1 overs, but the hosts actually lost the plot in just two overs, bowled by Mitchell Starc and O’Keefe. In the 15th over, Mitchell Starc removed Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli in three balls to cause panic in the Indian dressing room and among the spectators. It’s rare when these two are dismissed cheaply; it’s even rarer to see both failing in the same innings. It was a killer blow indeed, dealt by a bowler who made the Pune wicket look like the one in Perth.

And then in the 33rd over, O’Keefe dealt three blows, removing the well-set Lokesh Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane and Wriddhiman Saha. From a rather secure 94/3, India were reduced to 95/6 in just one over! And for a change, the all-rounder trio of R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Jayant Yadav, who caused so much misery to England with their contributions with the willow, also had a rare collective failure, with Nathan Lyon accounting for Ashwin and O’Keefe knocking over the other two with utmost ease.

Rahul throws it away

Apart from Rahul (64), the other batsmen were found wanting, falling to either bad shots or some good bowling and superb close-in catching by Peter Handscomb. While Rahul deserves praise for his fighting 64 on a tough track against some good seam and spin bowling, he also deserves to be slammed for throwing away his wicket, and triggering an embarrassing collapse. He was looking good when he quite needlessly stepped out to O’Keefe, and holed out to David Warner at long-on. And his dismissal opened up the proverbial floodgates.

At the close of play, Australia were 143/4, with an overall lead of 298. That’s perhaps already more than what Australia might eventually need to force a victory and go up 1-0 in the four-match series. After watching India collapse, one wouldn’t have expected Australia to finish the day at a rather commanding 143/4.

The wicket, of course, was still turning, but the Indians probably were still trying to come to terms with what had happened, and were therefore perhaps a little jaded and distracted. Four dropped catches, three off Steve Smith and one off Matt Renshaw, would suggest so. The Australian skipper made full use of India’s generosity and scored a crucial, unbeaten 59. In the process, he has pushed Australia to the brink of an unexpected victory.

Scoreboard

Australia 1st innings 260

India 1st innings

M Vijay c Wade b Hazlewood 10

KL Rahul c Warner b O’Keefe 64

C Pujara c Wade b Starc 6

V Kohli c Handscomb b Starc 0

A Rahane c Handscomb b O’Keefe 13

R Ashwin c Handscomb b Lyon 1

W Saha c Smith b O’Keefe 0

R Jadeja c Starc b O’Keefe 2

J Yadav st Wade b O’Keefe 2

U Yadav c Smith b O’Keefe 4

I Sharma not out 2

Extras: (NB-1) 1

Total: (All out in 40.1 overs) 105

FOW: Fall of wickets 1-26, 2-44, 3-44, 4-94, 5-95, 6-95, 7-95, 8-98, 9-101

Bowling

M Starc 9-2-38-2

S O’Keefe 13.1-2-35-6

J Hazlewood 7-3-11-1

N Lyon 11-2-21-1

Australia 2nd innings

D Warner lbw b Ashwin 10

S Marsh lbw b Ashwin 0

S Smith not out 59

P Handscomb c Vijay b Ashwin 19

M Renshaw c Sharma b J Yadav 31

M Marsh not out 21

Extras: (LB-3) 3

Total: (4 wickets; 46 overs) 143

FOW: Fall of wickets 1-10, 2-23, 3-61, 4-113

Bowling

R Ashwin 16-3-68-3

R Jadeja 17-6-26-0

U Yadav 5-0-13-0

J Yadav 5-0-27-1

I Sharma 3-0-6-0

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Numbers game

105 India’s fifth lowest completed innings totals vs Australia in Tests — their second lowest vs Australia in Tests in India behind the 104 at Mumbai

94/3 Onwards India lost their last seven wickets for eleven runs — their worst ever seven-wicket collapse in Tests, obliterating the 18 vs New Zealand at Christchurch in 1989-90

60.95% Runs scored by KL Rahul (64 out of 105) — the fourth highest by an Indian player and the third highest by any batsman against Australia