PUNE, Feb 24:
An inexplicable batting collapse left India staring down the barrel as left-arm spinner Steeve O’Keefe’s career-best six-wicket haul gave Australia a firm grip on the first cricket Test, here today.
The home team lost 7 wickets in the space of 11 runs to be bowled out for a pathetic 105, handing the momentum to the Australians, who had themselves folded for an underwhelming 260 here.
With a 155-run cushion on a square turner, Australia pressed home the advantage by finishing the day at 143/4 in their second innings, grabbing a lead of 298 runs on just the second day of the match.
India’s dramatic batting meltdown has left Steve Smith’s men well-placed to end the hosts’ fairytale 19-match winning streak.
If the shambolic batting was not enough, India ended up dropping several catches, three of Smith alone after R Ashwin had provided early breakthroughs in the Australian second innings.
At stumps, Smith was leading from front with an unbeaten 59-run knock and giving him company was Mitchell Marsh (21).
The day, however, belonged solely to O’Keefe, who single-handedly decimated the famed Indian line-up to snare 6 wickets for 35 runs in 13.1 overs.
Opener K L Rahul was the lone Indian batsman to pull off an innings of substance as he struck 64 off 97 balls, laced with 10 fours and a six.
It was a sensational post-lunch spell by Malaysia-born O’Keefe, who was playing only his fifth Test. His 6 wickets came off just 24 balls.
Ravichandran Ashwin took out openers David Warner (10) and Shaun Marsh (0) cheaply during Australia’s second essay but Smith steered the visitors to a position of strength.
For India Ashwin had figures of 3 for 68 while Jayant Yadav finished the day with 1 for 27.
With six wickets in hand Australia will now fancy their chances of putting the target beyond India tomorrow and clinching the match on a pitch that appears to be crumbling.
The story of the day was the abject capitulation of the Indian batting order as they lost seven wickets for 35 runs in 15.1 overs in the post lunch session to be all out 65 minutes into the second period of play.
The surrender is their worst after losing 7 for 18 at Christchurch against New Zealand in 1989-90.
Apart from Rahul, only Murali Vijay (10) and Ajinkya Rahane (13) reached double figures in the Indian first innings, that commenced early in the morning following the fall of Australia’s last wicket in the first over. However, it lasted a little under three hours and 40.1 Overs.
Resuming at the lunchtime score of 70 for three, India had added 24 runs when they lost wickets in a heap.
The 32-year-old O’Keefe started the downfall by dismissing well-set Rahul for 64 in the eighth over post lunch and in the same over he also scalped Ajinkya Rahane (13), and Wridhiman Saha to leave the hosts tottering at 95 for six.
Rahul was caught at long off and clutched his left shoulder while going off the field. Rahane and Saha fell to catches off sharply turning balls from the left-arm spinner.
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon packed off Ashwin in the third ball of the next over at 95, caught brilliantly in the leg trap as the batsman edged the ball onto his boot.
O’Keefe then sent off Jayant Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja in successive overs to leave India at 101 for 9 and in danger of being bowled out for their lowest total by Australia at home.
But a streaky shot for four by Umesh Yadav helped the home team get past that mark of 104 in 2004 at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
But O’Keefe could not be denied for long as he turned one across the bat of Umesh, who edged to slip fielder Smith and the Indian innings came to an end with the last seven wickets falling like nine pins in 38 minutes.
Earlier, the hosts were in difficulties by lunch itself as they had been on the backfoot by Australia’s pace bowlers to be left struggling at 70 for three wickets.
India were put on the ropes by the lanky left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Marsh and his pace partner Josh Hazlewood before lunch.
Hazlewood, who did not use the new ball with Starc, replaced the latter and got the first breakthrough by packing off opener Murali Vijay who was caught behind for 10 with 26 on board.
Starc then came back for his second spell in place of his right-arm pace partner to snare the key wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara (6) and captain Virat Kohli (0) to leave the hosts gasping at 44 for 3.
Opener Rahul batted with composure and poise at the other end when wickets kept falling.
But all his good work was undone when he threw away his wicket which started the dramatic collapse.
When Australia batted for the second time, India opened with spinners at both ends and it was Ashwin who tasted success twice by earning leg before verdicts against both David Warner and Marsh.
The off-spinner had gone past 1983-World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev’s 37-year-old record of 63 wickets in a single season when he dismissed Mitchell Starc in the first innings.
He was, however, let down by the poor catching as Smith was dropped by Vijay at leg slip when on 27 and then by substitute Abhinav Mukund at short leg 10 runs later.
Jadeja, bowling from the end from which O’Keefe picked up all his wickets, could not take any while Jayant Yadav, brought on belatedly into the attack, dismissed Matt Renshaw for 31. (PTI)
SCOREBOARD
Australia 1st innings
Matt Renshaw c Vijay b Ashwin 68
David Warner b Umesh Yadav 38
Steven Smith c Kohli b Ashwin 27
Shaun Marsh c Kohli b J Yadav 16
Peter Handscomb lbw b Jadeja 22
Mitchell Marsh lbw b Jadeja 4
Matthew Wade lbw b Umesh Yadav 8
Mitchell Starc c Jadeja b Ashwin 61
Steve O’Keefe c Saha b Umesh Yadav 0
Nathan Lyon lbw b Umesh Yadav 0
Josh Hazlewood not out 1
Extras: (LB-6 NB-9) 15
Total: (All out in 94.5 overs) 260
Bowling: Ishant Sharma 11-0-27-0, Ravichandran Ashwin 34.5-10-63-3, Jayant Yadav 13-1-58-1, Ravindra Jadeja 24-4-74-2, Umesh Yadav 12-3-32-4.
India 1st innings:
Murali Vijay c Wade b Hazlewood 10
K L Rahul c Warner b O’Keefe 64
Cheteshwar Pujara c Wade b Starc 6
Virat Kohli c Handscomb b Starc 0
Ajinkya Rahane c Handscomb b O’Keefe 13
Ravichandran Ashwin c Handscomb b Lyon 1
Wriddhiamn Saha c Smith b O’Keefe 0
Ravindra Jadeja c Starc b O’Keefe 2
Jayant Yadav st Wade b O’Keefe 2
Umesh Yadav c Smith b O’Keefe 4
Ishant Sharma not out 2
Extras: (NB-1) 1
Total: (All out in 40.1 overs) 105
Bowling: Mitchell Starc 9-2-38-2, Steve O’Keefe 13.1-2-35-6, Josh Hazlewood 7-3-11-1, Nathan Lyon 11-2-21-1.
Australia 2nd innings:
David Warner lbw b Ashwin 10
Shaun Marsh lbw b Ashwin 0
Steven Smith not out 59
Peter Handscomb c Vijay b Ashwin 19
Matt Renshaw c Sharma b J Yadav 31
Mitchell Marsh not out 21
Extras: (LB-3) 3
Total: (For 4 wkts; 46 overs) 143
Bowling: R Ashwin 16-3-68-3, Ravindra Jadeja 17-6-26-0, Umesh Yadav 5-0-13-0, Jayant Yadav 5-0-27-1, Ishant Sharma 3-0-6-0.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
