IND vs AUS 2022-23: India presented a rugged display with the bat against Australia on Day 2 of the final Ahmedabad Test for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Shubman Gill's hundred and Virat Kohli's unbeaten half-century have been the driving factors.
Shubman Gill gave ample display of his immense talent with a stylish hundred. Still, India's batting unit must fully press home the advantage, ending the third day at 289/3 against Australia in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad Saturday. Gill, who batted for nearly six hours, scored a chanceless 128 off 235 balls and hit 12 sweetly-timed boundaries apart from a lofted six off Nathan Lyon to justify his selection in the playing XI ahead of KL Rahul. Still, India scored only 256 runs in 90 overs.
The hosts are still 191 runs behind Australia's first innings total of 480. Leading the series 2-1, India needs a 3-1 series win to qualify for the 2021-23 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final. If India loses this match and Sri Lanka wins its ongoing series against New Zealand 2-0, the island nation will qualify for the WTC Final against Australia.
If India plays a draw and Sri Lanka fails to win 2-0, the WTC final will be between India and Australia in June at The Oval in London. All eyes will be on Virat Kohli (59 batting off 128 balls), who looked purposeful and confident during his two-hour-plus stay at the crease on the third day. There was no celebration after completing his 29th half-century in Test cricket.
The pace of his partnership with Ravindra Jadeja (16 not out off 54 balls) will set the narrative for the final couple of days. The Indian team management is probably mulling batting the entire fourth day and trying to get a lead over 150 to unleash the spinners on the final day when a significant turn will be offered.
The pitch continues to be firm but also on the slower side. As the SG Test ball gets older, scoring becomes increasingly tricky, and Australia takes a cue from India. Till 93 overs were bowled, Steven Smith didn't take the second new ball, preventing India from getting some easy runs.
But, the day certainly belonged to Gill, who is going through a purple patch in his career. He has scored five international hundreds across three formats in fewer than two months (since January 15, 2023). The pleasing aspect of his batting is his passive nature, as he holds the shape when he drives through the off-side. He can also effectively play the sweep and reverse sweep without taking unnecessary risks.
Gauging the slowness of the track, Gill was standing well outside his crease. The purpose was to meet the deliveries early, as staying inside the crease would mean the ball would take an extra second to reach, and in turn, stroke-making would be difficult. That was why he scored his first 40 to 45 runs quickly, but once Australian skipper Smith got a hang, he got Alex Carey to stand up to the stumps to pacer Cameron Green to stop him from converting back-of-the-length deliveries into half volleys.
Gill was in the 70s for a long time before he upped the ante to reach the nervous 90s. He first stepped out and hit the ball over Lyon's head for a boundary before playing a paddle scoop to complete his ton. The hallmark of a great batter is adaptability, and Gill is a cut above his peers.
On tracks with pace, one would find him staying beside the line of the ball and trying to ride the bounce. On the sub-continental pitch, he would get his entire body behind the line of the ball. He repeatedly stepped out to disturb Lyon's (1/75) line. Todd Murphy (1/45) was the best Australian spinner of the day.
Australian skipper Smith didn't do anything wrong tactically, but not giving Matt Kuhnemann (1/43) any spell between lunch and tea was a bit surprising after he had got Indian captain Rohit Sharma (35 off 58 balls) in the morning session. Earlier, Sharma looked in good flow as he pulled Mitchell Starc behind square for a six and ran well between the wickets during the 21-over stand with Gill.
The mode of dismissal was disappointing as the delivery from Kuhnemann wasn't a wicket-taking one. It was pitched short, and Sharma could have hit it anywhere, but his uppish back-foot punch found Marnus Labuschagne at extra short cover. In the case of Cheteshwar Pujara (42 off 121 balls), the stand of 113 was significant, but he also got stuck in the post-lunch session, and a bit more intent from him during that phase could have seen India scoring 300 runs for the day.
(With inputs from PTI)
