The final day of the series, in Delhi, resembled one of those when a
crazy colourful storm from Rajasthan visits the capital. While the storm
is there, it is all encompassing, and promises apocalypse. Soon,
though, it blows over, and you can't tell it had been there. For about
the first 200 minutes of the day, it was mayhem: spiteful spin,
altercations, posturing, surprises, send-offs and some statesmanship.
Twelve wickets fell for 170 runs, Nathan Lyon and Ravindra Jadeja
registered their personal bests, Peter Siddle became the first No. 9 to
score two fifties in a Test, but India got through the 155-run chase
with shockingly consummate ease to win four matches in a series for the
first time in their Test history.
Cheteshwar Pujara, opening the innings in the absence of Shikhar Dhawan
and fighting a finger injury of his own, led the chase with his second
fifty - 82 off 92 - which on this pitch must rank alongside one of his
double-centuries. It might have been made to look simple, but it wasn't
always thus.
Lyon, who had removed Ishant Sharma and Pragyan Ojha with the last two
deliveries of India's first innings, nearly had his hat-trick. M Vijay
charged at him first ball of the innings, but the ball turned way down
the leg side, and Matthew Wade missed the half chance.
In the next over, Pujara survived a close lbw shout, with a soft outside
edge helping him. In the next over, Vijay was bowled while
reverse-sweeping. That was the closest Australia came to having a
chance.
Pujara and Kohli batted as if the events of the past two-and-a-half days
didn't matter at all, as if the bunsen had lost all its fire. Which it
hadn't; it was just clear-minded decisive batting on a spitter, making
full use of every loose ball on offer. There were drives, there were
ramps, there were sweeps. From Australia there were loose balls,
overthrows and misfields.
A minor blip interrupted India's progress as three wickets fell for five
runs to reduce India to 128 for 4, a period during which Sachin
Tendulkar failed in possibly his last Test innings at home. Pujara,
though, refused to acknowledge all this, bringing India level with three
successive fours, and let MS Dhoni, whose grey beard bears the traces
of two previous whitewashes of India, finish the rest.
Enough of this drive on a clear sunny day. Back to the storm. Back to
when there were skirmishes even before teams had crossed the rope. Over
who should set foot on the field of play first. That resolved, Australia
took the last two wickets in no time, restricting India's lead to 10.
Australia tried to surprise India by opening with Glenn Maxwell
alongside David Warner. In the absence of batsmen technically equipped
to fight it out on this pitch, such aggression against new ball was
perhaps the best way to go. Surreal scenes followed: Jadeja bowling to
Maxwell in the fifth over of a Test innings. It didn't last. In his
first over, Jadeja got one to turn, stay low, hit the outside edge of
Maxwell's bat and cannon into the off stump.
With an assured and aggressive innings, Ed Cowan showed it was probably
not the best move after all to demote him. He capitalised on every loose
delivery, and hit five fours in his 24, one of them a superb drive
through midwicket after stepping down to Jadeja. All hell broke loose at
the other end, though.
Jadeja trapped Warner with a dart, and the Indian fielders let rip with a
choreographed and a long send-off. Warner has been the sledger-in-chief
from Australia, and has been in the ear of the Indian batsmen since the
start of the second innings of the match. There is also a previous to
this from the time India toured Australia, so that wicket would have
brought Virat Kohli, in particular, and Jadeja natural and massive
relief, and they just let it show.
The umpires, though, spoke to Tendulkar, who in turn, tapped Jadeja's
shoulder a bit. With seemingly an appeal every ball, an explosion off
the pitch every second, and a sledge every third, the umpires were under
intense pressure. Amid some incredible calls, Aleem Dar erred with the
Phillip Hughes lbw, with R Ashwin's offbreak turning past off.
It was all Dhoni after that. First through Jadeja, a player he has
backed when few did. Jadeja removed Cowan before lunch, and Steven Smith
and Mitchell Johnson just after. The latter strikes were crucial as
Smith and Wade had added 41 for the sixth wicket. His first ball after
the break was a slider that Smith left alone to hit his off stump. The
next turned through the gate and knocked Johnson's middle stump over.
Australia 94 for 7.
Siddle not only survived the hat-trick ball, he - much like Pujara -
seemed to have brought his own pitch to bat on. He went on a sensational
counterattack, charging down to the spinners and clearing mid-off, and
cover when mid-off was sent back, regularly. He looked as comfortable as
any specialist batsman did on this track.
Around him, though, Dhoni put on an exhibition too. Wade advanced to
Ojha, was beaten by the dip, edged it onto the top part of his pad, and
as the ball died to his right, Dhoni changed direction and not only
completed a one-handed take, he proceeded to break the stumps just in
case the umpire had missed the edge.
Siddle was not too bedazzled. His assault continued. Back to Dhoni
then. He gambled. He brought Ishant on. The first nine balls Ishant
bowled went for 12 runs. With James Pattinson, Siddle had now added 35
for the ninth wicket to take the score to 157. Then Ishant went round
the stumps, and got one to reverse through Pattinson's gate. Dhoni had
worked again. Fittingly, as with the bat, he ended the innings with a
stumping off a ball that could have been called a wide had it been
bowled with restrictive intent.Source: http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-australia-2013/content/current/story/626533.html
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