Last Update: March 03, 2023, 11:23 AM IST
Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head made a match winning partnership. (AFP photo)
From 13/1 in the first 10 overs, Australia scored the remaining runs in only 8.5 overs to register an emphatic nine-wicket victory and take the series points.
Australia chased down the 76-run target in just 18.5 overs when Marnus Labuschagne (28*) scored the winning runs off R Ashwin. The visitors lost Usman Khawaja on the second ball of the chase, but ensured no further damage on a cutting surface for the slower bowlers. While the scoreboard gives a comfortable reading, it appears it was not one-sided.
The sample size is a little less than 19 overs but Australia’s target can easily be broken down into two parts. It was India in the first 10 overs where both Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja hit the right lengths and kept troubling both Travis Head (49*) and Labuschagne, who looked a bit tentative. There was some loud cheering, lots of balls changing hands and the visitors were very cautious at 13/1 after 10 overs. Labuschagne could score 7 runs on 36 runs and Head could score only 5 runs on 22 runs.
It all changed after the 10 over mark when the ball had to be replaced after failing the gauge test. During that short break, a message came out for the Australian batsmen and after that runs started coming in fast. After the change of ball, 13 runs came in the first over and then 9 more came in Jadeja’s over.
Suddenly, the Indian bowlers erred with their length and were too full and dismissed many bowlers under the bat. The visitors, especially Head, didn’t mind the length while stepping on the accelerator and scored their next 44 off just 31 balls. Didn’t even refrain from going airborne in the process and the hosts’ body language, which was very energetic for the first ten overs, flattened out with shoulders drooping and hands returning to the waist.
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Ashwin would continue to complain about the ball but his requests fell on deaf ears as none of the umpires were interested. Was it just the change in ball or the change in approach by Head after the 10-over mark that made its mark on the bowlers?
When Head and Labuschagne were both defending, everything was coming out of the surface, but the moment the long strides came out and positive footwork displayed, the spin-twins – Ashwin and Jadeja – struggled to get their lengths right.
Ashwin-Labuschagne theatrics
Apart from the change of ball, the moment of the day came in the ninth over of the innings by Ashwin. Offy was in the mood today and running for his delivery. The only delay between his deliveries was due to Rohit Sharma’s excessive whining of the cherry. The 36-year-old even bowled with just two-three steps and again got into Labuschagne’s head.
The right-handed batsman pulls out, takes his time and makes Ashwin wait. When he was ready, Ashwin did his part and made Labuschagne wait. The umpires swung into action, Rohit joined in from the circle and Head was not far behind. Did the controversy wake up the Aussie pair? Or was it the change of the ball that got India off their mark on this worn-out strip?
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It is difficult to answer but the runs were not enough to contest this match. All it took was a cameo to seal the deal and quell the opposition. It came from Head which has now given Australia a psychological edge going into the final match of the series in Ahmedabad. The visitors trail 1-2 and have concluded a mouth-watering series in six days’ time.
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