And other sidelights from the Chepauk Test.
Only once had Sachin Tendulkar begun a Test innings
with a six: when he crunched Muttiah Muralitharan rear over his head and out of
the stadium first ball at Nagpur in 1997. On Tuesday, the genius went one
better, wading into Nathan Lyon’s off-spin for two huge strikes over long-on on
the first two deliveries. Another hit for utmost would have won the match in
style, but that wasn’t to be and it was absent to Cheteshwar Pujara to stroke
the charming run. Tendulkar though made what is possibly his last Test
appearance at Chepauk a memorable single for those who turned up.
Numbers game
Match-by-match statistical upheaval are now
commonplace. The last day of the Chepauk Test too contributed to a budge in
numbers. MS Dhoni equaled Sourav Ganguly as India’s most successful captain on
21 Test wins. Dhoni has now won all the five Tests so as to he has captained
against Australia at home, but lost all three to them away. When Ravindra
Jadeja removed Nathan Lyon to finish Australia's second innigs, it was the 20th
wicket taken by an Indian spinner. This is the third example of Indian spinners
picking up all 20 wickets in the match. The previous occasion were against
Australia in 1972/73 and New Zealand in 1975/76.
In a match with several positives, there was still a
rotten concern for India. The state of their openers. Virender Sehwag and
Murali Vijay did very little to redeem their places in the side. Sehwag’s
spectacles didn't appear to have helped his bat as he failed in either inning.
Both openers were out to James Pattinson in the first essay. Their dismissals
as India chased a modest 50 to win were embarrassing. Vijay spoon a catch to
mid-off trying to drive; Sehwag was out defending to a spinner. There is bound
to be fair discussion for Shikhar Dhawan to be draft in for the second Test,
after which a back-in-form Gautam Gambhir would be eager to get back in the
thick of it.
Winning spin
Another issue that is likely to eggs debate is the
number of spinners in the eleven. Dhoni used his pace bowlers for just three of
the 93 in the second innings. All twenty wickets falling to spin hinted that
the inclusion of another tweaker wouldn’t have impair India’s chances, rather
it would have lent another facet to the assault. Harbhajan Singh bowled better
in the second innings than he did in the first; still his failure to hit the
right line an outright helpful track made for no special performance. Ravindra
Jadeja did his bit with the ball; his batting a scornful shadow of his domestic
domination. Another expected turned at Hyderabad – the venue of the second test
– just may allow Pragyan Ojha a pastime at the expense of a pacer.
After struggling against England, Ashwin return to
form with 12 wickets on a minefield of a pitch and against an inexperienced
batting line up. For a while in the first innings, when he have scooped out the
top six, Ashwin raised hopes of another 10-wicket haul – a-la Anil Kumble next
to Pakistan in 1999. But Ravindra Jadeja destroyed that dream by shattering
Mitchell Starc’s stumps. The Chennai off-spinner however did turn out to be the
first Indian bowler to take 10 in a match alongside Australia, since Kumble at
the same venue in 2004. Ashwin also become the fastest to 500 runs and 75
wickets in Tests. He got there in his 13th match, displacing Ian Botham (14
Tests) to second place.
It was a match of contrast for Australia. In Moises
Henriques they found a valiant debutant who ground out two fighting
half-centuries in nerve-wracking conditions. And in Nathan Lyon they exposed,
to their misfortune, an off-spinner totally out of his league. While Henriques
contributed 149 runs on debut, Lyon was taken for 215 in his 47 laborious first
innings overs. India’s captain MS Dhoni was chiefly severe on Lyon, taking 104
from 85 balls, including five sneering sixes. His only high point was bowling
Sachin Tendulkar before a century-expectant crowd, but really Xavier Doherty,
Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith couldn't have perhaps done a worse job.
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