Earlier, Australia could declare 270 for 8 because Carey’s 66*.
Kohli and Rahane The Resilience Keeps India’s Hopes Alive in High-Stakes Battle
India needs 280 more runs to defeat Australia 469 and 270 for 8 Dec (Carey 66, Labuschagne 41, Starc 41, Jadeja 3-58, Shami 2-39, Umesh 2-54), which is at 296 and 164 for 3 (Kohli 44*, Rohit 43).
India’s batters set up a potentially exciting final day by racing to 164 for 3 at more than four an over to maintain their chase of a world-record fourth-innings mark under sunny skies on an Oval surface that looked to ease out against all expectations. India needs another 280 runs on the last day, so Australia is still the favourites, but they may have a lot of work to do to get the final seven wickets, with the second new ball still 40 overs away.
At stumps, India may have still felt a little frustrated with themselves, having lost two wickets to aggressive strokes, one more than they would have liked to have by that point. Cheteshwar Pujara toe-ended an attempted ramp over the slips off a Pat Cummins bouncer, while Rohit Sharma was out leg before wicket to Nathan Lyon after missing a sweep from a stump-to-stump line.
However, each batter will claim that they typically play those shots well. They’ll contend that the same attitude had enabled them to put up a second-wicket stand of 51 runs in 77 balls. However, the two wickets fell in five deliveries, changing the score from 92 for 1 to 93 for 3.
Australia had the ideal opening to plough through, but Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane had none of it. They finished the day with the same optimism they had started, adding an uninterrupted 71 runs for the fourth wicket; both batsmen seemed to be smashing the ball with superb rhythm. The pitch showed far less tendency to create irregular bounce than during the game’s first three innings. Thus, the conditions didn’t appear to test them either. After the day, Kohli and Rahane had control percentages of 93 and 97, respectively.
A portion of the predominantly pro-India audience was singing this line from the 1975 hit movie Sholay as they successfully navigated the last over of the day: ‘yeh dosti, hum nahin todenge [we’ll never sever our relationship].’ When day five dawns, Australia will want to break it as quickly as possible.
The fans, though, had been far less happy about India losing their first wicket after an almost run-a-ball opening partnership of 41 two hours earlier, which ultimately ended up being the penultimate ball before tea. Cameron Green dove low to his left to pull out a magnificent gully grab, his second of the game, after Scott Boland received one to straighten and kick in the hallway, and Shubman Gill pushed at it with heavy hands. However, Gill didn’t budge. Thus, the third umpire was left to make the call. Replays seemed vague, typical with these lousy grabs, but Australia won the argument.
The rest of the night, Green was followed by chants of “Cheat! Cheat! Cheat!” mainly when he was bowling. Quality cricket had been played throughout the World Test Championship, but controversy and needles were now present.
Green had a different impact on the fans during the morning session, keeping them calm as he added 18 runs in 87 balls to his overnight score of 7. His departure fit the mood of his innings: he tried to pad away a delivery from Ravindra Jadeja over the wicket, but the ball rolled off his pad onto the ground.
By then, Australia had lost two wickets in 19 overs and added 44 runs to their overnight total of 123 for 4. Marnus Labuschagne was the other batsman out, having caught Umesh Yadav at first slip. With Australia’s advantage at barely 340, India may have hoped to finish their innings before it reached 400, thanks to their disciplined bowling and careful use of the surface.
By hitting an opportunistic 66 runs to go along with his 48 runs in the first innings and putting up 93 runs for the seventh wicket with Mitchell Starc, Alex Carey made sure that it increased much beyond that number. Both hitters were tentative initially and experienced some unease, especially when facing Jadeja, who found sharp turns and bounces from the footmarks outside the left-handers’ off stump. However, as India’s quicks wore down, the batters gained more and more confidence.
When India received the second new ball, Mohammed Shami, who had previously bowled sparingly and repeatedly battered the bat without receiving any run support, returned and removed Starc and Pat Cummins as they attempted to slog for quick runs. Australia declared immediately after Cummins was out, giving India a hitherto unachieved 444 to win.
It could have been a nostalgic period for those who had been there before. India concluded with 429 for 8 after England set them 438 in a thrilling tie at The Oval in 1979, largely thanks to a double-hundred by Sunil Gavaskar. There’s still a chance that Sunday will be equally exciting.
Learn more about Kohli and Rahane’s exceptional partnership in India’s pursuit of a record-breaking victory. Click to find out at Indibet Online!
