India began the day with a lead of 62. Then the wickets started falling. They wouldn’t stop falling. From looking like favourites to win the Adelaide Test, they crumbled to their lowest score in all of Test history. All thanks to some spectacular seam bowling from Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins. Here is how the Australians turned the game right around.
7.6 Cummins to Bumrah, OUT Got him, Cummins has taken very little time to take out the nightwatchman. Fullish, angling into off stump and straightening. Was it the slower legcutter? Possibly. Either way, he gets Bumrah to push at it in front of his body, without much of a stride prior to that, and the ball pops back for a return catch at waist height
JJ Bumrah c & b Cummins 2 (17b 0x4 0x6) SR: 11.76; India 15 for 2
No one knew what was in store yet, which was why people pinging into our ball-by-ball commentators were picturing a high-scoring chase in the final innings
James: “I wonder if this game might turn out a little bit like the Leeds test Ashes test match last year, not in regards to the drama and the Stokes innings, but in the sense that the game moved so fast that the pitch was actually at its best for batting during that 4th innings.”
11.2 Cummins to Pujara, OUT Cummins is bringing Australia right back into this game. Superb delivery, angling into middle and off and straightening. Pujara absolutely has to play, the length is perfect. The feet don’t go anywhere, and even though he plays as close to the body as possible, it moves just enough to take his edge and no more. His bat face is ever so slightly closed, suggesting he was playing the initial angle
CA Pujara c †Paine b Cummins 0 (8b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0; India 15 for 3
Even Virat Kohli, who looked a class apart in the first innings, when he looked on course to score a hundred until he was run-out, was having problems
11.5 Cummins to Kohli, no run Back of a length in the corridor, straightens past the edge as Kohli steps back and across to defend. This is fiery stuff
He was denied the new ball in the second innings. Maybe he didn’t like that. Maybe that’s why as soon as he was introduced into the attack, Josh Hazlewood looked un-bloody-playable
12.1 Hazlewood to Agarwal, OUT And he strikes first ball. Wow. The most Josh Hazlewood dismissal you’ll see. Extra bounce from a length, and the initial angle – much like the Pujara dismissal – isn’t even attacking off stump but going slightly inside the line of the stumps. Then it straightens to take the edge, with Agarwal squared up in defence
MA Agarwal c †Paine b Hazlewood 9 (40b 1×4 0x6) SR: 22.5; India 15 for 4
Karthik Krishnaswamy, who was calling all the action, picked up on a slight change in the Australians’ plans: I think Australia have cottoned onto the fact that both Agarwal and Pujara like to stay slightly leg-side of the ball, and have altered their lines slightly to counter this. It’s a difference of an inch or so, but these bowlers are good enough to make such a fine adjustment.
12.5 Hazlewood to Rahane, OUT I said the length was more or less perfect the previous ball. This one was a few inches fuller, along the same line, and the ball straightened again to take the edge. India are effectively 68 for 5. Rahane doesn’t get a stride forward, just pushes at the ball, in front of his body, and pays the price
AM Rahane c †Paine b Hazlewood 0 (4b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0; India 15 for 5
Collapses bring out the best in our feedbackers and today was no different.
Adithya: “Who would’ve thought thought that Bumrah could start a batting collapse as a batsman”
orkydd: “Easier batting at night d’ya think?”
Silva: “I’m still thinking about that run out [Kohli-Rahane mix-up in the first innings]”
Australia still needed the big wicket…
13.5 Cummins to Kohli, OUT Now Cummins has the Kohli wicket. I think all the wickets at the other end have unsettled Kohli, and made him decide he has to take on the bowling. Fullish in a wide-ish channel outside off, and Kohli does something he didn’t do at all in the first innings, attempt a cover drive against such a ball. Slices it to gully, where Green seems to have taken a clean catch low to his left, but they’re checking anyway. Soft signal is out. He caught it a few inches above the turf, but the issue is whether it slipped momentarily from his grasp on his way down. There seems to be a bit of a juggle, but it’s hard to tell, given he’s landing in an area of shadow, so it stays with the soft signal
V Kohli c Green b Cummins 4 (8b 1×4 0x6) SR: 50; India 19 for 6
India had never been 19 for 6. Ever. With barely any batting left, they were in danger of beating their lowest score in Test history – 42 against England at Lord’s in 2974
Karthik Krishnaswamy: The quality of Australia’s bowling today, from Cummins and Hazlewood in particular, has just been extraordinary. They were good, but not this good, back in 2018-19
18.4 Hazlewood to Saha, OUT Chipped straight to midwicket! There is no stop to this carnage. What a treat to watch this guy bowl. Not his best delivery of the morning by any stretch, but everything around this delivery means Saha has gone with hard hands at a ball dipping into his leg stump. It’s a good length delivery, he reaches out and looks to close the face. He’s not close enough to do that and that’s off the inside part of a turning bat
WP Saha c Labuschagne b Hazlewood 4 (27m 15b 0x4 0x6) SR: 26.67; India 26 for 7
18.5 Hazlewood to Ashwin, OUT There’s a sound and the umpire’s heard it too. Ashwin reviews the catch behind. Good length, landing on the seam in the corridor. Jags away the tiniest bit from the surface. Ashwin is caught inside the line on the forward defence…there’s nothing on Hotspot. But Snicko has the slightest murmur. Ashwin will go first ball. Wicket number 200 for Hazlewood and now he’s on a hat-trick
R Ashwin c †Paine b Hazlewood 0 (3m 1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0; India 26 for 8
The hat-trick didn’t pan out, but wicket number five certainly did. Hazlewood finished with barely believable figures of 5-3-8-5 and India were effectively bowled out for 36, a new low for them in Test cricket, after Mohammed Shami had to retire hurt
20.1 Hazlewood to Vihari, OUT That’s five for Hazlewood! Take a bow, you absolute beast. What a spell. So persistent, near-perfect this morning. It’s another trademark dismissal – draw the batsman in with the angle in at the stumps, straighten it off the surface to draw the edge. And the edges are carrying today. Vihari on the front foot, thick outside edge, and Paine lunges to his right with two hands to hold on
GH Vihari c †Paine b Hazlewood 8 (44m 22b 1×4 0x6) SR: 36.36; India 31 for 9
Cummins to Shami, no run Can’t get out of the way. Short ball, doesn’t quite rise as much. It’s headed down leg side. Shami is backing into the leg side and trying to evade. Cops that on his right forearm and the team doctor is out
Mohammed Shami retired hurt 1 (6m 4b 0x4 0x6) SR: 25; India 36 for 9