Border-Gavaskar Trophy: 3rd Test, Day 5 - The Quick Flicks

Phil Hughes

Hard luck ends Hughes’ inspiring knock:

For the first time in the series, Philip Hughes looked comfortable against the Indian spinners. He looked positive right from the outset and the justified the team management’s faith in him. Batting on 69, he was rapped on the pads by Ashwin’s delivery that went straight with the arm and was probably missing the leg-stump. Umpire Aleem Dar raised the dreaded finger and cut short Hughes’ innings.

Was it a no-ball?

After Hughes’ departure, the responsibility of weathering the storm was on captain Michael Clarke. He was out caught at short-leg and Indians went cock-a-hoop. Umpire Richard Kettleborough went upstairs to check whether Jadeja had overstepped. And it was a tight call. From what we saw , it was very difficult to see any part of Jadeja’s foot behind the crease. “The line belongs to the umpire,” is a popular belief and the third umpire Sudhir Asnani gave India the benefit of doubt and seconded Kettleborough’s on-field call.

Catches do win matches:

Moises Henriques has shown a lot of promise in the series so far and his twin fifties on his debut at Chennai spoke volumes about his ability. India were looking for quick wickets after dismissing Hughes and Clarke. Ravindra Jadeja induced a false stroke from Henriques and dived to his left and caught an absolute blinder.

Lady luck smiles on Pujara:

Pujara was hard done by an umpiring error in the first innings. Today he inside-edged Xavier Doherty when he attempted to flick him. The ball popped up and was caught in the first slip. But umpire Kettleborough ruled the decision in favour of Pujara.

A five ball blitz from Jadeja followed by vintage Dhoni:

India needed to show some intent after Tendulkar’s dismissal. Captain Dhoni was batting on six off 25 deliveries when Tendulkar was dismissed. It needed Jadeja’s five ball cameo, which included two boundaries, to make the heartbeats of the entire nation reach a normal level. Dhoni then finished off the game in his typical fashion, smashing three boundaries off Starc and sealing the deal for India.

Statistician’s delight:

1) This is India’s 30th successful run-chase in the fourth innings in India and their eighth against Australia on Indian soil.

2) For the first time, India has won three Tests against Australia in a single series featuring the two countries.