India inch closer to victory in Adelaide

The most pivotal day i.e day 4 of the Adelaide Test started with Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara at the crease. India had a lead of 166 runs and need 150 more runs to cement their chances to win this Test match.

Both overnight batsmen started quite well and added 87 runs together before Pujara was dismissed by a Nathan Lyon delivery which pitched on the rough and kissed Pujara’s glove before turning into a simple catch for Aaron Finch at short leg.

When the wicket of Pujara fell, India had a lead of 249 runs and were expecting Rohit Sharma to add more runs to the total. Yet again, he failed to deliver with bat and gave his wicket away to Lyon, who picked up two wickets in quick succession by taking advantage of rough marks on the wicket.

Rahane was alone fighting the Aussie attack and successfully scored a half-century which was very important to get back his lost form. Rishab Pant showed some aggression to add a few runs under his belt before throwing his wicket away off the bowling of Lyon.

If Pant wants to be in the long-term plans of the Test side, he needs to show some maturity and learn from someone like Adam Gilchrist to find the balance between playing defensive and attacking cricket.

Courtesy of Pant’s wicket, Lyon completed his 5 wicket haul at Adelaide.

Rahane also threw his wicket while playing a needless shot after scoring 70. After his wicket, the Indian tail failed to add much to the total and India ended its innings with a lead of 322.

It was always going to be a challenging total for Australia to chase in the 4th innings.

Their openers failed to perform and gave away their wickets to Ashwin and Shami respectively. Khawaja and Handscomb, the batsmen who showed some grit in the first inning, failed to impress in the second innings and got out for just 8 and 14 respectively.

Shaun Marsh was playing well on 31 runs with the support of Travis Head at the other end who scored 72 runs in the first innings and stayed unbeaten on 11 by the end of day 4.

Australia needs 219 more runs to claim an unlikely victory, which is already looking like a step too far on a fifth-day pitch, which will have plenty of turn for Ashwin to exploit.

To win this first test, Australia needs a good partnership from Shaun Marsh and Travis Head. For India, Ashwin will be the key player on day 5, who can help India to clinch victory in the first Test match of Australian summer.