Australia vs India, 1st Test: 3 Takeaways from Day 3

The third day of the first Test between Australia and India entailed its fair share of action. Despite losing time due to bad weather, the day still served up some fascinating contests and narratives moving forward.

Australia started the day at 191-7 with Starc and Head at the crease. Bumrah got rid of Starc before rain played spoilsport. After the first rain delay, Head and Lyon stitched a 31 run partnership. However, Shami sent Head and Hazlewood packing off consecutive deliveries to ensure India claimed a 15 run lead.

India started the innings in a much more controlled manner than on Day 1. The openers combined for a half-century stand before Starc got the better of Vijay. Rahul was the next to follow as he fell to Hazlewood. However, India’s most accomplished batting pair of Kohli and Pujara ensured that India didn’t let their advantage slip.

At 147-2, all signs pointed to India finishing the day strongly. Yet, there was one final twist in the tale. In the final half an hour of the day’s play, a Lyon delivery caught the inside edge of the Indian skipper’s bat and the ball nestled safely in Finch’s hand. With the dismissal, India could just have left the door a little ajar for Australia to mount a comeback.

There is considerable intrigue surrounding how the next couple of days would pan out at the Adelaide Oval. Thus, making this a perfect advert for the longest form of the game.

A lot of action unfolded on Day 3. Hence, a closer look at the things that came to light is warranted. Here is a look at the three takeaways from Day 3 of this riveting encounter:

---

#3. India counter the Lyon threat effectively

Lyon's threat was substantially taken care of

Adelaide has been one of the traditionally spin-friendly venues in Australia. However, since the era of ‘drop-in’ pitches took over, the pitch has generally not been as conducive to spin as earlier. Yet, the current pitch on offer has supported spin more than either team would’ve envisaged.

On Day 2, Ashwin spun a web around Australia’s left-handers and ended with three scalps to his name. With Ashwin, an away spinner performing so adroitly, all eyes were on Lyon to neutralise the former’s impact with his own brand of off-spin.

Lyon toiled throughout India’s innings yet only had the wicket of Kohli to show for his efforts. Though the dismissal might still end up playing a defining role in the Test, Lyon was expected to do so much more.

The off-spinner got the ball to spin and bounce consistently. However, it seemed that the Indians had devised a perfect plan to tackle him. Vijay employed the sweep, Rahul the reverse-sweep, Pujara used his feet whereas Kohli used his trademark lunge forward.

Despite Kohli eventually falling to a lunge, the aforementioned batsmen had done enough to make Lyon deviate from his line and length.

The Australian off-spinner likes to bowl outside the off stump, drawing the batsmen forward and finishing his deliveries on off-stump. Yet, the Indian batsmen’s plans meant that he bowled much straighter than he would’ve liked.

A majority of Lyon’s deliveries finished on the middle and leg stump, thus posing lesser problems for the Indian batsmen.

On recent away tours, the Indians have inexplicably fallen to spin in the latter part of Test matches. Moeen Ali did it in Southampton this year, while Lyon did it in 2014 at the Adelaide Oval.

However, the Indian batsmen’s clear mindset and uncluttered thinking helped them gain the edge over Lyon at Adelaide this time around.

With substantial turn on offer, the Aussies will surely hope for Lyon to turn the match in their favour. Yet, on evidence, it seems that the Indians might have finally found a way to tackle Lyon in South Australia.

#2. Maybe, attack could be the best form of defence for KL Rahul

Rahul's aggressive approach served him better

In the first innings, Rahul added another failure to a long list of shortcomings overseas. With the pressure mounting, Rahul came up with a vital knock of 44 in the second innings. While the innings would surely not go down as one of the best he’s played, it brought to light a mechanism that could just serve him well.

In England, Rahul faced numerous problems against the seaming ball. The first couple of Tests saw him being circumspect around the off-stump, thus resulting in him poking at balls he should have probably left alone.

The next three Tests saw the English bowlers mercilessly exploit his weakness against the incoming delivery. With Rahul facing problems against the extravagant swing and seam on offer, he adopted a risky yet effective approach at the Oval.

In the 4th innings of the Test, Rahul attacked from the outset and put the bowlers under pressure. Lofted drives were accompanied by strong flicks. Additionally, he played the sweep to perfection to negate the spinners’ threat.

After a swashbuckling start to his innings, Rahul settled down and compiled a sensational hundred.

At Adelaide too, he started off a little tentatively but the big shots weren’t far away. He took a toll on Cummins by depositing him over covers for six and was severe during that phase on Hazlewood as well.

More than the 44 runs he scored, the manner in which he got them would give the lad from Karnataka confidence. Lately, Rahul has found himself under scrutiny with his failure to score consistently posing question marks over his place.

However, the ‘attack is the best form of defence’ approach could just be the answer to his conundrum. Recently, Rahul has shown the ability to pull it off and with the talent he possesses, you wouldn’t want to bet against him doing it on a regular basis.

Hence, maybe, just maybe, the flamboyant approach could offer some respite for under-fire Rahul.

#1. Ashwin has a pivotal role to play on day 4 and 5

Ashwin has a huge role to play on day 4 and 5

Ravichandran Ashwin was irresistible at times on Day 3. The turn, coupled with the drift he procured made life difficult for the Australian batsmen.

On Day 3, Lyon extracted prodigious turn from the Adelaide pitch. The Australian got the ball to turn and bounce frequently and had a decent amount of ‘rough’ to work with. Even though he couldn’t accumulate the wickets he would’ve liked, Lyon was a threat throughout the day.

Hence, come Australia’s batting, Ashwin will have to be at the top of his game. Faced with a similar situation years ago in Johannesburg, the off-spinner failed spectacularly and more recently, a similar failure at Southampton wasn’t looked upon very kindly.

Tomorrow and day after, Ashwin will have another shot at redemption. The off-spinner from Tamil Nadu has been dubbed by many as the best off-spinner in the world. Yet, unless he wins India a Test in the SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand & Australia) countries, his name would always be mentioned with an asterisk.

The scene is set for Ashwin to carve a niche for himself and to his benefit, the pitch is hugely in favour. If Ashwin actually ‘turns’ the match for India or not is a question better left unanswered for now.

But one thing was made evidently clear on Day 3: Ashwin’s role is going to be paramount in the days to follow.