Melbourne: The fifth and the final day of the test in which any result could be possible here. Indian batsmen had to survive the whole day in order to save the match or rather win the match.
Australia could have pushed harder for the win had they declared 8-10 overs earlier. The Aussie bowlers had only 2 sessions on the final day but nearly cut through the Indian batting. If not for the Kohli-Rahane resistance.
Smith and Dhoni shake hands with four overs left. Some thought India would go for the chase, some thought Australia would give themselves more time.. but this has ended in a draw in a rather tame fashion. A batsman's game, this has been.
MATCH DRAWN
India 174/6 after 66 overs (210 runs to win)
Dhoni 24 (39), Ashwin 8 (34)
Dhoni and Ashwin managed to survive 11 overs and put on 32 runs together before the players shake hands with 4 overs left and call it a draw. India salvage a draw but Australia wrap up the series 2-0 and with it reclaim the Border-Gavaskar series. India would be satisfied to avoid a whitewash.
India 154/6 after 60 overs (230 runs to win)
Dhoni 9 (23), Ashwin 3 (14)
India now have just 10 overs to survive in the test. MS Dhoni is not trying to play attacking shots but he survived many outside edges. Meanwhile he has also completed 10000 runs as an international captain.
India 142/6 after 55 overs (242 runs to win)
Dhoni 0 (7), Ashwin 0 (0)
Indian hopes of saving the test match are almost gone after Rahane's dimissal. His fighting innings came to an end after he tried to pull a short delivery off Hazlewood but found Marsh at mid wicket. Rahane and Pujara seemed to have taken India to safe shores, the latter was deceived by a slower one. Rahane kept battling but he too fell to an ungainly shot.
Ajinkya Rahane c Marsh b Hazlewood 48 (117)
OUT! Rahane is out and so the hopes of getting a draw are shattered. Rahane tried to pull the short pitch delivery but the ball finds Marsh at midwicket.
MS Dhoni is in at no. 7. There are 19 overs remaining in the day and it would be a tough job for India now.
India 141/5
Cheteshwar Pujara b Johnson 21 (70)
OUT! Slower delivery does the trick. It was a 125 kmph delivery which came in sharply and hit the top of off-stump. Pujara had no clue about that and missed it completely. Another failure for Pujara. Johnson is delighted.
India 140/4 after 50 overs (244 runs to win)
Rahane 46 (97), Pujara 21 (67)
Pujara and Rahane have batted for almost 16 overs and are doing great to save the test for India with only 20 overs remaining after that. This pair is the last hope for Indians and they must not lose it out from here.
India 124/4 after 45 overs (260 runs to win)
Rahane 41 (88), Pujara 12 (45)
Pujara and Rahane can be said as the last batting pair for India because the kind of form Dhoni and tailenders are in, they can't afford to lose any of the batsmen currently at the crease. They must play to settle for a long partnership.
India 116/4 after 40 overs (268runs to win)
Rahane 38 (81), Pujara 7 (22)
Harris picking up Kohli right after the tea break has certainly put India again on backfoot. They were settled down at the middle and built a solid partnership. Australia are not conceding any easy runs to the Indians. However Rahane and Pujara both hit a boundary each off Harris and Johnson respectively.
That brings in Cheteshwar Pujara at no. 6
India 104/4
Virat Kohli c Burns b Harris 54 (99)
OUT! Kohli is gone! It was a length delivery and Kohli tried to flick it past square leg but the ball lands safe in the hands of debutant Joe Burns. He stands there with head down. He fell just short of his 500 runs in the series.
Harris to start off and Kohli on strike
Players are walking back onto the field and the third session will be underway in moments.
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The series is surely out of their India's hands. All they need to do is draw this test and avoid the chance of 0-4 whitewash. 280 runs in remaining 36 overs is just next to impossible.
Australia may have been sensing an Indian collpase then. However, Kohli combined well with Rahane, much like how he did in the first innings. There were a few nervy moments in between - Rahane was dropped by Bucky while Kohli survived a couple of run-out calls - but India find themselves within touching distance of salvaging a draw.
Kohli and Rahane have steered India to safer shores after being reduced to 19/3. Ryan Harris produced an incisive opening burst, trapping Dhawan lbw for a duck. In a strange move, Lokesh Rahul was promoted up the order but departed soon after, falling to Mitch Johnson. 5/2 became 19/3 when Vijay was mortified to be out lbw though the Hazlewood ball was drifting down leg.
TEA BREAK
India 104/3 after 34 overs (280 runs to win)
Kohli 54 (98), Rahane 33 (68)
India managed to survive without losing any more wickets. However miscommunication between the two batsmen on couple of occasions could have led India to further loss. Virat Kohli survived his second run-out chance when he dabbed the ball to mid-on. The fielder their misses the direct hit and Watson collected the ball and passed it to Lyon who failed to collect the ball and lets Kohli off. A full stretch dive could also not have saved him.
India 94/3 after 30 overs (290 runs to win)
Kohli 50 (87), Rahane 27 (55)
Kohli and Rahane have built a solid start again to their partnership. They have already scored 75 runs together after Kohli reaches his half century. He have been targeting the bowlers in every over. Rahane however was dropped by Chris Rogers at backward point off Johnson. It was not an easy catch but Rogers jumped high and was just able to get his hands touched. India would be happier side after not losing any wicket after three quick strikes and this partnership is currently being flourished.
India 56/3 after 20 overs (328 runs to win)
Kohli 27 (50), Rahane 16 (32)
Kohli and Rahane are settled for a decent partnership once again. Kohli has been playing well against the short pitch deliveries. They are somehow managing to settle down and attack the bowlers later. Their game has been too defensive so far.
India 37/3 after 15 overs (347 runs to win)
Kohli 20 (34), Rahane 5 (18)
Kohli is trying to settle Indian innings. He scored a boundary each Lyon and Hazlwood and wants to keep the maximum strike. Rahane at other end should support his partner well. Kohli was short of partners in first innings and during the chase in Adelaide test as well.
India 23/3 after 10 overs (361 runs to win)
Kohli 7 (17), Rahane 4 (5)
It is going from bad to worse for India. Murali Vijay the Mr. Dependable for India in this series was unfortunately given lbw by the umpire but the hawk-eye shows the ball was missing leg. A poor start for India and they are really under pressure. The fear of losing the test might be haunting them as well. Kohli and Rahane have now the responsibility to build another solid partnership and survive through the session. India would be hoping now that rain should arrive again. It might be the only way for them to save the test.
The Hawk-Eye shows that the ball was missing leg-stump. A harsh one for Vijay
Ajinkya Rahane is the next man in
India 19/3
Murali Vijay lbw b Hazlewood 11 (28)
OUT! Another one! Loud appeal for lbw and umpire raises his finger. Little bit of reverse swing and Vijay is gone. Hazlewood gets his first wicket of the match.
India 12/2 after 5 overs
Vijay 7 (14), Kohli 4 (6)
Indian batsmen are living dangerously out there. After losing two early wickets Vijay survived a scare when Australians appealed for caught behind. But it was struck off the batsmen's shirt. A run out chance was missed by Warner. Kohli pushes the full delivery towards mid-off and takes off for a risky single, Vijay was looking at the ball and was late to say no. Kohli was almost at the non-striker's end before he had to turn back. The throw from Warner was wayward and that allowed Kohli to make his ground. Plenty of talks out there after this.
Virat Kohli is the next man in
India 5/2
Lokesh Rahul c Watson b Johnson 1 (5)
OUT! Rahul is gone! The same mistake he did in first innings. He tried to pull a short-pitch delivery. Top edged and Watson takes the catch. Not a great debut for the young batsmen. There was absolutely no need to play that shot. Is India heading towards another batting collapse?
Lokesh Rahul has been promoted and sent in at no. 3
India 2/1
Shikhar Dhawan lbw b Harris 0 (5)
OUT! Harris gets the first breakthrough. It was straight to middle and leg, Dhawan was plumbed in front. His poor form continues.
Johnson to start off the bowling attack and Vijay is on strike.
So the Indian openers Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan are making their way to the middle.
India are set to begin their chase. All they need to do is to avoid the batting collapse. Hopefully the weather remains good. But the Australian bowlers have ample time to bowl them out go 3-0 up in the series.
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A draw is better than to lose a match. If India is able to end it in a draw, Australia's dream of 0-4 whitewash will be over.
With 70 overs remaining, India have to score at the rate of more than 5 runs per over in order to achieve the target of 384 runs. They have to turn it into an ODI chase to save the series but they have to be carefull of losing wickets in a streak.
LUNCH BREAK
India need 384 runs to win
Australia 318/9 after 98 overs (lead by 383 runs) declared
Lyon 1 (10), Hazlewood 0 (3)
Shaun Marsh was the unfortunate batsmen to get run out at the score of 99 and missing his hundred. He looked to be in a hurry to complete the risky single but Virat Kohli did well to hit the stumps. Umpires decided to extend the morning session by half an hour but Australia have declared and so it's lunch.
Josh Hazlewood is the last man in
Shaun Marsh run out (Kohli) 99 (215)
OUT! Marsh is run out at 99. He tried to take a quick single to complete his 100 but fell just short of the crease. Direct hit by Kohli to the stumps did the rest.
Nathan Lyon comes in at no. 10
Australia 303/8
Ryan Harris c Dhoni b Shami 21 (68)
OUT! A wicket finally. Edged and gone. Ryan Harris is the man who gets an under edge to the outside off delivery from Shami. Dhoni takes another catch.
Nathan Lyon has also his pads on in the dressing room...which clearly shows that Australia will not declare anytime soon.
Australia 295/7 after 90 overs (lead by 360 runs)
Marsh 81 (186), Harris 20 (62)
It's getting more and more frustrating for India. The partnership is well above 50 and Australia looks in no mood to let India bat soon. They have been scoring at very slow rate. Shaun Marsh is into the 80s and is looking for far more than that.
Ashwin to resume bowling with Harris on strike.
Players are out again in the field and the batsmen are walking in for the third time this morning.
The rain has stopped and the play will resume shortly. The sun is out again.
Match delayed by Rain
The rain is heavy and the covers are on again.
Australia 278/7 after 84 overs (lead by 343 runs)
Marsh 72 (168), Harris 12 (44)
Shaun Marsh hits the first boundary today off Mohammad Shami in 83rd over of the innings. 13 runs have been added in last four overs before rain arrived again.
Australia 265/7 after 80 overs (lead by 330 runs)
Marsh 64 (154), Harris 8 (34)
Australian batsmen are clearly playing for a draw here. They have scored just 4 runs in five overs today and would just want to bat as much as possible and do not leave India with ample time to bat and chase the target Or they might be targeting 400.
Indians are in their position and Marsh takes his strike. Ishant to continue.
The weather is nice and sunny yet again....the players are back on the field.
Rain has stopped! If there is no rain the play will start in 10 minutes. No overs have been lost.
It's raining again and the covers are back on!
Good news - the covers are coming off and the umpires are out there to inspect things. We should've play soon.
The score remains the same. Big covers are coming on which means the rain is getting heavy.
Match delayed by Rain
Only three balls were bowled by Ishant and it's started raining again. Umpire pulled off the stumps. That's not what India wanted. Its quite heavy!
Ishant Sharma to start off with Shaun Marsh on strike.
Aussie batsmen Shaun Marsh and Ryan Harris are walking in. Their partnership is already 27.
Indian players are warming up near the boundary line.
When India will be chasing it would be like a One-day match chase and Indians are much more comfortable in shorter formats.
Australia will try to spend as much time as they can, increase the lead, make it a draw and the series will be in their pocket. India need to wrap up the lower order quickly.
It will be a half an hour early start this morning due to the loss of overs yesterday.
David Warner said yesterday after the match even though the Australian lead had swelled to 326 by the end of the day. It was partly due to that chase in Adelaide, Warner mentioned, and partly because it was still a good batting pitch.
Will Australia declare their innings overnight and let India bat whole day today? There is no such news yet. The game is very well poised between both the sides.
Ishant Sharma set the ball rolling in the final session of day 4, testing the hosts in the channel outside off. He was duly rewarded when Burns edged one to Dhoni. Shami and Umesh supported Ishant well as India did not give away easy runs. Ashwin chipped in, showing good discipline as well.
The sixth and seventh wickets have added 85 runs till now by the two batsmen unbeaten.
