Cameron Green and R. Ashwin hog limelight on Day 2 in Ahmedabad Test
Green was the cynosure at a venue where the crowd turnout on Friday was low, yet showed the nuances of batting on a track where the ball did come on to the bat.
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Cameron Green; R. Ashwin
All that makes Test cricket attractive to watch came to the fore in the BGT Series, finally, on Friday, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. If Thursday was colourful thanks to the presence of the two Prime Ministers from India and Australia – Narenda Modi and Anthony Albanese — the second day saw the Aussies come out in black arm bands as skipper Pat Cummins mother Maria passed away. She lost the fight to cancer.
The mood was sombre for the Aussies, yet they played cricket which was professional and punchy to score 480 in the first innings. If Usman Khawaja had shown he meant business through the series and punctuated it with a 180, then Cameron Green lit up the arena with his maiden Test ton (114).
Green was the cynosure at a venue where the crowd turnout on Friday was low, yet showed the nuances of batting on a track where the ball did come on to the bat. This has been the best track till now, seemingly placid in nature, yet good for the batters to score. There were fears if this Aussie side could go on to score 550 plus, which would have been massive and given them a psychological advantage.
Those plans were foiled by one man known for his exploits over and over again. At 36 years of age, past prime, as some say, R. Ashwin seems to be competing with batters and his own self. The more one watches this Chennai man, sporting a crew cut, the more he gives an impression like being an academician at work in his own space.
Call it creativity or getting more crafty and innovative, Ashwin loves to innovate and trouble batters. He has to do it with great finesse, awesome control and fidget with the red cherry like a test pilot. Here, the controls are all in his right hand, fingers, wrist and how he tweaks the ball.
There was change in pace, flight and the mind games as well to psyche out batters which caught the eye. He plotted dismissals, which was the key, rather than go through the motions in a mundane manner. Perhaps, the delivery with which he got Green out stumped down the leg side, was creativity. The good part, one is getting to see wicket keeper KS Bharat slip into his role well. After all, he is here in the squad for injured Rishabh Pant, out after a major car accident.
India have a long way to go, though there is no devil in the pitch till now
No narration will be complete without a mention of how Khawaja and Green waved the red flag at the Indians, for long sessions. Stories of Khawaja, his toil as a batter who migrated from Pakistan to Australia are all over internet. He has made it clear, finding acceptance Down Under was not easy. Yet, he does not like to moan but express himself with his bat.
At the same time, Green has understood batting in India is not easy. The wicket at the Narendra Modi Stadium was much better, and Green built on his stay at the crease with focus on the fundamentals. He has been to India many times before at the MRF Academy in Chennai. After all, he is primarily a fast bowler. All those lessons came in handy, most importantly, with the Aussies showing will to stay on and bat. The way they have progressed through the series has been awesome. On Friday, the mood was sombre, after Pat Cummins Mom passed away. For the record, the stand between Khawaja and Green was worth 208 runs.
It was a crazy day for Indian cricket fans. Not only were they concerned about what was happening in the Test in Ahmedabad, they were also tracking the scores early on in the first Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. The visitors came out with flying colours, scoring 355. In reply, New Zealand were 165 for 5. Contrary to perception, Sri Lanka scored well.
For India to make it to the ICC World Test Championship final, an outright win was the hope. As things stand, that seems improbable, as India are at 36 for no loss. The trend in this series has been three Test matches ending within three days each. India have a long way to go, though there is no devil in the pitch, till now.
They have to play traditional Test cricket, which is, spend more time at the crease, consume time and score runs. Indeed, Day 3 will be gripping. In case Sri Lanka win both the tests in new Zealand, they will make the final.
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S Kannan
(382 Articles Published)