The
final day of the series, in Delhi, resembled one of those when a crazy
colourful storm from Rajasthan visits the capital. While the storm is there, it
is all encompassing, and promises apocalypse. Soon, though, it blows over, and
you can't tell it had been there. For about the first 200 minutes of the day,
it was mayhem: spiteful spin, altercations, posturing, surprises, send-offs and
some statesmanship. Twelve wickets fell for 170 runs, Nathan Lyon and Ravindra
Jadeja registered their personal
bests, Peter Siddle became the first No. 9 to
score two fifties in a Test, but India got through the 155-run chase with
shockingly consummate ease to win four matches in a series for the first time
in their Test history.
Cheteshwar
Pujara, opening the innings in the absence of Shikhar Dhawan and fighting a
finger injury of his own, led the chase with his second fifty - 82 off 92 -
which on this pitch must rank alongside one of his double-centuries. It might
have been made to look simple, but it wasn't always thus.
Lyon,
who had removed Ishant Sharma and Pragyan Ojha with the last two deliveries of
India's first innings, nearly had his hat-trick. M Vijay charged at him first
ball of the innings, but the ball turned way down the leg side, and Matthew
Wade missed the half chance.
In
the next over, Pujara survived a close lbw shout, with a soft outside edge
helping him. In the next over, Vijay was bowled while reverse-sweeping. That
was the closest Australia came to having a chance.
Pujara
and Kohli batted as if the events of the past two-and-a-half days didn't matter
at all, as if the bunsen had lost all its fire. Which it hadn't; it was just
clear-minded decisive batting on a spitter, making full use of every loose ball
on offer. There were drives, there were ramps, there were sweeps. From
Australia there were loose balls, overthrows and misfields.
A
minor blip interrupted India's progress as three wickets fell for five runs to
reduce India to 128 for 4, a period during which Sachin Tendulkar failed in
possibly his last Test innings at home. Pujara, though, refused to acknowledge
all this, bringing India level with three successive fours, and let MS Dhoni,
whose grey beard bears the traces of two previous whitewashes of India, finish
the rest.
Enough
of this drive on a clear sunny day. Back to the storm. Back to when there were
skirmishes even before teams had crossed the rope. Over who should set foot on
the field of play first. That resolved, Australia took the last two wickets in
no time, restricting India's lead to 10.
Australia
tried to surprise India by opening with Glenn Maxwell alongside David Warner.
In the absence of batsmen technically equipped to fight it out on this pitch,
such aggression against new ball was perhaps the best way to go. Surreal scenes
followed: Jadeja bowling to Maxwell in the fifth over of a Test innings. It
didn't last. In his first over, Jadeja got one to turn, stay low, hit the
outside edge of Maxwell's bat and cannon into the off stump.
With
an assured and aggressive innings, Ed Cowan showed it was probably not the best
move after all to demote him. He capitalised on every loose delivery, and hit
five fours in his 24, one of them a superb drive through midwicket after
stepping down to Jadeja. All hell broke loose at the other end, though.
Jadeja
trapped Warner with a dart, and the Indian fielders let rip with a
choreographed and a long send-off. Warner has been the sledger-in-chief from
Australia, and has been in the ear of the Indian batsmen since the start of the
second innings of the match. There is also a previous to this from the time
India toured Australia, so that wicket would have brought Virat Kohli, in
particular, and Jadeja natural and massive relief, and they just let it show.
The
umpires, though, spoke to Tendulkar, who in turn, tapped Jadeja's shoulder a
bit. With seemingly an appeal every ball, an explosion off the pitch every
second, and a sledge every third, the umpires were under intense pressure. Amid
some incredible calls, Aleem Dar erred with the Phillip Hughes lbw, with R
Ashwin's offbreak turning past off.
It
was all Dhoni after that. First through Jadeja, a player he has backed when few
did. Jadeja removed Cowan before lunch, and Steven Smith and Mitchell Johnson
just after. The latter strikes were crucial as Smith and Wade had added 41 for
the sixth wicket. His first ball after the break was a slider that Smith left
alone to hit his off stump. The next turned through the gate and knocked
Johnson's middle stump over. Australia 94 for 7.
Siddle
not only survived the hat-trick ball, he - much like Pujara - seemed to have
brought his own pitch to bat on. He went on a sensational counterattack,
charging down to the spinners and clearing mid-off, and cover when mid-off was
sent back, regularly. He looked as comfortable as any specialist batsman did on
this track.
Around
him, though, Dhoni put on an exhibition too. Wade advanced to Ojha, was beaten
by the dip, edged it onto the top part of his pad, and as the ball died to his right,
Dhoni changed direction and not only completed a one-handed take, he proceeded
to break the stumps just in case the umpire had missed the edge.
Siddle
was not too bedazzled. His assault continued. Back to Dhoni then. He gambled.
He brought Ishant on. The first nine balls Ishant bowled went for 12 runs. With
James Pattinson, Siddle had now added 35 for the ninth wicket to take the score
to 157. Then Ishant went round the stumps, and got one to reverse through
Pattinson's gate. Dhoni had worked again. Fittingly, as with the bat, he ended
the innings with a stumping off a ball that could have been called a wide had
it been bowled with restrictive intent.
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