Three wickets needed, a wearing SCG pitch, the light fading, India trying to cling on for a draw – it could have been the 2008 finish all over again. But Michael Clarke was in the commentary box this time, not out in the middle with ball in hand, and Ajinkya Rahane and Bhuvneshwar Kumar held
Australia did not need to win, and India never really thought seriously about doing so. A curiously muted final day of the Boxing Day Test petered out with four overs still to bowl; on recent evidence more than enough time to winkle out the visitors’ last four wickets. A draw was enough for Australia to
A flat drop-in pitch. Possible rain. Brazen Indian batsmen. A brittle touring tail. Reverse swing. An extended day’s play. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy not quite secured. A new captain and an older coach. A commitment to entertain. These were just a few of the variables for Australia after four days of the Boxing Day Test at
First India then Australia: neither side was able to take control on day two of the second Test in muggy Brisbane. The visitors’ loss of six for 87 at the steady hands of Josh Hazlewood gave the hosts a better sight of the batting crease than they could have expected after day one, but a
Australia had a near-perfect day in their endeavour to be in a position to push hard for victory on Saturday in Adelaide. Offspinner Nathan Lyon used the considerable bounce in the pitch to hasten the end of the Indian innings during an extended first session, securing a 73-run lead for his side, after which David