Key events
62nd over: Australia 169-8 (Cummins 38, Lyon 5) Cummins steers a Bumrah yorker to third man. There’s a run there but he doesn’t takes it, preferring to protect the GOAT. Jasprit now gives him a bouncer to think about and the skipper takes evasive action. Then a yorker. Cummins is up to the challenge of both, knowing Bumrah can’t bowl forever. And now a little counterattack, leaning back and cutting to the rope for FOUR.
62nd over: Australia 165-8 (Cummins 34, Lyon 5) Lyon edges for FOUR. Streaky but sweet for Australia. Mohammed Siraj adds another furrow to his well corrugated brow. Rohit Sharma has come alive as a captain this afternoon. Despite criticism of his leadership and a shocking run of form with the bat, he has injected his spearhead Bumrah with acumen and fired up Siraj to take three wickets. Not only is the Test and series in the balance, Sharma’s career might be too.
61st over: Australia 161-8 (Cummins 34, Lyon 1) After a break for drinks, Jasprit Bumrah – refreshed and ready to bowl – steams in. Will Pat Cummins spurn singles to protect Nathan Lyon or will he trust the man with whom he orchestrated that famous victory at Edgbaston? There they put on 55 runs for the ninth wicket to secure victory in the first Ashes Test. Can they conjure more glory for Australia here? Not yet. It’s a maiden.
60th over: Australia 161-8 (Cummins 34, Lyon 1) Siraj returns – face full of zinc, head full of steam. New batter Nathan Lyon flicks off the pads to get off the mark. Cummins does well to drop a bouncer at his feet. The next one is wide and Cummins opens the blade and runs it through gully for three more. Australia lead by 266 runs.
WICKET! Starc run out (Nitish/ Pant) 4 (Australia 156-8)
Starc is GORN! The umpire went tot the replay but Starc walked. He knew he was well short of his ground. Dreadful mix-up by the Australian pair and probably Starc’s fault. He turned too quick for the second when Cummins, with a clear view of the swooping Nitish, cancelled it with a bark. But too late. Starc was well short of his ground and veered out of the path of the ball when he should’ve have tried to wear it on the body.
59th over: Australia 152-6 (Cummins 29, Starc 3) Here comes Bumrah. Does he ever go away? He has Starc in his sights and the big man gets a single. Or is it two? NOOOOOO! There’s a huge mixup and Nitish has swooped and thrown it the ‘keeper. Rishabh Pant seizes the bouncing ball, removes the glove in a flash and throws down the the stumps at the non-striker’s end. This looks close…
58th over: Australia 152-6 (Cummins 29, Starc 3) Starc attacks! That was a full blooded drive and if Nitish Kumar Reddy hadn’t dived for the stop it was four. Instead it’s one run. Desperate hours here at the MCG. A Test, a series and cricket’s world heavyweight title in the balance. Cummins carves Siraj for another two runs from the last.
57th over: Australia 152-6 (Cummins 29, Starc 3) Cummins clips a single from Ravi Jadeja’s first ball. Australia lead by 257 now but runs are coming in a trickle. Do they risk being skittled cheaply by hitting out and trying and rip out India’s top order in the final hour? Or eke another 30 at snail’s pace so they’re safe at stumps?
The question for Australia is: How much is enough?
56th over: Australia 150-6 (Cummins 28, Starc 2) Mohammed Siraj enjoyed that. He raises his arms and flapped them fiercely at the crowd, bellowing the whole time. Was that a sharp retort to the jerring Australian fans? Or a rev-up for the Indian contingent? Great theatre either way! New batter Starc flails one over the top to steal two runs.
WICKET! Labuschagne lbw Siraj 70 (Australia 148-7)
First ball is straight and fast from Siraj and Marnus misses. Big shout… OUT! Marnus reviews straight away but Siraj looks confident. Of course he does. Is there any bat? Replays show no and Marnus must go. Massive breakthrough for India! Siraj has three and Australia are back in strife.
55th over: Australia 148-6 (Labuschagne 70, Cummins 28) A tight leave first up by Cummins as Jadeja ramps the pace up to 95kph. It narrowly missed off stump so it’s a good leave. And there’s a good shot! Captain Pat swivels Jadeja fine for a boundary. That brings the partnership to 57 and Australia lead to 253.
54th over: Australia 144-6 (Labuschagne 70, Cummins 24) Attempted yorker. It’s straight and full but Labuschagne brings the bat down in time and jams it through backward square for two runs. He gets another two with a hip chip from the last. Hang on, it’s a belated no ball decision.
53rd over: Australia 139-6 (Labuschagne 65, Cummins 24) Edged but safe! Cummins pierces slips and runs two. Weird few moments as the Australian pair knock back two singles from Jadeja. They need to win this Test to take the Sydney weather Gods out of the equation next week. Lose or draw and they’re behind the 8-ball. Finally Cummins taps another run to escape Cyclone Jasprit next over.
52nd over: Australia 135-6 (Labuschagne 65, Cummins 21) Squared up and beaten! What a seed! Off stump line and seaming away. Bowler and batter share a grin at that one. Bumrah walks back to his mark watching the big screen and marvelling at his own genius. He proves it three more times as Marnus is made to look increasingly mortal.
If you’re wondering… England hold the record for the highest score chased at the MCG which was 332 back in December 1928. Not a bad target for Australia to aim for I reckon.
51st over: Australia 135-6 (Labuschagne 65, Cummins 21) Jadeja is whirling through his fifth over. He has 0-10 so far but has accelerated the run-rate no end. Cummins knocks back a single on the fifth to stay off strike to Mr Bumrah. Over to you Marnus…
50th over: Australia 135-6 (Labuschagne 65, Cummins 21) Bumrah’s spell begins with a maiden as Labuschagne signals Australia’s intent to shut up shop when he’s the maestro is on and have a lash at whoever’s at the other end. We’ll see how that works out…
Tick, tick… Bumrah. He has the ball in hand and we are about to resume.
TEA Day 4: Australia 135 for 6 with a 240 run lead
What a session! Yet again Jasprit Bumrah tore apart Australia’s brittle batting to bring India back into the game that looked to be slipping away.
Bumrah has 4-30 from 14 overs and the scalps of Travis Head (1), MItch Marsh (0) and Alex Carey (2) are hanging from his belt to join that of Sam Konstas (8) from the first session. In doing so Bumrah went to 202 Test wickets at an average of 20. Incredible!
Even so, Australia fought their way back in that final hour. Marnus Labuschagne has scrapped and scraped his way to an undefeated 60 and Pat Cummins (21 not out) is playing another brilliant rearguard knock to save his top order’s blushes. Those two have put on 43 runs in quick time – by far Australia’s most profitable partnership.
This will be a fascinating night session. Will Bumrah the Destroyer return and rip through Australia’s final four wickets. Or will this epic Test take another twist with Australia batting beyond 300 and giving India a challenging target on day five?
Grab a cuppa and contemplate. We’ll be back with the final session shortly.
49th over: Australia 135-6 (Labuschagne 65, Cummins 21) At 43 runs, Cummins and Labuschagne have given Australia its best partnership of the innings. But it almost ends as Jaiswal DROPS ANOTHER! The young opener has been banished from slips after dropping two catches there and put in the dog box of silly mid-off. Now Cummins fends at Jadeja and spits a catch at ankle-height but airborne enough to get fingers to it. Alas, Jaiswal is too high in his crouch and another chance goes begging. That’s Tea.
48th over: Australia 134-6 (Labuschagne 64, Cummins 21) Two from the first as Sundar shucks the rust with a first ball down legside. Second is wide again but outside off and Labuschagne slaps at it but can’t pierce the field. he does better next time, chipping past silly mid-on for a run. Australia lead by 239 and this partnership is now worth 43 runs.
47th over: Australia 131-6 (Labuschagne 61, Cummins 21) Another Jadeja over goes by in fast-forward with just a Labuschagne single from it. Looks like Washinton Sundar will bowl the last over before tea. Curious and curiouser…
46th over: Australia 131-6 (Labuschagne 60, Cummins 21) Short and sweet from Akash and Labuschagne swings it to the rope for four. Next one angles back and Marnus chops down late and watches aghast as it fizzes back towards the stumps… but bounces over! The luck of Labuschagne strikes again. He takes a single to celebrate leabing Cummins to carve the final ball to the boundary backward of point. Shot, skipper!
45th over: Australia 121-6 (Labuschagne 54, Cummins 17) Time for spin. Ravi Jadeja returns to the attack and his first ball is wide and full. Labuschagne cuts for a run. Cummins watches the next three then steps out and drives for four. Australia’s captain is putting together another valuable innings for his side here.
44th over: Australia 117-6 (Labuschagne 54, Cummins 14) Dropped! Akash Deep threw it down short and Cummins gave it a heave and top-edged. Nitish Kumar Reddy sent off under swirling wind to claim the catch but couldn’t get there in time. Valiant attempt. Cummins nails the next one and it runs close to the rope for another two.
43rd over: Australia 111-6 (Labuschagne 52, Cummins 9) Marnus gets his fifty with a push to square leg. It’s been another rearguard action by the mercurial No 3 who has held this innings together while never quite getting ion top of India’s bowling attack. Now Cummins flashes at a full ball outside off by Siraj. They run three. Labuschagne drives past mid-on for another two then works a single off his hip. Siraj is starting to tire, he’s too weary even to mutter murderous intent at the batters. Seven from the over. Australia lead by 216 but they need another hundred to be safe and apply pressure.
42nd over: Australia 104-6 (Labuschagne 49, Cummins 6) Uh-oh, Bumrah is back! After a short spell in the skinny shadows of the Shane Warne Stand, India’s destroyer has been recalled by skipper Rohit Sharma for a final spell in the hot half hour before tea. Bumrah runs in with 4-28 and you wouldn’t bet against him scalping the final four. Cummins fends off the first and Labuschagne rebuffs a single to fine leg to retain strike. Can Australia survive? Marnus finds a single from the last to keep strike for the next.
41st over: Australia 102-6 (Labuschagne 47, Cummins 5) With the zinc beading under his crazy eyes, Mohammed Siraj charges in at Cummins who flails at the first and edges the second, but survives both. He finds relief in a single to mid-on. Labuschagne, who is closing on another fighting half century despite living dangerously all innings, sees off the rest.
40th over: Australia 100-6 (Labuschagne 47, Cummins 4) Thick edge from Labuschagne and Jaiswal DROPS IT AGAIN! Good grief. A bad shot from Marnus – a half-blooded catching practice cut straight to the fielders – but an even worse attempt by the youngster, who reached with hard hands and put it down cold. That’s the second one Jaiswal has shelled at slip today after giving Usman Khawaja another life this morming. Is it the stroke of luck Australia need?
39th over: Australia 99-6 (Labuschagne 46, Cummins 4) Captain Pat responds! First ball he faces from Siraj and Cummins clubs it into the outfield for four – all run. A statement shot. He will attack India with the bat and then go after them with the ball. Unnerved, Siraj sends the next few wide. Fourth Test on a tightrope right now.
Geoff Lemon
38th over: Australia 94-6 (Labuschagne 46, Cummins 0) Another one for Bumrah, but he’s bowling to Labuschagne, which is not what India want. In fact Labuschagne turns down a single first ball! Into the leg side, no thanks. Farming the strike with your No8 who nearly made a half century in the first innings. That’s the respect they have for this bowling artist. Labuschagne leaves where he can, gets through the over, then tries to dab four with a late cut from the last ball, but misses.
And that, with a large exhale, is me for the day. Angus will be with you for the next four Bumrah wickets.
37th over: Australia 94-6 (Labuschagne 46, Cummins 0) Siraj to Labuschagne, a couple of runs to cover.
Andrew Jagels wrote in with a question earlier, before the action cranked up, so I will attempt an answer given it might be of interest to others. “Could any of our Indian readers clarify why some players have their first names on their shirts (Jasprit, Virat) whereas others have their ‘surname’ (Rahul, Siraj). The variety has always puzzled me.”
I’ve had other correspondence asking this, so I’ll attempt the short version, based on working in cricket. Forgive any generalisations or errors. Basically, first name and surname structure doesn’t apply elsewhere in a Western way, unsurprisingly. India has so many different cultural and language groups that there are lots of methods of structuring names.
Tamils tend to use their father’s name and then their own name, so Ravichandran Ashwin’s name is Ashwin. He wouldn’t use Ravichandran on a shirt, because it’s not his name. So his shirt name is also his personal name. But then Tamils who move elsewhere sometimes flip the order, so Washington Sundar’s name is Washington and his father is Sundar. Or our colleague Bharat Sundaresan’s name is Bharat, his dad was Sundaresan.
Other cultural groups might use a common grouping name, like Singh or Sharma or Reddy, which are not really surnames but identifying broader group membership. So some coverage calls yesterday’s century-maker Nitish Kumar rather than Reddy. We went with Reddy because it’s not that common as a cricketing name, though it’s very common where he’s from.
For another example, Jadeja’s first name in full is Ravindrasingh, but the ‘singh’ part gets discarded in the same way that the Kumar part after Nitish might eventually be.
Then someone like Kohli, who does have a first name and surname structure, it’s more about marketing than naming. Having the Virat 18 shirt is a brand thing, and helps sell millions of copies, as well as promoting the brand he uses in other commercial ventures. The player agents probably decide that, it’s personal choice. Devdutt Padikkal was just out there sub fielding wearing a shirt that only said “Dev”.
So that probably doesn’t answer your question, exactly, because there isn’t one answer, but that fact is also the answer. There are lots of different ways to structure Indian names, that are well beyond what we do with Smiths.
36th over: Australia 91-6 (Labuschagne 43) At a loss for words. Typed or written. Cummins will be in next.
WICKET! Carey b Bumrah 2, Australia 91-6
He’s done it again! Done it again, this time to a left-hander. Bumrah is unstoppable right now. It’s another snorter of a delivery. Around the wicket, angled in, then decking hard. Perfect length. Carey coming forward, trying to defend down the line. Not as extravagant an amount of movement as the Konstas one, but enough to beat the bat, perhaps brush the back pad, and nail the stumps. Bumrah has 29 for the series, 4 for 28 today. Can he keep it going?
35th over: Australia 88-5 (Labuschagne 40, Carey 2) Soooo. Labuschagne is looking good, and Carey has been in great touch. Australia still probably need another hundred runs though. Can’t expect the tail to deliver all the time. This is getting tight! Carey gets going with a flick through the leg side for two. Australia lead by 193.
34th over: Australia 85-5 (Labuschagne 38) Second ball and sixth ball of the over, those wickets. Bumrah has 201 at 19.46 right now, and in this series that’s 28 at 12.6.
The series record for a visiting player is 38, by Maurice Tate. So a few more here and a big match in Sydney, who knows.
WICKET! Marsh c Pant b Bumrah 0, Australia 85-5
They’re in it! India right in it now! Bumrah had just notched 200 career wickets at 19.56, the first player to cross that milestone averaging under 20. And he celebrates with 201. Two in the over. Marsh in a rut that he can’t get out of. Might not make it to Sydney. Australia 190 ahead, the wicketkeeper Carey coming out to join Labuschagne.
WICKET! Head c Reddy b Bumrah 1, Australia 85-4
Into the basket! Down comes the guillotine! Bumrah does it. He’s bowled so many great balls today that haven’t taken wickets, he deserves an innocuous one that does. In at the pads, Head flicks it away, but in the air and straight to short midwicket, where NK Reddy is hopping in the air and making it tough for himself but clings on to a ball around his midriff.
33rd over: Australia 84-3 (Labuschagne 38, Head 1) Off the mark first ball for Head, poked behind point, then Labuschagne guides a ball for three. He’s loving his threes today. India were bubbling about the place with the Smith wicket, they think they’re still in it. Got to lop off Head though, he could cost them the match in an hour.
WICKET! Smith c Pant b Siraj 13, Australia 80-3
There’s that late-game probability! Not a good ball from Siraj, full and wide and there to hit if a player wants to. Smith does, huge drive, no footwork, reaching, and nicks it.
32nd over: Australia 80-2 (Labuschagne 35, Smith 13) Time to try the man of the moment. Nitish Kumar Reddy bowls an innocuous first over, with a couple of twos in there for Marnus.
31st over: Australia 76-2 (Labuschagne 31, Smith 13) Carved away by Smith! Through the covers off Siraj, who has 1 for 16 and has just gone for his first boundary of the innings.
30th over: Australia 70-2 (Labuschagne 30, Smith 8) An awkward pull from Smith misses, a cover drive connects for three. Akash Deep goes past Labuschagne’s edge for the umpteenth time. How have they not got more edges here?
29th over: Australia 64-2 (Labuschagne 28, Smith 5) A few run-out jitters, as Labuschagne sends back Smith. But Smith goes back, and plays out the rest of the Bumrah over, wandering across towards the off side to block, taking a single last ball.
28th over: Australia 63-2 (Labuschagne 28, Smith 4) Snorter from Akash Deep. That ball goes up the trellis, past the glovery of Labuschagne and smacks the palms of Pant standing back, taken up around his shoulders. Then another, two balls later, and this one does crush his gloves. Hand off the bat, and he’s got the physio out there. If the bounce is doing this already, no way India are chasing a big score. Labuschagne gets some strapping on his forearm, like Konstas. It’s a big day for forearm injuries.
Jeremy Stokes on the email: “Interesting re. Icelandic cricket term ‘the cat is back in the sack’. The Russian phrase ‘a cat in a sack’ loosely means not knowing whether what you’re going to get is going to be good or bad. Eg. ‘Sam Konstas is coming out to bat – this is a cat in a sack’.”
Huh. Schrodinger’s cat in a sack? Where the unknown is less the aliveness and more the quality? Personally I would go for ‘Rasputin in a rug.’ Again, no idea whether he’s dead or alive in there.
27th over: Australia 63-2 (Labuschagne 28, Smith 4) What is Rohit Sharma’s favourite thing about lunch? He can ask Bumrah to bowl again afterwards. Begging for more magic. Bumrah must be tired, not so much physically but from the demand of needing to be the main player time and again. He bowls a few decent balls without the earlier menace, then overpitches and meets a lovely straight drive from Labuschagne. Top class, back past the bowler for four.
26th over: Australia 58-2 (Labuschagne 23, Smith 4) Lunch done, Akash Deep to start us off, but he gets too straight and he’s bowling to the Flick Brothers. Thee for Labushagne, two for Smith, all off the pads.
Peter Leybourne, who is reading the OBO in bed in Bangkok and using the lunch break to make his breakfast, has sent me a glossary of Icelandic cricket terms.
Personal faves, the wicketkeeper translates to ‘the keeper of the gate’, via the word vikketwörður. A duck is a duck but a golden duck is a falcon. Or if you say that someone is back in the hutch, you say “the cat is back in the sack”.
I’m very interested in late-game-Smith, any time Steve Smith bats on day four or five. Because he’s rarely been effective late in games. You heard about his 34th Test hundred in this match – 30 of those have come in his team’s first innings. Only four batting second.
Of those, all four were in the third match innings. Never made a ton in the fourth.
Those third-innings hundreds, by the way: Edgbaston, his only twin tons, on his astonishing return in 2019. New Zealand at the WACA, on a pitch so flat that Mitchell Johnson spontaneously retired halfway through the Test. Melbourne 2017, when the surface was so turgid that they dug up and replaced the entire square. And Pune in 2017, when the game moved so quickly that he was batting a second time by day two.
This isn’t a criticism per se, it’s just intriguing that a player can be such a dominant force in some ways and not a factor in others.
Lunch – Australia 53 for 2 in the third innings, leading by 158
Fun session. Some fine fast bowling, it was exciting moment by moment for a good while there. A few good shots, a couple of memorable deliveries, Jasprit Bumrah getting fired up on dismissing Sam Konstas and copying the young player’s move of waving to the crowd to get up adn about. Pretty good attendance by the looks, bottoms bays of the Olympic and Southern Stands filled out through the session. Nice sunshine out there and moderate temperatures. Australia in much the stronger position, there’s a big modern trend of overestimating how many runs one needs to defend in a fourth innings, but India remain in the game if they can get a rush of wickets happening.
25th over: Australia 53-2 (Labuschagne 20, Smith 2) Who said that Rohit Sharma is out of captaincy ideas? An over of spin before lunch! It’s bold, it’s daring, it’s a revelation. This is the incisive thinking we’ve been waiting for. Jadeja is the dart artist of choice, left arm straight, and he’s immediately clipped for three by Labuschagne. Smith tries a back-foot punch through cover but finds the fielder. And that’s it. It. Is. Sandwich. Time.
24th over: Australia 50-2 (Labuschagne 17, Smith 2) Labuschagne squeezes a single down to fine leg from Deep, second last over before the interval. Gets Smith onto strike, and gets Smith off the mark, a bottom handed wipe of a shot through midwicket. Like a mafia henchman, ugly but effective.
23rd over: Australia 47-2 (Labuschagne 16, Smith 0) Another scoreless over blocked out by Smith from Siraj, very happy to play for lunch at this stage.
22nd over: Australia 47-2 (Labuschagne 16, Smith 0) Akash Deep back for Bumrah, who did look like he was flagging in that previous over. And dishes out a working over! Smashes Labuschagne in the box, which is the trend of the moment, the mode du jour. Beats the inside half of the bat a couple more times, hitting pads, appealing. Loves an appeal for a very not out lbw, does our guy. No run.
21st over: Australia 47-2 (Labuschagne 16, Smith 0) Siraj to Smith, playing at almost everything, but taking his time to get a read of the pitch.
20th over: Australia 47-2 (Labuschagne 16, Smith 0) Bumrah with a normal human over, one that Labuschagne is able to defend without any personal injury or bowel-outraging alarms, before driving four through cover.
19th over: Australia 43-2 (Labuschagne 12, Smith 0) It was a great setup, if it was one. Four balls all going across, but pitching in line with the stumps first. The wicket ball also pitches in line, but just in line with leg stump, a touch straighter. And a couple of feet fuller, making sure the length is right. India need Siraj, who was so good on their last tour. He’s contributed today. Smith blocks his first ball.