MGN-AFRICA»» pin:2A123D88 Australia v India: third Test, day four - live!: Australia’s second innings is under way after India were dismissed for 465 early on day four at the MCG. Join Scott Heinrich for our over-by-over coverage of the Boxing Day Test. Email him: scott.heinrich.casual@theguardian Australia v India: third Test, day three - as it happened Mitchell Johnson comes off second best in Boxing Day bout 11.39am AEST 10th over: Australia 47-0 (Warner 38, Rogers 9) Whaddya know, Sharma returns to the attack at the Members’ End. Hope he enjoyed his one-over spell. It’s a good offering from the seamer, who keeps Warner unusually calm with a consistent line and length. Good stuff from Sharma. That’s two maidens in two overs this morning from him. 11.34am AEST 9th over: Australia 47-0 (Warner 38, Rogers 9) Dhoni feels it’s time to take the pace off the ball, and why not? Warner’s taken the quicks to the cleaners. So Ashwin comes on for Sharma, who may well reappear at the other end next over. It’s a watchful start with the turning ball from all concerned; two singles is the net result. 11.31am AEST 8th over: Australia 45-0 (Warner 37, Rogers 8) Shami’s discipline deserts him and he pays the price as Warner latches onto a full one outside off-stump, clubbing it through extra cover for another four. He has just two gears, this guy: full and off. A precious and precocious talent, indeed. 11.25am AEST 7th over: Australia 39-0 (Warner 32, Rogers 7) Dhoni’s seen enough and replaces Yadav with Sharma. Well, 32 runs from three overs is punishment enough without having to continue, don’t you think? Rogers takes a good, hard look at the new bowler and a maiden over is the result. 11.21am AEST 6th over: Australia 39-0 (Warner 32, Rogers 7) Rogers on strike to Shami and it’s a more sedate over until the veteran ‘does a Warner’ and pulls through midwicket, though he doesn’t get all of it and picks up three runs. Australia’s lead passes 100. 11.17am AEST 5th over: Australia 34-0 (Warner 31, Rogers 3) More runs for Warner, who punches a straight one from Yadav through midwicket and urges Rogers along for an all-run four. A big chase for Sharma and everyone’s knackered after that. 11.11am AEST 4th over: Australia 20-0 (Warner 18, Rogers 2) Shami finds Rogers’s edge, but the ball lands just in front of second slip. That’s better from Shami, a maiden, but Australia are still motoring along at over five runs an over. 11.08am AEST 3rd over: Australia 20-0 (Warner 18, Rogers 2) Wowee! Way to hit back! Yadav catches Warner in two minds with a straight one off a good length, finding an inside edge which flies over the top of the stumps and beats the keeper en route to the fence. On another day that’s out. 11.03am AEST 2nd over: Australia 12-0 (Warner 10, Rogers 2) Not a particularly good over from Shami, either. S’pose everyone is allowed a loosener, but both batsmen have been given plenty of sighters with balls generally short of a lenghth. When they have been full, they’ve also been wide. Two singles come from a trouble-free over. 10.59am AEST 1st over: Australia 10-0 (Warner 9, Rogers 1) So Warner shrugs off injury concerns and joins Rogers to open the batting. I remember when Gordon Greenidge used to bat ‘injured’ ... he’d limp to the middle, stay rooted to the crease and flog everything that came his way. Could that be in store from Warner? Oh, hang on, that’s how he bats anyway. 10.46am AEST WICKET! Shami c Smith b Johnson 12 (India 465 all out) Nice, if a little tentative and lofted, cover drive from Shami earns two more off Johnson. But that’s the end of the penny section, with a flat-footed swipe bringing an edge which Smith snaffles at second slip. That’s three for Johnson and a good effort from Australia to a) Wrap it up early this morning and b) Clean up India with a 65-run lead when, at one stage yesterday, the tourists were 3-409. 10.40am AEST 128th over: India 463-9 (Shami 10, Sharma 0) Harris from the other end for Australia. Shami goes the tonk but only gets a single, which worryingly (for India) brings Sharma on strike. Sharma makes Glenn McGrath look like Brian Lara. Surprise of surprises, though, Ishant sees off the rest of the over unscathed. Well, I never. 10.35am AEST 127th over: India 462-9 (Shami 9, Sharma 0) Two wickets in a maiden over across two days from Johnson. That’s a fair effort. The end is night for India. 10.34am AEST WICKET! Yadav c Haddin b Johnson 0 (India 462-9) Johnson resumes his over, with new batsman Yadav lasting precisely two deliveries. The one that gets him is a beauty of a short ball which cramps the batsman and finds the edge near the shoulder of the bat. Would’ve removed better batsmen than this number 10. 10.28am AEST 10.08am AEST Welcome to our live blog of day four of a Test which hitherto has been pulsating and absorbing in equal measures. Really, despite the multitudes who (outside Australia and England) no longer attend the matches, who says Test cricket is dead? You’ll have to traipse far and wide to witness better batting than what we saw from Kohli and Rahane yesterday. It was compelling, entertaining - and refreshing, considering India’s position in the match and series. Continue reading... bit.ly/1kcSHfb pin:2A123D88
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 00:45:48 +0000