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“We have already got a lot of answers in the last eight to ten months, and this [experimentation] will continue,” says the captain

Shashank Kishore27-Aug-202222:42

Virat Kohli on Ind vs Pak: ‘Atmosphere on the outside very different to any other game’

India will look to experiment, mix and match combinations, and continue to push boundaries in their build-up to the T20 World Cup later this year. They will also look to give players a fair run of games, even if they are not a certainty in the first XI. This was among the biggest takeaways from Rohit Sharma’s pre-match press conference ahead of the team’s Asia Cup opener against Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday.”Look, we’ve decided we will try things,” Rohit said. “Some things may work, some things may not work, but there is no harm in trying. Only if you try things, will you get answers.”When there is an opportunity to try different combinations, we will try. Along the way, if we make mistakes or face difficulties, we’re okay with that. We have spoken about it as a group, and there is nothing to fear.Related

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“We will keep trying to seek new answers. It can be anywhere, be it batting or bowling. We have already got a lot of answers in the last eight to ten months, and this [experimentation] will continue. When the World Cup comes around, we will see what to do and what not to do.”As soon as he finished training on Friday, Rohit made a quick dash to the Dubai International Cricket Stadium to take a look at the surface and check if there was dew. This provided a peek into the level of detailing India are going into, because they are seemingly mindful of what happened at the last year’s T20 World Cup, where the toss had a massive impact on the result. Of the last ten T20I in Dubai, nine have been won by the chasing team.”Yesterday [Friday], we spoke to the curator and told him that the toss should not be a factor, we want to see quality cricket in both innings,” Rohit said. “He [said] he will do everything he can to make sure the best cricket is displayed for all of us. We’ve heard there wasn’t any dew yesterday. Luckily, we’re playing tomorrow [Sunday] and have a chance to see the game today and see what the conditions will be like.”To assess conditions, we will be in constant touch with the groundsmen to see if there will be dew. Even if there is, we have played enough here to understand what we need to do as a team or as individuals. We should be prepared to counter what is in front of us.”5:06

Rohit ‘can see the freshness in Virat after his break’

Rohit was asked about the rivalry between India and Pakistan, and the social media chatter around it. He was also repeatedly asked about last year’s World Cup game against Pakistan; India’s ten-wicket loss was their first to Pakistan in all World Cups. Rohit said while there were discussions on learning from that defeat, it would have no bearing on Sunday’s game.”The mood is buzzing,” he said. “This is a fresh tournament, a new start. We talk about starting fresh and not thinking of what happened in the past. That’s how teams move forward. It will be challenging to play Pakistan, without a doubt. What is important is what we are thinking and what we want to achieve. We will focus on that rather than thinking about the opposition. We are here with a purpose, and we want to achieve something from this tournament. Everyone is excited to be here, they want to start the tournament on a high.”One of the key conversations in the India camp in recent times has been around mental health, especially in the wake of Virat Kohli’s revelation about how he felt “mentally weak” recently. Kohli has featured in just four T20Is for India this year, having taken breaks at different times. He told that he didn’t touch the bat for a month before coming to Dubai. Rohit, too, talked about the need to normalise the talk around mental health.”We do talk about these kinds of things a lot of late,” Rohit said. “Since Covid-19 struck, it has been difficult for a lot of players, not just Virat. A lot of players have had hard times mentally. Staying in bubbles and not being able to go outside hotels, some of those guys find it difficult, and there’s nothing wrong with it. How you led your life until then was completely different on long tours. With quarantines and all of that, it wasn’t easy.”Every player has a way to respond to it, there isn’t anything wrong if a player has his views on that. There is constant talk in our group about how the players are mentally, what they think of the game, and how we can keep them fresh. That freshness is important, especially when you are playing high-profile games. Mentally you should be fresh, otherwise you won’t be able to compete, so mental health is very important.”Rohit then proceeded to share his observations of Kohli at training and how he seems “fresher than before”. Sunday will be Kohli’s 100th T20I. He will be only the second player after Ross Taylor to play that many matches in each format.”From what I saw, I felt [he is] very good, he is looking in good touch and working hard on his batting,” Rohit said. “I didn’t feel he is thinking of too many things. He is just like how we saw him earlier. He hasn’t made extraordinary changes, but the freshness is there to be seen, given he is coming back after a month. He is in good touch. We focus as a team to give the boys chances to prepare, because preparation is key. We play the way we prepare. The way we have prepared, we have covered all bases.”

They will be tested regularly before departing for Colombo on June 28

Nagraj Gollapudi11-Jun-20218:17

Sanjay Manjrekar: Shikhar Dhawan rewarded with captaincy after longevity in white-ball cricket

The second-string India squad for the Sri Lanka tour will assemble in Mumbai from June 14 to undergo a two-week quarantine. ESPNcricinfo has learnt that the members of the Indian contingent have been asked to take a Covid-19 test before they reach the team hotel in Mumbai, where they will undergo regular testing during the two-week period.Rahul Dravid, who will be the head coach for the tour, will also travel to Mumbai to be part of the quarantine.The Indian squad, which will be led by senior batter Shikhar Dhawan, will land in Colombo on June 28. The visitors will then undergo another three-day quarantine in their hotel rooms before starting training in a controlled fashion as per the guidelines laid out by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).On Friday, SLC issued a media release stating the Indian squad would train in smaller groups between July 2 and 4. Between July 6 and 12, the entire squad will be free to train before the ODI series, which begins from July 13. All six matches of the tour, comprising three ODIs followed by equal number of T20Is, will be played under lights at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.The last two ODIs will be on July 16 and 18 with the T20Is on July 21, 23, 25. The India squad will return home on July 26. This is India’s first tour in Sri Lanka since Rohit Sharma led them to the Nidahas Trophy title in 2018.

He was hit on the gloves by Mitchell Starc during New Zealand’s first innings at MCG

Daniel Brettig28-Dec-2019New Zealand’s sorry Australian tour took another turn for the worse as Trent Boult was ruled out of the third and final Test in Sydney with a fracture on his right hand, sustained while batting.Boult had been struck on the gloves by Mitchell Starc at the back-end of New Zealand’s first innings at the MCG, and went to hospital for x-rays during the tea break. The results confirmed a fracture, meaning Boult will fly home after the Melbourne Test and be out for at least four weeks, although he did return to bowl towards the end of the day.”Trent Boult suffered a fracture to the second-metacarpal of his right hand after being struck while batting on day three of the second Test against Australia in Melbourne,” a New Zealand Cricket spokesperson said. “An X-ray during the tea break confirmed the undisplaced fracture which will require around four weeks of rehabilitation, meaning Boult will return home to New Zealand at the end of the Test. A replacement player will be confirmed in due course.”Boult had missed the first Test of the series, in Perth, because of a side injury, but recovered in time to play the Boxing Day Test.Opening batsman Tom Latham said that Boult’s recent run had been “gutting” for the left-armer and the team as a whole.”It’s obviously gutting news for Trent and also for our group to have someone like that ruled out with his injuries,” Latham said. “We’ll have to wait and see who the replacement is over the next few days, but I’m sure whoever will come in will be up for the task.”Boult is the second New Zealand bowler to fly home from the tour following the injury sustained by Lockie Ferguson in Perth. Their next cricket after the Sydney Test is the T20I series against India which begins in late January and is followed by ODIs and two Tests in February.

Whatever you think of the England method – whether it’s wise, whether it’s practical, whether it’s based on an innate distrust of their own defence – it is wonderfully entertaining

The Report by George Dobell in Pallekele16-Nov-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsThe leap into the air and punch of the fist upon reaching his century told its own story: Joe Root knew how important this innings was.It was not so much that Root had, in scoring his second century in three Tests, moved to silence the talk about his modest conversion rate. And it wasn’t so much that, for a man of his ability, he had a relatively modest record away from home: this was his 15th Test century, after all, but only his fourth away.No, it was more about the fact that Root knew that, when he began this innings, the match – and as a consequence, the series – was in the balance. And he knew that, having talked a good game about responding to adversity with positivity and aggression, he had put his actions into words.Not long after Root arrived at the crease, England slipped to 109 for 4, meaning they led by a fragile-looking 63. But so well did Root play, so masterfully did he combat the turn, that the lead was stretched beyond to 250 by the time he fell.And, in scoring at a strike rate of 84.93, Root had been true to his words. He had refused to allow the spinners to settle, hitting them off their lengths, forcing changes in the field and finding the gaps with those deft strokes which are his hallmark.So if the highlights were the sixes, heaved over midwicket off Dilruwan Perera and drilled back over the head of Akila Dananjaya, or the sweeps – there were three powerfully hit conventional ones and one violently struck reverse – just as important were the deflections and nudges into the gaps and the merciless running between the wickets.Whatever you think of the England method – whether it’s wise, whether it’s practical, whether it’s based on an innate distrust of their own defence – it is wonderfully entertaining. Here they scored at something around four-and-a-half an over for most of the day, reacting to adversity by attempting to put pressure back on the bowlers.It worked, too. While Dananjaya survived a difficult spell midway through the day to claim a career-best six-for, he and his colleagues appeared wrong-footed by England’s aggression. In an attempt to defend the boundaries, gaps appeared in the infield that allowed singles to be picked off with infuriating ease from a Sri Lankan perspective. And with sweeps interspersed with clips and drives, some of the Sri Lanka bowling became just a little ragged. For the first time, but surely not the last, the absence of Rangana Herath stung.The flip-side of such positivity is that it tends to involve risk. So the first seven wickets, including Root, fell to the sweep of various descriptions, which could, if viewed on a highlights package, look ugly. But already England have set the record for the most reverse-sweeps played in a series and, in both scoring heavily and disrupting Sri Lanka’s plans, they will feel they had the best of the risk-reward ratio. If you live by the sweep, you probably have to accept dying by the sweep.Root’s efforts were put in perspective by the struggles of his colleagues. Ben Stokes and Sam Curran both made ducks and Root’s exit precipitated a collapse that saw England lose three wickets for four runs. While Keaton Jennings and Jos Buttler both flourished briefly, both fell to the reverse-sweep before they could make a definitive contribution. Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid could count themselves unfortunate to be the victims of umpiring errors without the recourse of reviews: Stokes and Burns had already used them.So England were grateful for half-centuries at either end of their innings from Surrey duo Rory Burns and Ben Foakes.So assured, so intelligent, so good was Burns’ maiden Test half-century on the third morning that it not only made light of the first-innings deficit of 46, but suggested that the side had found the opening batsman for which they have searched for so long.A premature conclusion? Maybe. Various other contenders have shone briefly – not least Sam Robson and Adam Lyth, who made centuries in their second Tests – only to fall away. But it is hard to recall many innings as impressive as this in demanding circumstances from a new England opener for a long time. Burns skipped down the pitch on occasions, used the crease intelligently, swept often and ran like a leopard between the wickets. The manner in which he dropped the ball at his feet and sprinted singles was infuriating for Sri Lanka.Foakes, meanwhile, appears to have taken to this level with ease. Having helped Root add 82 for the seventh-wicket, he accelerated when left with only James Anderson. By the time rain intervened, England had stretched their lead to 278.

Asanka Gurusinha hopes players with concerns will reconsider their stance given team is “flying in and flying out”

Madushka Balasuriya17-Oct-2017Sri Lanka Cricket is hopeful of naming a strong team for the third and final T20I against Pakistan in Lahore – the first fixture the team will play in Pakistan since 2009, when their team bus was attacked by armed gunman.Players had raised concerns about travelling to Pakistan, but the board on Monday confirmed that it will be sending a team across. There have been questions around whether SLC would be forced to name a weakened side if players pulled out of the game – limited-overs captain Upul Tharanga has already withdrawn from the squad – however team manager Asanka Gurusinha felt a competitive team could be named.”We have to wait and see who the players will be. SLC is expected to tell [chief of selectors] Graeme [Labrooy] what the next step forward is,” Gurusinha said. “There are lots of positives taking place. It is not nice to name them, but there has been positive feedback from most of the players.”On top of security assurances from Pakistan’s cricket board and government, SLC will be looking to further allay player fears by only staying in Pakistan for 24 hours. SLC has also said its president Thilanga Sumathipala will accompany the team to Lahore, while the board officials had stated earlier that Sri Lanka’s players had been promised the same level of security afforded to the World XI team in September, and that the ICC was also willing to send its match officials to Pakistan.Gurusinha, speaking ahead of Wednesday’s third ODI, said he was hopeful the players who had raised concerns would “seriously look at” the precautions being taken before coming to a final decision.”SLC will be speaking to the players to find the best way to handle it. Seems like we will be there in Lahore only for 24 hours. We are flying in and flying out. We are hoping that some of the players who had concerns will seriously take a look at it.”Gurusinha acknowledged that it was a tough decision to go through with the plan despite player concerns, but explained that Pakistan’s support for Sri Lanka during the 1996 World Cup coupled with the security assurances meant there was little chance of the venue being changed.”We have to look at both sides. SLC was concerned with security. I am yet to talk to the board, but once security was cleared the board had to send its players.”[Pakistan] came down to help us two weeks after the Central Bank bombing [in Colombo in 1996]. Had they not come down, I am not too sure whether Kenya and Zimbabwe would have honoured their World Cup fixtures.”The security [in Pakistan] has been cleared. The team will seriously look at it and I am hopeful players will be happy with the situation.”A preliminary 22-man squad is expected to be named on Wednesday, which will be cut down to 15 by October 20.

Nick Compton is back with a bang and that has to be good news for Middlesex’s title challenge

Tim Wigmore at Lord's14-Aug-2016
ScorecardNick Compton put this sort of England agony behind him•Getty Images

The hearty cheers that reverberated around Lord’s told their own tale. Nick Compton had not merely reached a century at HQ, but had helped Middlesex into a position of dominance and, in the process, strengthened his team’s hold on the summit of Division One. So as he punched the air in delight at his century, removing his helmet to acknowledge the crowd’s applause, Compton had much reason to be proud.That recent months have been among the most trying of Compton’s professional life hardly needs restating. Indeed, when he brought up his 50, it was his first half-century of the year, and first since his crucial 85 underpinned England’s victory in the Durban Test at the end of 2015.Given these circumstances, and the huge importance of this match to his team, few of Compton’s 25 first-class centuries can have been the cause of so much satisfaction. On this evidence, plenty more will be forthcoming in the County Championship. Compton has only just turned 33, retains one of the most resolute defensive techniques in the land and has a ravenous appetite for runs that few can rival in the county game.There seems no reason why, if he has the inclination, he cannot continue to feast in the shires for many years, a little like Marcus Trescothick and Mark Ramprakash, two other players who, for contrasting reasons, enjoyed international careers shorter than they had envisaged.Adhesive defence has been Compton’s hallmark, and this innings was no different: he had to summon all of his fortitude to resist Rushwoth’s swing and the bounce of Mark Wood. And yet Compton revealed plenty more of his game: relentlessly efficient clips through the legside, some imperious hooks, and a succession of meticulously-placed late cuts, including the steer off Scott Borthwick that brought up his century a little before three o’clock. While the early stages of his innings had been a little jittery, Compton unobtrusively gained in fluency, using his feet nimbly to spin and outpacing Nick Gubbins during their fertile alliance.Together with Gubbins, Compton added 247 runs in 79.1 overs, and how they fed of each other was highlighted not just by their harrying between the wickets but how Gubbins left his crease so early to laud Compton for his century that Durham might have run him out.This was a match-defining partnership, and a record-breaking one: Middlesex’s highest stand for the second wicket against Durham and only one shy of equalling the record for any wicket. Gubbins’ dismissal also left him one short of being the first batsman to reach 1,000 runs in the County Championship in 2016. Still, he might reflect that 999 runs at 66.60 apiece is not too shabby.Although this was only his third first-class century – Gubbins fell three times in the 90s before reaching his first – it brimmed with not merely assurance and class, but, for those who have witnessed him this season, a certain feeling of inevitability. Given that England are hardly overburdened with proven opening partners for Alastair Cook, it would be a surprise if Gubbins was not rewarded by a England Lions berth.Cricket has always fetishised the grace of the left-hander, and, in his clips through the legside, driving through point and dexterous use of his feet against spin, Gubbins has an elegance in keeping with this tradition. All these shots were in evidence against Durham; more importantly, so was Gubbins’ grit.How he needed it to withstand Wood. Wood’s frustration has been palpable all day, and, with Gubbins on 99, he expressed it in an over of short bowling, harassing Gubbins with a short leg and fly slip. Gubbins withstood, and reached his century against Borthwick in the next over, but still Wood returned, a brutal rising delivery from him smashing into Gubbins’ grill. When Wood eventually found late movement to induce Gubbins to edge to slip and end the second wicket stand, he looked to the sky – less in relief at the wicket, but in exasperation at waiting so long for it.When the second wicket stand was nascent, the previous evening, Gubbins had been spilled behind, off Onions; Compton had also survived two chances to the slips off Chris Rushworth before he has reached 20, one on the first evening and one on the second morning.By the time it finally ended, the alliance between Compton and Gubbins was worth more than the entirety of Durham’s first innings and, buttressed by a forceful cameo from Paul Stirling, had secured Middlesex a lead of over 200: a position from which they will expect to win convincingly, in the process extend their lead at the top of Division One.And, as loud as the cheers that greeted Compton’s century were, Middlesex can dream of even more boisterous acclaim should they clinch the Championship crown here against Yorkshire in the final game of the season.

Sam Hain and Tom Abell gave further evidence of their rich promise as Warwickshire built a winning position against Somerset

ECB/PA20-Jul-2015
ScorecardTom Abell gave a further illustration of his rich promise•Getty Images

Warwickshire are on the brink of LV=County Championship victory over Somerset after a third day on which young batsmen Sam Hain and Tom Abell showed their rich promise.Twenty-year-old Hain completed an unbeaten 103 (169 balls, 12 fours) – his sixth century in only his 18th first-class match – to lift Warwickshire to 365 all out and a first innings lead of 100 at Edgbaston.As Somerset then folded all out for 170 in their second innings, the exception to some tatty batting was 21-year-old Abell. The Taunton-born opener, in his 15th first-class match, batted through the innings for a skilful 88 (142 balls, 13 fours).It was the second time in five weeks that he had carried his bat, having achieved the feat against Nottinghamshire at Taunton in June, and he was only denied a deserved career-best (which remains 95) and maiden century by the ineptitude of his colleagues.While Abell resisted, the rest failed to deal with the aggressive seam-bowling of Rikki Clarke (four for 43) and the astute spin of Jeetan Patel (four for 47). Their supine efforts left Warwickshire a victory target of 70 and they reached six without loss before rain lopped of the last 15 overs.After Warwickshire resumed in the morning on 319 for eight, Hain and Patel took their partnership to 83 before Patel (41, 47 balls) was bowled by Overton who then removed Oliver Hannon-Dalby first ball to finish with a career-best six for 74.If a lead of 100 looked useful, it soon appeared mountainous after Somerset, having advanced with relative comfort to 32 without loss, lost three wickets in 14 balls without adding a run.Marcus Trescothick fell lbw, sweeping at Patel, and Clarke delivered fast, straight balls too good for Michael Bates, lbw, and James Hildreth, bowled.Abell dig in admirably but nobody else passed 21. Tom Cooper was trapped in front by Hannon-Dalby and Jim Allenby edged Chris Woakes to second slip before Clarke and Patel hoovered up the rest.Clarke ousted Peter Trego lbw and Overton who thumped two fours then sent up a skier in search of a third. Patel removed Abdur Rehman, who played an appalling shot, and had Alfonso Thomas and Tim Groenewald caught behind off successive balls to finish with match-figures of nine for 136.Twenty overs remained in the day when Warwickshire set off in pursuit of 70 but drizzle forced the players off after 26 balls.

A man has been fined after racially abusing three young spectators during the ODI between England and South Africa at West End in August

George Dobell14-Jan-2013A man has been fined after racially abusing three young spectators during the ODI between England and South Africa at West End on August 28.John Guinelly, a 44-year-old from Portsmouth, was ordered to pay each victim £500 by Southampton Magistrates’ Court, with his actions towards the children described by magistrates as “threatening and abusive”.Hampshire Police launched an investigation after the incident when the three children, aged 11, 13 and 14, returned to their seats having purchased food during the match only to find that Guinelly and two other men had taken their places.Guinelly first pretended he could not understand the children – the court heard he said “are they talking Dutch or something?” – and then used racist phrases when stewards asked him to move. Later, as Guinelly was being spoken to by stewards and police, he spotted one of the children and delivered another racist insult.While Guinelly did not attend court, he send a letter stating that he would plead guilty to racially or religiously aggravated harassment, alarm or distress. He claimed his comments were “friendly banter”. He was also ordered to pay £65 court costs.

Australia’s fast men obliterated India with bowling of sustained hostility and direction to deliver a handsome 122-run victory to the hosts, on day four of the first Test at the MCG

The Report by Daniel Brettig at the MCG29-Dec-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
James Pattinson and Peter Siddle took six wickets each in the Test•Getty Images

Australia’s fast men obliterated India with bowling of sustained hostility and direction to deliver a handsome 122-run victory to the hosts, on day four of the first Test at the MCG.James Pattinson, Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle made a fearful mess of India’s batting, sharing nine wickets between them to bring a swift conclusion to a match that had fluctuated often over the course of the previous three days. In doing so they finished with the ball what had started with the bat – Australia’s tail deflated India in the morning by stretching the target to 292.Pattinson’s contribution on his home ground was telling, first stroking an unbeaten 37 then firing out Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman while also softening up Sachin Tendulkar for Siddle, who claimed him with his first ball after relieving the younger Victorian. The end arrived 70 minutes after tea, Australia claiming a 1-0 series lead in their quest to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.The result was a vindication of Australia’s team selection and the full length pursued by the team’s pacemen under the guidance of the bowling coach Craig McDermott. The captain Michael Clarke and the coach Mickey Arthur will now focus their efforts on ensuring the heights reached on day four in Melbourne are not undone by a poor follow-up in Sydney, as has been the pattern in recent Tests.By contrast India’s surrender exhumed the batting shortcomings exposed by the unhappy tour of England earlier this year. The difference at the MCG was that Australia had to counter a far stronger visiting bowling attack, on a well-prepared pitch that remained lively throughout the Test. It was watched by a 189,347 spectators, the most for a Test between Australia and India in this country.In the morning, Michael Hussey had added only 10 to his overnight 79 before receiving a blistering delivery from Zaheer Khan, but Pattinson and Hilfenhaus frustrated India’s bowlers with a stand of 43 that took the total to 240. Pattinson’s unbeaten 37 was his highest first-class score, and there are sure to be better days with the bat if he retains the technique demonstrated here.Hilfenhaus proved a worthy ally, playing one or two sparkling strokes of his own. The visitors slipped all too easily into run-saving mode against the hosts’ last pair until Hilfenhaus edged Ishant Sharma into the slips. The last team to achieve a fourth-innings target of such dimensions was South Africa’s 4 for 297 to beat Australia in 1953.Resuming with a lead of 230, Hussey and Pattinson began soundly, finding gaps here and there, and occasionally stepping out to attack bowling of high calibre. Pattinson’s good-morning cover drive to Umesh Yadav was the equal of anything managed by a batsman in this match.Hussey was fortunate to go past 80, flicking at a Yadav delivery that swung down the legside and getting the merest of touches – as revealed by Hotspot. Zaheer persisted, however, and soon he found a dastardly delivery that pranced at Hussey and moved away, clipping the outside edge on the way to MS Dhoni. An outstanding ball to conclude an outstanding innings.Pattinson leant into another consummate cover drive from Yadav, but on 15 he did not control a hook and offered up a swirling chance. Running in from fine leg but never sure of himself, Zaheer dropped it. From there each run accrued was painful for the visitors, the partnership assuming unsavoury proportions for India and making it past the drinks break. R Ashwin was introduced as Dhoni searched for the wicket, but it was ultimately collected by Ishant.Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir began the chase carefully, Sehwag even offering a rare forward defensive blade to Hilfenhaus. But he could not contain himself totally, and Hussey was delighted to grasp a sharp chance from a sliced forcing stroke as the interval beckoned.Gambhir’s angled bat outside off stump remains a source of considerable encouragement for bowlers taking the ball across him, and Siddle completed an unhappy match for the opener soon after lunch when a snick was held neatly by Ricky Ponting.Dravid and Tendulkar had provided the greatest resistance in the first innings, and in the second wanted to assume similar roles as Dravid dug in while Tendulkar was busy, scoring with pleasing freedom. But their union was to be split by Pattinson, who found a ripping delivery to seam between Dravid’s bat and pad, and have middle stump leaning at a drunken angle. Victim of two princely deliveries, Dravid was bowled in each innings for only the fourth time in his long career.Laxman completed a Test that returned three runs in 36 balls when he flicked heedlessly at Pattinson and presented a catch forward of square leg, Ed Cowan’s first in Tests. Australians with long memories held their collective breath while the umpires checked for a possible no-ball, but Pattinson’s foot had seemingly landed millimetres within the legal zone. So rarely has Laxman been dismissed so softly against Australia.By now the Australians had inexorable momentum behind them, and Hilfenhaus pinned Virat Kohli lbw first ball. Bat, pad and ball were all in close proximity, and Kohli lingered at the wicket upon his dismissal. However replays offered precious little evidence of an edge, even if India deigned to employ the DRS that might have saved him.Aghast at the chaos all around him, Tendulkar had been stretched by Pattinson’s speed, hostility and movement. Siddle relieved his younger club and state team-mate, and first ball gained the wicket Pattinson had so strived for. As dictated by team planners, the ball was full and moving wider, Tendulkar’s square drive was airy, and Hussey’s hands safe. At 6 for 81, evening flights to Sydney were being booked en masse, but Dhoni and R Ashwin picked off a few runs before the interval.Ashwin’s 30 gave him a more respectable batting contribution for the match than many of the rest, but he failed to ride Siddle’s bouncer, which skimmed off the wicket to produce a skier and a simple catch for Cowan moving around from short leg. Pattinson returned to the attack and became embroiled in a brief sledging match with Zaheer, the bowler striking a boundary over point and a steepling six over long on before squeezing another catch to Cowan under the helmet.Dhoni’s will to frustrate Australia ebbed away, and an unbecoming heave at Pattinson resulted in a drag onto the stumps. Ishant and Umesh Yadav resisted briefly, but Clarke called Nathan Lyon into the attack and Yadav obliged by swinging into the deep. David Warner held a smart catch to begin rich and deserved celebrations.