India v Australia, Third Test, Chandigarh

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1st Test
Fri Feb 22 - Tue Feb 26
04:00 GMT | 09:30 local
12:00 WST | 14:30 CST | 15:00 EST
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai

2nd Test
Sat Mar 2 - Wed Mar 6
04:00 GMT | 09:30 local
12:00 WST | 14:30 CST | 15:00 EST
Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad

3rd Test
Thu Mar 14 - Mon Mar 18
04:00 GMT | 09:30 local
12:00 WST | 14:30 CST | 15:00 EST
Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh

4th Test
Fri Mar 22 - Tue Mar 26
04:00 GMT | 09:30 local
12:00 WST | 14:30 CST | 15:00 EST
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi


India:
Shikhar Dhawan, Murli Vijay, Virender Sehwag, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, M S Dhoni (c),
Rabindra Jadeja, Bhubhneshwar Kumar, Ravi Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Ashoke Dinda

Australia:
Michael Clarke (c), Ed Cowan, David Warner, Phillip Hughes, Shane Watson, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Matthew Wade, Glenn Maxwell,
Moises Henriques, Nathan Lyon, Xavier Doherty, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Jackson Bird

Its going to be Pattinson and not Siddle who will be sharing the new ball.

Pattinson too is generating seriously good pace, almost touching the 148 KPH mark. serious Pace, on any pitch, could trouble the best of them if the direction too stays good.

That might just be the first wicket, Pattinson has smashed Vijay's stumps here with a 150 KPH ball, the umpire is checking for the no-ball. Yeah, Pattinson's fine, and that is the first wicket down for India, Vijay gone for 10, India 11-1.

Sehwag goes, played on to Pattinson, India 12-2, in deep deep trouble. Pace again, is the undoing of the Indian batsmen.

India go to tea at 84-2. Tendulkar on 38, Pujara on 33.
Strangely, James Pattinson, who picked up both the wickets, just bowled 3 overs in the innings so far.

Strange.
OK, he was taken for 3 fours by Sachin but looked in fine form picking up those 2 early wickets.

a wicket from nowhere for Pattinson! Pujara seems to misjudge the length getting completely stuck on the crease and is clean bowled!

Pattinson was kept away for long, but he has got Pujara in his 2nd over of a new spell. The third batsman bowled. Virat Kohli joins Tendulkar. His ODI form has been a bit patchy off late, but he scored a ton in his last test.

bit of a different delivery from Pattinson, delivered cross seam and it nipped back and kept a little low, but it was a very ordinary shot from Pujara.

He's bowling beautifully.
India 105/3

A 93 run partnership broken, and pressure is right back on India.

It was a different delivery from Pattinson, but it seemed Pujara didn't really pick it, was stuck at the crease where as he should have moved forward.

Low bounce helped and at a decent pace caught him a little by surprise.

So Pattinson's off again, so that seems to be the plan, short, but sharp spells, and it has been effective so far. Might just be too much to ask for 5 or 6 overs of 145 KPH average speed overs. Its speed that helped him get the wickets, so fair enough Michael Clarke.

Michael Clarke, bad back and all, is going to have a bowl.

Clarke's first ball hits Tendulkar's stumps! but he wasn't ready and dead ball called. A good little moment of funn.

Game right in the balance, some quick wickets will turn it Australia's way, a mammoth partnership will turn it India's way.

That is stumps on day 2, India 182-3. Sachin Tendulkar on 71, Virat Kohli on 50. Partnership on at 77.

Tendulkar close to a hundred and his ticket to another 2 years in the team!

I see Harbhajan took a wicket as well so he can expect to play the rest of the series.

I feel for India supporters with such idiotic selectors in place.

Australia probably need a couple tomorrow morning or it might be a long day.

to be fair to Tendulkar he's played really well here, certainly looked a lot more comfortable than in the England series where he was incredibly scratchy even when scoring runs. The Harbajan selection was idiotic in the extreme, and completely groundless. IMHO purely a political call to give him his 100th Test cap. Unfortunately India does have a tradition of valuing the individuals over the team, and this is part of their culture which really needs to change IMO...

As for the game itself, it's intriguingly poised: if Australia can nip out a couple of quick wickets they get the upper hand again, but if these two keep their partnership going India could set up a big push. Lyon was rather ineffective, showing that India still play spin very well, but I thought he bowled a bit flat. It does show Australia probably got it right in only picking one spinner though...

This was Sachin's best innings in well over a year and he did play really well today.
I know he hasn't been on very good form of late and he did really struggle in the NZ series as well as the England one, other than one 50 where also he didn't look asured. But today was different, he looked determined and on top of his game from ball one.
Harbhajan has lost, and Sehwag continues to disappoint. Sehwag hasn't been doing all that well while taking the slip catches, and time's certainly running out for him.
The test is shaping up well, if Kohli and Tendulkar able to build on this platform, India could move into a very strong position. If Australia can take a couple of early wickets, then pressure will be back on India.
Pattinson made it clear at the end of the day that he was bowling short spells so that he can bowl as fast as possible and pick up wickets.

Sachin Tendulkar didn't last too long today morning, he was out bowled by Nathan Lyon for 81. Virat Kohli and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni have held them up since, and they have so far added 56 for the 5th wicket. India are 252-4 at the moment. Kohli on 82, Dhoni on 27. The 2nd new ball is just 4 overs away.

India 263-4, Dhoni on 37, Kohli on 83, and its lunch. Australia can straight away take the new ball at the start of the new session.

Second new ball taken after 82 overs, and its James Pattinson starting things off with it. India 270-4.

The more I see Pattinson's speeds, the more I miss Umesh Yadav!. Pattinson's bowling at a combined speed of Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar!!.

50 for the Indian skipper.

That's the hundred for Virat Kohli!.

Some pretty loose stuff from Starc with the new ball. India rattling along here...

Hundred for Kohli

...and Dhoni greets Henriques with a terrific blow for six ! Danger signs for Australia. 313/4

Kohli has had a tendency to get out after getting to his hundred, he did it on the previous 3 occasions, and he does it again, hold out to mid-on for 107. India 324-5.

So Lyon gets the breakthrough...Australia badly needed that ! A good innings from Kohli has set things up for India though , if Jadeja and/or Ashwin can get set.

Wonder if Dhoni will continue his assault on the pace bowlers ?

Hughes has missed out on a run-out chance, and some madcap running from MSD and Jadeja!.

Pattinson doing a lot more work today...more or less has to , with the way some of the others have been plundered. But you wonder why he didn't bowl a little more on a day when he took three wickets...

360/5 and Australia really need to get a couple more wickets tonight or things could get away quickly tomorrow morning. Lyon has managed two breakthrough wickets today , but he is serving up too many four balls. Starc has been disappointing , and it seems Clarke isn't keen to reintroduce Henriques after the way Dhoni attacked him when he came on with a rather new ball.

Pattinson another pleading appeal for lbw ...he still looks the most likely to get a wicket , but if he gets bowled into the ground things could get very ugly...

Pattinson gets his 4th, Ravindra Jadeja gone for 16, India 364-6. Ravichandran Ashwin to join his captain who is batting on 94.

And now Pattinson does get the break ! Change of angle brings a misjudgment from Jadeja and it is six down still not quite up with the Australian score.

Session coming up after tea may go a long way to deciding this match...

And Ashwin gone straight after tea...bit unlucky , bat to boot to stumps but Lyon will happily take it

Game even now at 372/7 ...will Harbajhan make a contribution with the bat ?

Hundred for Dhoni

Well done MS.

What was the discussion with Bhaji about I wonder? Such a character.
You've gotta love him! (I hope our blokes weren't rude!)

Take that Cowan! Ouch!

Perhaps they were talking about the LBW shout that wasn't given of Lyon's bowling, Harbhajan wasn't playing a shot.

Kumar Dharmasena seems to have forgotten that he used to be a test BOWLER ones upon a time!.

Here we go, Harbhajan's bowling certainly has declined, but with the bat, he's all charged up as ever!.

msp83 wrote:Perhaps they were talking about the LBW shout that wasn't given of Lyon's bowling, Harbhajan wasn't playing a shot.

Of course msp. Another incorrect decision... looked out.

With these two in it seems likely things will happen one way or the other , quite quickly...either India are going to get a decent lead or Australia will be batting again well before the close...wonder if Clarke - and Lyon - will be prepared to risk a few boundaries here in the wicket hunt ? Or are we going to see a resort to defensive measures...

Harbhajan hasn't done anything to please the skipper there with that ugly crossbatted slog that resulted in him getting bowled for 11 just when MS would have wanted him to stay in there and help stretch the lead. Harbhajan's poor test continues.

Moises Henriques won't mind that at all, his first test wicket.

Wonder what the likes of VVS Laxman say about that rubbish cricket from Harbhajan? Will he blame the captain? Something on the lines of perhaps Dhoni should have batted Harbhajan at 5 so that he would have gained a great deal of confidence seeing that the captain trusts him?

Skipper not pleased , eh ? Though I don't think Harbajhan's game revolves around defence That was a rather careless shot by any standards.

Henriques will be pleased.

This partnership is just what Australia didn't need...lead up to 58 now and apart from Pattinson there is a rather toothless look about the Aussie attack.

Some innings from Dhoni

Clarke scratching his head ...game disappearing as fast as the ball is flying into the stands...

Lead nearly a hundred and Dhoni shows no sign of stopping...going to need some serious batting from Australia to save this one now.

Had wondered why Warner didn't have a go earlier...not that he looks particularly threatening ...

The lead gets pass hundred.