Ind vs Aus: Day 4

Ind vs Aus: Australia survive to reach 232/9 at stumps on Day 4, lead by 40 runs

 

NEW DELHI: Moises Henriques and Nathan Lyon added unbeaten 57-run stand for the last wicket to frustrate India and help Australia take valuable 40-run lead on the fourth day of the first Test at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Scorecard

Henriques batted brilliantly in the pressure to make India bat again as he helped Australia surpass 192-run trail.

Debutant Henriques shone again with the bat in the second innings, smashing a six over long on to complete his half century. He also scored a fifty in first innings and added century stand with skipper Michael Clarke to help Australia reach 380.

Ravichandran Ashwin continued his red hot form, clinching another five-wicket haul in the match to take India closer to victory on the penultimate day.

Australia lost their seventh wicket when Ravindra Jadeja clean bowled Peter Siddle, who looked to play a slog sweep but missed the straight delivery.

Ashwin registered a ten-wicket haul when he trapped captain Michael Clarke plumb in front of the wicket on the third ball after tea.

Ashwin bowled a loopy delivery outside off on a length area that hit the rough patch and spun in viciously. Clarke rocked back but didn't even get a second to bring his bat down in time as the ball struck the pad.

Harbhajan Singh took his second wicket when he clean bowled Matthew Wade as Australia lost half of their side.

Wade went for a slog sweep to a delivery from outside off-stump but didn't connect as the ball sneaked through and struck timber.

Harbhajan took his first wicket when he trapped David Warner plumb in front of the wicket.


Harbhajan bowled a full delivery on middle, Warner tried to defend it down off the front foot but he failed to connect and got struck on the pads.

Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Ed Cowan and Phillip Hughes respectively to leave Australia tottering at 65/3.

Ashwin struck again in the post lunch session as he broke the second wicket stand between Cowan and Warner by removing the former for patient 32 off 97 balls.

Australia suffered another blow in the next over when another southpaw Hughes was caught at slip by Virender Sehwag.

Trailing India by 158 runs, Ed Cowan and David Warner resumed Australia's second innings after lunch on the penultimate day.

R Ashwin dismissed Australian opener Shane Watson at the stroke of lunch to strengthen India's grip on the Test.

Ashwin bowled a flighted, slower delivery, wide outside off-stump and Watson first looked to play a defensive shot but was not close to the pitch of the ball that turned and bounced off the shoulder of the bat for an easy catch to Virender Sehwag at first slip.

Earlier, India gained a valuable 192-run lead as their first innings ended at 572 runs.

The Indian first innings ended when Peter Siddle had Bhuvneshwar Kumar (38) caught by captain Michael Clarke at mid-off off a slower delivery.

MS Dhoni registered the highest score by an Indian captain in Test cricket before falling to James Pattinson.

Pattinson had Dhoni caught behind by Matthew Wade off a bouncer which the Indian captain tried to hook but got only an edge.

Dhoni's 224-run knock was studded with 6 sixes and 24 fours.

The breakthrough came after Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar Kumar resumed the Indian first innings to start play on Day 4.

On Day 3, a maiden double hundred by Dhoni and Virat Kohli's fourth century flattened Australia as India finished at 515/8 with a lead of 135 runs.