I take it you all heard about Australia’s unexpected win against India last week? It wasn’t what we expected and certainly not what I’d personally hoped for. Although I’m tempted to call it a fluke – simply because it’s against my nature to offer our antipodean cousins any credit whatsoever – we should probably give this unexpected turn of events a more objective assessment. Here’s our man down under, Frazer Loveman, with his thoughts on the game. What did you make of the action?

Down is Up; left is Right; the Pope has popped down the local temple and started learning the Torah. At least, I can only presume these things are true given what took place in Pune in the first test match between Australia and India.

India, fresh of a systematic dismantling of what many thought was a decent English team, appeared to be untouchable on home soil and faced an Australia team that has been humiliated by a sub-par Sri Lanka the last time they visited Asia. One cannot help, especially as an Englishman in Australia, comparing the Miracle of Pune (as it shall now be known) to the toils of the English team on the subcontinent.

Australia’s first Innings followed a similar pattern to what would have been expected. Of all the specialist batsmen, Matt Renshaw (either side of an extended trip to the latrines) was the only one who made any substantive contribution with a stoic 68 off 156 balls. However, some late fireworks from Mitchell Starc added a handy 61 to drag the baggy greens to a respectable 260 all out. This achievement was all the more impressive for the fact the Indians had rolled out one of their special minefield wickets, with the balling turning square after 10 overs of play on day one.

Now the expectation, on my part at least, was that the Indian batsmen would make the seemingly decent Aussie total look thoroughly inadequate. The indomitable Cheteshwar Pujara and the swashbuckling Virat Kohli would feast on the fairly tepid Australian spin attack of Nathan Lyon and the oft-forgotten Steven O’Keefe, who was making just his fifth test appearance.

Australia at home can rely on the best combination of fast bowling in test cricket, but it was questionable how Josh Hazlewood and Starc would fare in Indian conditions. Unfortunately they both bowled well and laid the table for the most unlikely of demolitions. Starc bagged both Pujara and Kohli (who registered his first duck since being bowled first ball by Liam Plunkett at Manchester in 2014!) while Hazlewood added Murali Vijay for good measure. After slipping to 44/3 the Indians staged a recovery led by KJ Rahul who worked his way to 64 before inexplicably spooning an O’Keefe delivery to Dave Warner in the deep.

This acted as a catalyst for O’Keefe, who would have been man of the hour, if only the rest of the innings had lasted an hour. A torrid spell of spin bowling from the 32 year old journeyman (13.1 overs 6-35) and Lyon (11 overs 1-21) reduced the Indians from 94/3 to 105 all out. This total marked India’s lowest score at home since March 2006, when an England bowling attack led by four wickets from Shaun Udal took all ten Indian wickets for just 100.

Australia were understandably buoyant with a lead of 155 but they still had some work to do. After all, there was always the chance their batsmen would capitulate too and blow a winning position …. as England’s touring squad will duly attest.

But cometh the hour, cometh the man, and Steve Smith played a captain’s knock scoring 109 in tricky conditions. Although their were no massive partnerships, 30s from Mitch Marsh, Renshaw and Starc enabled the Aussies to haul themselves to 285 – an unassailable lead of 440 on Day 3 of the match. Suddenly the question was not would Australia win, but when?

India would have gone into their second innings expecting to put up more of a fight against O’Keefe and Lyon. Surely O’Keefe couldn’t keep bowling like a peak-career Harabhajan Singh? These expectations were both pie in the sky as Australia’s new national hero (for this week at least) took his second six-fer, conceding just 35 runs off his 15 overs. Lyon, whom many had considered unlucky in the first innings to only come away with a single scalp, made some more hay, taking 4 for 53 and marking a rare occasion of spinners taking all ten wickets in an innings for the baggy green.

For those keeping record India were bundled out for pathetic 107 in the second dig. O’Keefe’s 12 wickets in the match came at the cost of just 70 runs which constitute by far and away the best figures for a foreign slow bowler in India. The last Aussie spinner to take 12 wickets in India was Jason Krezjia (remember him?) who surrendering 358 runs across his two innings.

Australia will now head to Bengaluru hoping that O’Keefe’s rebirth can continue. After the disaster in Sri Lanka, where the Aussies were hapless against spin, they parted ways with Muttiah Muralitharan (who had been an advisor to the squad) and hired toward Monty Panesar – an unexpected return to the international stage for the ex-England tweaker. Perhaps Monty was a revelatory presence for the Australians?

It is unlikely that Australia will encounter a pitch similar to Pune for the rest of the series. The groundsman probably made the toss too important and India won’t make that mistake again. Indeed, I still expect India to win the series given their excellent recent home record. However, if Australia can somehow hang on for a famous series win it would provide the ultimate springboard for the Ashes later in the year.

Frazer Loveman

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