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Jadeja, Akash Deep and Bumrah help India avoid follow-on successfully
Jadeja, Akash Deep and Bumrah help India avoid follow-on successfully
Ravindra Jadeja contributed 77 brilliantly controlled the follow-on.
Australia, with only two main fast bowlers left, had their chances of pushing for victory slowed down by rain. India fought back strongly with solid half-centuries from KL Rahul (85) and Ravindra Jadeja (77). A gritty, unbeaten 39-run stand for the last wicket between Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah helped India avoid the follow-on. By the end of the day, India was still 193 runs behind Australia's total of 445. With the weather playing a role, Australia now have a maximum of 98 overs to bowl India out, build a quick lead, and give their weakened attack, missing Josh Hazlewood, enough time to chase a win.
Without their key fast bowlers, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc worked hard on the fourth day, bowling 18.5 and 16 overs respectively. With nard luck, they might have helped Australia get closer to victory. Cummins almost got a breakthrough on the first ball of the day when Rahul, starting on 33, edged a length delivery. However, Steve Smith dropped a simple catch at second slip.
Looking back, that moment was crucial for India. After a tough third day with limited play, they faced the difficult task of reaching 246 – the target that would force Australia to bat again and buy India more time. India managed to recover from a shaky 51 for 5 and, despite a challenging start, were at 74 for 5 by the end of the first hour.
Captain Rohit Sharma, the other overnight batter, paid for his first mistake after being worked over by Cummins in a probing five-over spell. The Australian captain used Rohit's unsteady weight transfer to his advantage, bowling a sharp short ball followed by a fuller delivery. Rohit, sensing a rare chance to score, reached for the shot and edged the ball to the keeper, still only 23 overs old.
This brought Rahul and Jadeja together, forming India's best partnership of the innings. Both batted with control, with Rahul in particular making excellent decisions after getting into good positions. He played only the really full deliveries, favouring the square drive and waiting for the bowlers to bowl straighter, which he then flicked or drove.
As usual, batting became easier once the ball was older than 30 overs. Rahul and Jadeja added runs without risk until the 67-run stand was broken against the run of play by Steve Smith, who redeemed himself for the earlier drop by leaping to his right to catch Rahul’s attempted cut Nathan Lyon.
Jadeja then formed another solid stand with Nitish Reddy, as Australia raced against time with only 13.2 overs of play during the middle session. Jadeja, in his first game of the series, reached his 22nd Test fifty. The pair survived a spell from Starc after a 67-minute rain delay but couldn't handle Cummins, who got Reddy out with a nip-backer that hit his inside edge.
India still needed 51 runs to avoid the follow-on, with only three fast bowlers left to partner Jadeja. Siraj, batting at No. 9, faced six deliveries from Starc, which turned out to be a mistake, as Starc found the outside edge for a sharp catch behind the stumps. Jadeja tried to farm the strike with Bumrah and hit a six off Lyon and a fortunate four off Cummins before his innings ended on 77 after a well-executed short ball plan from Cummins.
At this point, India was 33 runs away from the follow-on mark, but Deep and Bumrah held strong against the two-man pace attack that was clearly tiring. Bumrah pulled a Cummins bouncer for a six and began to calmly score singles, while Deep added a crucial boundary off Starc.
India came within 14 runs of the follow-on target when Cummins turned to Lyon in search of the last wicket, aiming for his fifth. He conceded seven runs in his 20th over, and in his 21st, Deep edged him over the cordon for a four, taking India past the follow-on mark. The Indian dressing room erupted in celebration. Deep then slogged Cummins for a six over deep mid-wicket before the umpires took the players off due to bad light.
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