Nathan Lyon claims record-breaking 8-50 as India all out for 189
Australia 40-0 at stumps on first day of Bangalore Test
11.11am GMT
Australia have negotiated the final hour of the day, and will resume tomorrow 149 behind. Yes, you are reading that correctly if having gone out without your phone for a few hours. Australia rolled India for 189.
After tea, Nathan Lyon took five wickets after tea to rout the hosts for the third time in eight days. He finished with 8-for-50. They are the best figures for any foreign bowler in India. This is one of those days where the facts speak for themselves.
11.04am GMT
16th over (and Stumps): Australia 40-0 (Warner 23, Renshaw 15). Australia have won the last quarter hour here. Warner gets off strike at the first time of asking to point. He’s cutting well here. Renshaw has the skills for this task, the bat as straight as ever, the tourists to stumps without losing a wicket. Phew. Let me catch my breath and make something of that? Back in a moment.
Related: Nathan Lyon's record 8-50 decimates India on day one of Bangalore Test
11.02am GMT
15th over: Australia 39-0 (Warner 22, Renshaw 15). The wondrous left-arm ortho will get six balls at them here. Warner elects to use his feet to meet the flight, and push hard when Jadeja is quicker through the air. He then uses the crease to get off strike via a push to the sweeper at point. Renshaw has a couple to look at. Does well to the first, pushing behind point. So it’s Warner with one more to negotiate, and he again uses the crease with ease. This time for three. Five from it. Good over in the end. One to come. Ashwin will bowl it.
10.59am GMT
14th over: Australia 34-0 (Warner 18, Renshaw 14). Three to go. Warner gets a couple out to the on-side with no real risk. Less convincing off the inside edge. A single. Renshaw also gets one on the pads. Good batting, big boy. Then Warners the over down the ground for one. Much easier for the Australian pair in the shadow of stumps. And Jadeja is coming on!
10.57am GMT
13th over: Australia 29-0 (Warner 14, Renshaw 13). Umesh again. So, Virat seems determined to not give his best bowler a little trundle before stumps. Okay then. Warner grabs one off the hip early in the over before Renshaw does what he does best: leaves. Oh, and he’s beaten with the last ball of the over, ruining my narrative for the set. But we’ve come this far.
What has happened to Indian Cricket !!!!!! This is really affecting the start to my weekend .... #IndvAus
10.55am GMT
12th over: Australia 28-0 (Warner 13, Renshaw 13). Ashwin is the man most likely here. A Warner single puts the pressure on Renshaw. To each delivery he has a question to answer, each on the stumps. Except the one that beats him. Tough game.
Nathan Lyon's record 8-50 decimates India on day one of Bangalore Test https://t.co/Q85gIkE0uf
10.50am GMT
11th over: Australia 27-0 (Warner 12, Renshaw 13). Why is Umesh back? He struggled early, and follows Ishant - who bowled very nicely - from the far end. Anyway, he gets the gong, not Jadeja, with six overs to go. And to be fair, beats Renshaw from around the wicket to begin. So I’ll leave him alone. Then his a good length again, making a tough leave for the youngster. Four more leaves follow, but far more convincing. Make of that what you will this close to the end of play. Maiden.
10.48am GMT
10th over: Australia 27-0 (Warner 12, Renshaw 13). Ashwin doing his bit here. Plenty of flight to Warner, then pinging a couple in to Renshaw hoping to sneak another through to his pads. He’s good enough to get bat on it around the corner though. Warner back in defence for the last couple. Good contest from both ends at the moment.
Warner has come down the pitch 207 times in Test cricket, bringing him 289 runs at a strike rate of 131.61 and an average of 48.17. #IndvAus
10.42am GMT
9th over: Australia 25-0 (Warner 11, Renshaw 12). Ishant doing a lot right, and rewarded with another over. Warner again in defence, the Indian quick changing his line a bit to attack the Australian’s stumps as we near the end of day one. A push into the off-side gives Renshaw a couple to look at. The second of those, to end the over, beats him outside the off-stump! That’s very hard to execute, moving the ball away from a left-hander from around the wicket. Quality fast bowling from the veteran. Yeah, I know he’s only 28, but he’s a veteran.
Lyon tears India apart with eight-wicket haul: https://t.co/uRmsJi2j6l #INDvAUS
10.38am GMT
8th over: Australia 23-0 (Warner 10, Renshaw 11). Ashwin pins Renshaw back to begin, but he’s back on the front foot down the ground shortly thereafter. Good cricket. Warner would be mindful of stumps, and consequentially plays conservatively rather than chancing his hand. Experienced campaigner over here, he’ll want big Test runs here tomorrow.
10.34am GMT
7th over: Australia 22-0 (Warner 10, Renshaw 10). That is DROPPED! Warner gets lucky. Ishant misses out. Flays a drive to the gully region, Rahane dives but can’t take it. Not sure the dive was required? Doesn’t look great. Ishant to Renshaw now, and he’s nearly taken his off-stump leaving! Just over the top.
Plenty more where these are coming from:
Australia's spinners currently average 9.00 in this series. #IndvAus
10.31am GMT
6th over: Australia 19-0 (Warner 9, Renshaw 9). Virat is listening to me. Ashwin on from the Cathedral End in front of us here. And immediately gets the crowd up and about with two big LBW shouts against Renshaw. The first was just sliding. Some pressure on the captain to go upstairs, but finally he’s learned to keep it in the holster. Only taken five innings. The second is closer by the looks. But again the captain declines the chance for a second look. Renshaw survives.
Two Ashwin shouts already. Lock your kids in an attic, murder your boss, ignore all people in danger so you can WATCH THIS SESSION
10.27am GMT
5th over: Australia 18-0 (Warner 8, Renshaw 9). Ishant stays on. Wonder how long before Virat just goes for broke and chucks on his two twirlers? Best shot he’s got. Warner is defending, ducking, leaving, prodding. No real issues for him here. A single to the last ball ensures he’ll retain the strike.
10.23am GMT
4th over: Australia 17-0 (Warner 7, Renshaw 9). Renshaw into it, steering through the cordon for four. I saw steer, it was probably more an edge. But he did it so easily, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Bouncer follows, of course. But Umesh isn’t on his game here, overstepping later in the over. It’s a bit frantic out there.
@collinsadam England spinner v India, 8 innings, 40/1859 ave 46.48. Aus 3 innings, 26/334, ave 12.85. Let's not forget to bag England...
10.19am GMT
3rd over: Australia 10-0 (Warner 6, Renshaw 4). Predictably eventful once Renshaw gives Warner the strike. He’s cut in half by Ishant. Under his bat, actually, watching it again.
Lyon took 7 for 40 from the 117 balls he landed on a good length. He over-pitched three times and dropped short twice. #IndvAus
10.10am GMT
2nd over: Australia 9-0 (Warner 6, Renshaw 3). Warner away. Short trash first up from Umesh, Warner doesn’t miss out. A steered single puts Renshaw on strike. Not mucking around, our D Warner. Renshaw takes three from the pads, the way he does so well. Essentially Al Cook mk II the big Queenslander.
I’m just going to keep posting these kinds of tweets for a while. FYI.
First time in 40 years that India have been bowled out for less than 200 in three consecutive innings at home - 105, 107 and 189. #IndvAus
10.07am GMT
1st over: Australia 1-0 (Warner 1, Renshaw 0). Righto. Australia bat now. Concentrate. Still cricket to be played. And play they will. Ishant Sharma has the ball, and Warner is away with a push. Renshaw is leaving close to his stumps, but he knows where they are. Lyon’s 8/50 also the sixth best figures of all-time for an Australian, in case you were wondering.
Best figures in India:
Murali 7-100 <<< Lyon 8-50
Warne 6-125 <<< O'Keefe 6-35#IndvAus
10.00am GMT
Australia have an hour to bat. Or 18 overs. I’m not entirely sure, but I’m in disbelief still. I never shy away from the fact that Nath was the club captain as a 21-year-old when I played at Wests UCCC in the ACT comp. So I never tire of his success. Such a wonderful story. And every time he overcomes an existential threat to his career - and there have been a few - it gets better.
9.54am GMT
Nathan Lyon, 8-for-50. Best ever figures in India by a non-Indian bowler. Extraordinary. #IndvAus pic.twitter.com/W1zEA7JkE2
9.51am GMT
FIRST BALL! LYON HAS 8-FOR-50! INDIA ARE ALL OUT FOR 189! The best figures by an Australian against India. Ever! It was the most straightforward catch, short-leg Handscomb having very little work to do. Bloody hell! What a world! And he’ll be on a hat-trick in the second dig.
9.50am GMT
What is Rahul thinking! Trying to hit Lyon off a length over his head, but nowhere near it. It has rolled off the back of the bat to mid-off to mid-off where Renshaw makes no mistake. An otherwise controlled innings comes to an end. And Lyon has 7-for-50! Party on, Nath!
9.48am GMT
71st over: India 189-8 (Rahul 90, Umesh 0). Rahul wheels away in frustration and/or injury after driving O’Keefe into the off-side after the tourist’s failed review. He has a go at a reverse sweep next, but misses. Back to the manual, he cuts one to point. A single is taken, meaning Umesh has a couple of balls to look at. Rahul is on 90. He does his job, forward in defence in a vaguely convincing fashion. India really need a Starc-like effort from Pune here to see them through to stumps. Unlikely as that is. Very long way to the finish line.
9.45am GMT
NOT OUT! Long way away from it. The parochial crowd like that, making plenty of noise for the first time in a while. Oh, the ball-tracking says it nearly hit middle stump. Survives that too.
9.43am GMT
We’re upstairs again! Smith isn’t worried about having a pop at this, O’Keefe wondering if Rahul top-edged a sweep. We’ll see...
9.43am GMT
70th over: India 188-8 (Rahul 89, Umesh 0). Worth noting in all that, Rahul again took a single first ball of the over. Don’t expect he will do that again if he fancies a ton, with only the fast bowlers left. Umesh is a legit no 11 coming in at no 10, so this might not take long with Lyon going as he is. For all that, he’s able to prod his way to safety through four deliveries to end the over. Lyon’s figures are 6-50 from 22 overs.
9.40am GMT
An inside edge saves Jadeja according to snicko. But it was taken easily by Smith at slip. So he’s gone! Lyon has six! What a performance. Around the wicket that just went on with the arm with plenty over overspin. He has done everything right today. What a performance.
9.37am GMT
Lyon shout for LBW! Umpire Llong says no. Smith says “nah, it is out, we’ll go upstairs.” Lyon likes it. Stand by!
9.36am GMT
69th over: India 187-7 (Rahul 88, Jadeja 3). Mitchell Starc back from the far end. He was getting some nice little reverse swing tail away from the right handers between lunch and tea. You could tell because he was hiding the ball in his right hand when running in until the delivery stride. He’s up to that again here to begin the over, bowling to lefty Jadeja. He’s really carving it back into the left-hander when he gets it right. But on the whole, not the most threatening set. He’ll be back to rectify that shortly.
Feelgood Australian-Indian story of the year pic.twitter.com/Yknk3yZhJ9
9.32am GMT
68th over: India 187-7 (Rahul 88, Jadeja 3). Lyon must have another coming soon. Absolutely all over Rahul, past his hip with a huge turning off-break. Beats everyone, including the ‘keeper and leg-slip. Singles for each to the sweepers releases the pressure somewhere.
Freddie means India here, but you can see his point.
9.27am GMT
67th over: India 181-7 (Rahul 87, Jadeja 2). Jadeja holding up his end of the bargain, racing through five dots to Jadeja after Rahul gives him the strike first ball. Lyon the man of the moment, after all.
9.26am GMT
66th over: India 180-7 (Rahul 86, Jadeja 2). It’s nearly two in two balls! Jadeja lets it go and it isn’t far from his stumps. By contrast, second ball he’s cutting from his stumps; the way he got out in the second dig last week. Gotta get them however you can. Lyon has an eight-fa on the shelf here. His eighth 5fa in Tests.
9.22am GMT
Gorgeous! Lyon has five! Another conventional offie’s wicket, holding its line a fraction after plenty of flight. Due to the turn he has routinely got today, the Indian ‘keeper had to play, but an edge was all he got. Smith did the rest. Easy as you like. 5-for-45. Five of the best.
9.20am GMT
65th over: India 177-6 (Rahul 85, Saha 1). O’Keefe has no concerns throwing it up here, giving it a chance to turn as it did for him from the other end before tea. Rahul’s most effective shot has been the tuck behind square, it gets him off strike early in the over. Saha is getting well forward to blunt any potential turn.
9.19am GMT
64th over: India 176-6 (Rahul 84, Saha 1). What is a good score here? A day ago, 500+ seemed the orthodoxy, given the track looked so flat. Not so much now. Lyon v Saha is a relatively tame affair, with the exception of the penultimate delivery that turns hard back into the right-hander when dropping the length back a bit. Maiden it is. Here are some highlights from earlier.
Aussie spin twins leave India stumped before tea: https://t.co/5lqxy2DfLr #INDvAUS
9.15am GMT
63rd over: India 176-6 (Rahul 84, Saha 1). Rahul then Saha take singles to long-off to begin the over. The former might need to get busy to reach three figures if his bowlers continue their form of last week. O’Keefe mixes it up to Rahul for the remainder of the over, but nothing coming from it for either.
9.13am GMT
62nd over: India 174-6 (Rahul 83, Saha 0). Saha comes forward to negotiate the only ball he has before Lyon’s over is done. Lyon came to this Test with a bowling average still in excess of 40 on this continent. Wonder what it’ll be by the end of today? Such a clutch performance.
Most wkts for Aus against India in Tests:
54 NATHAN LYON *
53 Brett Lee
52 R Benaud
51 G McGrath
50 M Johnson
47 G McKenzie#IndvAus
9.10am GMT
Great catch by Warner at leg-slip! Ashwin didn’t Lyon to get quite that much spin, pitching outside the off-stump it ripped across his body and collected the glove on the way through. Low take by Warner, after putting one down above his head of the same bowler earlier. But forget that, Australia in with a real show of bowling out India inside a day. What a brilliant performance from Nathan Lyon. He now has four.
9.08am GMT
61st over: India 172-5 (Rahul 82, Ashwin 6). Two around the corner for Rahul to O’Keefe’s first one after tea. He’s back to the end where he bowled his first couple of frugal spells. It is called the BELM End. They make big, industrial machinery and are owned by the government. There you go, I’ve taught you something. I personally like it better when there is a Football Stand End like at Northants. Anyway, I digress. SOK runs through this over in, I promise you, no more than 60 seconds. Rahul defending throughout.
Indian team a management seem to have read the pitch better than most pundits. Extra batter looking like a good ploy right now.
9.05am GMT
60th over: India 170-5 (Rahul 80, Ashwin 6). Pleased to see that Nathan “Nathan” Lyon is back into the attack, skipping away from us here at the Cathedral End. Singles to both Ashwin then KL Rahul gets the latter safely into the 80s. The tweaker gets one to spin back sharply to end the over.
8.59am GMT
Afternoon, everyone. I invested a fair bit of time in that middle session trying to convince colleagues here at Bangalore that the track was pretty good. On reflection, I was probably trying to convince myself. It isn’t Pune, but it shouldn’t be shooting through the way it did from O’Keefe’s end before tea.
In saying that, his dismissal of Nair on the cusp of the break was all to do with class. A lot was said about the left-armer’s overspin during the week. That it was his main weapon at Shield level, and would be his main device on a flatter track here. In other words, not to expect him to turn it much on a flat one.
8.45am GMT
59th over: India 168-5 (Rahul 79, Ashwin 5)
In the context of what is happening around him, this innings could be the making of Lokesh Rahul, who continues to soldier on despite the chaos around him and goes to tea undefeated on 79. If he and the bowlers can push this total up around 280, who knows what the pitch will do in the Australia’s first innings and beyond? With him now is Ravi Ashwin, who is a genuine all-rounder, and what a fascinating two sessions of cricket we’ve just seen.
8.40am GMT
58th over: India 160-5 (Rahul 76, Ashwin o)
Ravi Ashwin is the new man at the crease and there is plenty of spite in the contest right now; I think Rahul reckons O’Keefe was a little overzealous in his wickets celebration, and he might have a bit of a point. Distracted, O’Keefe fires four byes down the leg side and continues to jaw off at the Indian opener, who is not exactly a shrinking violet. Ashwin, meanwhile, looks like he’s batting with a piece of rope as the ball turns sharply. Might I forward the theory that this pitch is going to be a real handful for the Australians to bat on? There are shades of the first Test already as balls spit out of the foot marks.
8.37am GMT
What is going on? Now Karun Nair loses his head, charging down the pitch to O’Keefe and missing a well-flighted delivery. Matthew Wade performers a much cleaner job of the rest than he did before and Nair, who’d looked perfectly comfortable, is inexplicably gone. India are self-destructing here.
8.34am GMT
57th over: India 156-4 (Rahul 76, Karun Nair 26)
Such is his difficulty getting any assistance from the pitch, Starc now comes around the wicket to Karun Nair but offers up another full toss to be whipped through leg for a boundary. He won’t mind that as such. We all know he was going for the yorker. The bigger concern for Steve Smith is how well these batsmen are now turning the strike and refusing to allow the bowlers any rhythm.
8.28am GMT
56th over: India 148-4 (Rahul 73, Karun Nair 21)
Steve O’Keefe continues with his miserly straight ones, or not-so-straight in the case of his fourth, which is a little too short and offers Nair enough width to cut late and hard for a boundary. Nair is also beaten all ends up by one that does actually spin away from him, but it jagged so far off the surface it only really threatened Steve Smith at slip.
8.25am GMT
55th over: India 142-4 (Rahul 73, Karun Nair 15)
Starc is slanting it across the right-handed batsmen, and for now they’re disciplined enough to let them pass. Starc is not bringing it back in off the pitch, so perhaps he needs to straighten that line a little as he sets up for the yorker. We’re edging close to the tea break now and India can ill-afford the loss of another wicket.
8.21am GMT
54th over: India 139-4 (Rahul 73, Karun Nair 12)
A big section of Indian fans rise to their feet and start going wild here. Revealing a little of my current snack shortage, I will admit I assumed it was due to a tray of hot, delicious-looking samosas that were being carried into their vicinity, but they’re just trying to get on TV. Rahul and Nair continue to turn the strike in a manner no other pairing has managed today. But that matters not. I now just want a samosa.
8.17am GMT
53rd over: India 135-4 (Rahul 71, Karun Nair 10)
In a win for India, if we’re being realistic, Mitchell Starc returns now. Karun Nair is straight after him, neatly clipping four to fine leg and then getting unlucky when a straight drive cannons into his partner. Another thing I like about Nair: just a subtle hint of pudgy midriff. Gives us all hope. In most other senses he’s rock solid.
8.13am GMT
52nd over: India 131-4 (Rahul 71, Karun Nair 6)
At the risk of speaking too soon for no less than the fifth time today, Karun Nair actually does look totally comfortable at the crease, and far more convincing than Rahane before him. Let’s see if I’ve just consigned him to the gallows with that mozz.
8.09am GMT
51st over: India 128-4 (Rahul 70, Karun Nair 4)
Sunny Gavaskar’s criticisms of Lokesh Rahul aren’t quite as frequent now, because the Indian opener is the only who has truly dug in today. The Australians are all over Karun Nair and needling the rookie six at every opportunity, but if it’s making him uncomfortable it doesn’t show in his batting so far.
The home team's current predicament has the Chinnaswamy crowd a little pensive #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/pfY6KV8FwL
8.06am GMT
50th over: India 124-4 (Rahul 67, Karun Nair 3)
Rahul and Nair are turning the strike well enough at the start of this new partnership, and the new man gets forward confidently to the buoyant Lyon. He’s got a real battle on his hands in his return to the side.
8.03am GMT
49th over: India 121-4 (Rahul 65, Karun Nair 2)
“Last time I played this bloke...” we hear the abrasive Matthew Wade say behind the stumps as Nair faces up, but then the audio cuts out, so we don’t hear the end of what surely must have been a bon mot to rank with Jimmy Ormond’s take-down of Mark Waugh (“At least I’m the best player in my own family”). But Nair gets off the mark with two from the bowling of O’Keefe. “Every dog has their day when it comes to playing spin,” says Matthew Hayden. Perhaps a Border Collie would do better than India right now.
8.00am GMT
48th over: India 119-4 (Rahul 65, Karun Nair 0)
Karun Nair is the new man at the crease. He made 303 not out in his last Test knock. Even a third of that would do his team the world of good here, because Nathan Lyon is in the mood.
7.57am GMT
Ajinkya Rahane has gone mad! What was he thinking there? The Indian No5 charges halfway down the wicket in search of another hefty blow and misses it, and he’s so far down the pitch that not even a fumble and scramble from Matthew Wade behind the stumps can save him. He’s stumped by a mile. Lyon has another!
7.55am GMT
47th over: India 118-3 (Rahul 65, Rahane 17)
“Bowled!” bellows Brett Lee now, abandoning any sense of objectivity and openly barracking for a Steve O’Keefe wicket. He might burst through the glass if it happens. “Every ball is a brand new racing event,” adds Matthew Hayden. “You just have to let it go.” If you can translate that into English for me, answers on the back of an envelope and all that. O’Keefe has 0-17 off 11 overs.
7.51am GMT
46th over: India 117-3 (Rahul 65, Rahane 16)
Nathan Lyon continues to turn the ball sharply and with angular threat. Sitting in the sheds as that is happening is Virat Kohli. If looks could kill, he’d be on a murder spree right now after falling cheaply. It’s actually not Lyon’s best over, to be honest. Four off it.
7.49am GMT
45th over: India 113-3 (Rahul 62, Rahane 15)
Matthew Hayden is back, and he says the tension is now mounting, which is certainly true of my own state of mind at the very least. He reckons 350 is a par score in the first innings, and this like all of his utterings comes in the anguished cadence of a man dictating his bank pin code to mugger. Rahane meanwhile, burgles a boundary when he takes a full toss from O’Keefe and biffs it through mid-on. You don’t get many of those from SOK.
7.42am GMT
44th over: India 107-3 (Rahul 61, Rahane 9)
Oh dear. Australia have David Warner at leg slip for Rahul, who duly sweeps it straight at him, but he shells the tough chance, getting his hands up in time but failing to make it stick in his right hand. Lyon really should have a third wicket here. There will be talk that it was a very hard chance, but you should be taking those at Test level.
7.39am GMT
43rd over: India 106-3 (Rahul 61, Rahane 9)
O’Keefe is into his ninth over now and with another maiden, he’s only conceded 10 runs thusfar. It’s really applying the squeeze at one end, and very sound partnership bowling. Meanwhile, I need an answer to the below:
I missed the end of that, but did Clarke just say Wade's daughter was watching her dad "do his business behind the stumps"? Brilliant if so.
7.36am GMT
42nd over: India 106-3 (Rahul 61, Rahane 9)
It’s an in-out field for Lyon, Michael Clarke points out, which genuinely is the kind of thing a special comments man should be telling you about. The Australian fieldsmen are all in catching positions, either in the deep or in close. Owing to that, Rahul is keeping it on the deck, where you can’t get caught. It’s a maiden over for Lyon.
7.34am GMT
41st over: India 106-3 (Rahul 61, Rahane 9)
Twin spin? Probably. O’Keefe comes back now to replace Hazlewood, and Rahane turns him for a single. I’ll be honest: I’d like for Rahane to make some runs here because he’s a glorious player to watch when he finds his groove.
7.31am GMT
40th over: India 105-3 (Rahul 61, Rahane 8)
India pass the hundred mark now but Nathan Lyon has both batsmen in a bit of bother here, and is producing a quite magnificent spell of spin bowling. Sunil Gavaskar is calling it “brilliant”, and he’s not a man given to undue praise for Australians. Right as I type that, Rahane pitter-patters down the track like Fred Astaire and hoists the spinner over cow for a boundary. Good one Sunny.
7.27am GMT
39th over: India 99-3 (Rahul 60, Rahane 3)
“They’re better than what they’re playing like at the moment,” is Michael Clarke’s appraisal of India, and there is probably some truth to that. Virat Kohli can’t keep getting out cheaply, for one. Lokesh Rahul, meanwhile, takes a ball that Hazlewood angles in to him and quite deliberately opens the face to edge it through gully for four. Earlier Clarke was begging the Indian opener to turn the strike more often, and here he does so, sort of: a single from the final ball.
I thought @NathLyon421 bowled really well in Pune but he has been even better today. Absolutely brilliant.
7.23am GMT
38th over: India 94-3 (Rahul 55, Rahane 3)
Another biiiiiig appeal from Lyon, who draws Rahane a long way forward and jags one back into his front pad, but when Umpire Llong turns it down it is the bowler himself who talks Steve Smith out of a review. The Australians are appealing like hyenas at the moment, I must tell you for the sake of balance. Calm down gents.
7.20am GMT
37th over: India 93-3 (Rahul 54, Rahane 3)
Rahul gets a single to mid-off at the half-way mark of this Hazlewood over, but there’s nowt else on offer for the batsmen as the burly paceman does his thing. I know I’ve said it before, but he does present a challenge to the OBOer: how to explain all those dot balls in compelling terms without lying a little? Michael Clarke has replaced Matthew Hayden now, so I’ll see what gems he’s got for us.
7.16am GMT
36th over: India 92-3 (Rahul 53, Rahane 3)
More trouble behind the sight screen now, as people wander around in front of it for reasons unknown. Rahane needs as few distractions as possible right now. Anil Kumble said before the Test that he’s not playing for his spot, but there is plenty of pressure from the rest of the country nonetheless.
7.12am GMT
35th over: India 91-3 (Rahul 53, Rahane 3)
Josh Hazlewood is back to replace Starc, and we’re faced again with the possibility of a quite strange Indian collapse. This pair at the crease are handy, of course, and so is Karun Nair, but it fell away badly after that in Pune and there will be some nervous bowlers in the Indian change room right now. Hazlewood’s over is tidy but Rahane looks comfortable.
7.07am GMT
34th over: India 89-3 (Rahul 52, Rahane 1)
Overthrows to finish the over! It’s all happening. Out-of-form Ajinkya Rahane is off the mark and Nathan Lyon is a genius. He’s now removed Virat Kohli five times in Tests, drawing him level with Jimmy Anderson for that honour.
7.06am GMT
Kohli departs! Sensational stuff from Nathan Lyon. That thing I said about taking him off? Clearly I was kidding. Here he has the Indian maestro shuffling across the crease in front of his stumps but Kohli inexplicably leaves it. It pitched outside the line of off stump and spun in at a decent rate but with no shot offered and contact coming in line with middle stump, it’s about as out as you can get. Remarkable! Nathan Lyon has done it again. Three balls earlier Kohli hit a sublime cover drive for four. Now he looks a chump.
7.03am GMT
Holy moly. This looked out, and Nigel Llong gave it, but we shall soon see.
7.01am GMT
33rd over: India 84-2 (Rahul 52, Kohli 8)
Mindsets are art forms, Matthew Hayden tells us now. If that is true, mine whilst listening to this commentary is one of the paintings Gerhard Richter hated so much he burned it to a crisp. Mitchell Starc is still chugging in, but there is no masterpiece in this over.
6.56am GMT
32nd over: India 82-2 (Rahul 51, Kohli 7)
With a flick to the leg side Lokesh Rahul now brings up his half-century from 105 deliveries. He’s hit eight boundaries so far, and been prepared to bide his time to hit them. Both he and Kohli are handling Lyon very well now. Might be time for the old switcheroo to bring Steve O’Keefe back.
6.53am GMT
31st over: India 79-2 (Rahul 49, Kohli 6)
I know I shouldn’t dwell on the commentary, dear readers, but there is something utterly maddening about listening to Matthew Hayden commentate a cricket game. It makes you wish you were reading one of his cookbooks. Throw Brett Lee into the mix and you start hoping for a padded cell. Virat Kohli, meanwhile, presses forward to Starc’s final delivery of the over and lathers a quite sublime cover drive to the fence. This is going to be fun.
6.48am GMT
30th over: India 75-2 (Rahul 49, Kohli 2)
Kohli strokes a single off Lyon to get off the mark and his most obsessive fans are almost fainting at the sheer magnificence of it all. “There is a crush of humanity in this country,” says Matthew Hayden, which is a worrying way to start a sentence. Fear not, he adds that this is “infectious”. He’s off on one. Lyon, on the other hand, is not looking quite as threatening as before lunch, but the stakes and atmosphere are both slightly different now.
6.45am GMT
29th over: India 72-2 (Rahul 48, Kohli o)
As Mitchell Starc returns, and the hostilities resume, the presence of Matthew Hayden and Brett Lee in the StarSports commentary box means that the conversation immediately turns to ... curry. We wouldn’t stoop to such levels of content-padding on the OBO, but if you’re interested I’ve had to make do with some wasabi peas and a can of Pepsi Max: the choice of absolutely no generation. Starc bowls a maiden. He’s probably just wolfed down a bowl of chia seeds and kale.
6.42am GMT
28th over: India 72-2 (Rahul 48, Kohli o)
After a predictably rowdy reception from the Bangalore crowd, Virat Kohli glides out to the crease and faces up to Nathan Lyon, who claims an inside edge with the final ball of his over from before lunch. Tense.
6.34am GMT
Not the greatest omen: Fox Sports are currently playing the Laxman-Dravid mega-partnership of 2001. Why? Whyyyyyyy? Fans of Michael Slater should look away now. In other news, much of India is about to grind to a halt as Virat Kohli arrives at the crease to bat. We’re a few minutes away from the second session on day one.
6.12am GMT
But...a word of warning
You can never get too far ahead of yourself on Indian tours.
India 2-72 at lunch. Last time they batted first in Test here v Pak in 2007 they ended 1st session 4-65 - and went on to make 626 #INDvAUS
6.11am GMT
Che Pujara is practically Nathan Lyon’s bunny
Lyon has now dismissed Pujara five times in Test cricket. Pujara's average against Lyon is just 28.60. #IndvAus
6.04am GMT
Nathan Lyon, take a bow
Lyon this session
Incredible grouping. Varied pace. Took wicket. pic.twitter.com/5Z61ckD9iN
6.03am GMT
That is a real drag for Pujara, but he won’t be back after lunch as both sides now file off the ground. He goes for 17 and his side is 72-2, with Lokesh Rahul undefeated on 48 and Virat Kohli due in. Nathan Lyon gets the breakthrough to go with Mitch Starc’s early dismissal of Abhinav Mukund.
6.01am GMT
Nathan Lyon strikes! Oh dear, that is a disaster for Che Pujara, who was shielding his partner from the strike brilliantly in the closing stages of the session but from Nathan Lyon’s penultimate delivery, gets an inside edge onto his leg and can’t do anything to stop Peter Handscomb swooping on it at short leg. Perhaps he didn’t deserve that, but Lyon is rewarded for a very handy spell of bowling and gets a crucial wicket for his side.
5.57am GMT
27th over: India 72-1 (Rahul 48, Pujara 17)
The highlight of this over is a slow-motion, side-on replay of Che Pujara’s forward defence to Mitchell Starc. It showcases how the Indian batsman can make even the most express pace look pedestrian, playing it late and comfortably. I wish I could do a single thing as well as that. Blimey. He also glances one down to fine leg off the last ball of the over to retain the strike. I wouldn’t bet against that being an attempt to save impetuous Lokesh Rahul from himself in what might be the final over of the session.
5.53am GMT
26th over: India 71-1 (Rahul 48, Pujara 16)
Pujara is on power-saving mode now, happy to play back and straight if Lyon is going to continue to look for big spin. There is nobody on the 45 so both batsmen are also happy to just flick it into that region when things get awkward, so Smith brings in a leg slip after the horse has bolted. There has been a bit of that today.
5.49am GMT
25th over: India 68-1 (Rahul 47, Pujara 14)
Sunil Gavaskar is talking Lokesh Rahul down a bit here, but he’s done pretty well so far this morning. With a little under 15 minutes until the break he’s moving closer to a half-century and weathered a few probing spells. Full tosses help, too. Starc gives him one off the final delivery here and it’s dispatched for a boundary.
5.44am GMT
24th over: India 64-1 (Rahul 43, Pujara 14)
Lyon has a deep mid-wicket and long-on in place for Pujara, which seems ludicrously optimistic at this juncture. He’s really given no indication he’d like to start lofting them towards the stands. With some sharp turn from the off-spinner Pujara turns a lovely glance down to fine leg for one. Lyon is very unlucky a delivery later when a fuller one stays low and beats the outside edge, the stumps, and wicket-keeper Matthew Wade to dribble away for four byes. Wade might not want to look at that replay.
5.40am GMT
23rd over: India 58-1 (Rahul 42, Pujara 13)
Mitchell Starc is the only wicket-taker so far in the first session and he returns now for one last burst before lunch. He’s got a slip and two gullies for Rahul but no short leg or leg gully, which is proven as silly as suspected when Rahul bunts a short one into that region. What is Steve Smith not seeing her? Rahul has another stroke of luck when he lazily drives at a wide one outside off and the ensuing inside edge hits his pad and not the stumps. Maiden. Good one.
5.36am GMT
22nd over: India 58-1 (Rahul 42, Pujara 13)
Who needs fortune cookies when you’ve got me, eh? Nathan Lyon does indeed appear now to replace Steve O’Keefe, and immediately there is sharper turn and bounce. In saying that, bounce and turn aren’t much god when they’re angling down leg side and allow Lokesh Rahul to paddle one over fine leg for four. Matthew Wade’s first ten cries of “Niiice Gary” ring out across the world, which is a fair effort considering there are only six balls in the over. Lyon finishes it with an LBW shout, but he’s dreamin’.
5.32am GMT
21st over: India 52-1 (Rahul 38, Pujara 11)
What would Mitchell Marsh’s bowling be if it was a band? Badfinger? Snow Patrol? Ben & Jason? I can’t get as excited about it as Rod Marsh used to, I’ll say that. At least it’s normally tight. He’s stump-to-stump again here but Rahul looks determined to see this through until lunch.
Pujara has come down the pitch 432 times in his Test career bringing him 370 runs and he has only been dismissed twice. #IndvAus
5.29am GMT
20th over: India 51-1 (Rahul 38, Pujara 11)
O’Keefe continues with his accurate straight ones, but the Indians are no longer jumping at shadows when the spinner wheels away, and it might be time to bring Nathan Lyon on in his place I reckon. We’re half an hour from lunch and it’s probably worth a try for something different.
5.26am GMT
19th over: India 49-1 (Rahul 37, Pujara 10)
Mitch Marsh appears now for his first bowl of the game, and he gets some awkward bounce sending it down to Lokesh Rahul. At least with his first ball. The rest of it is pretty pedestrian, but he’ll look to hassle and nag them into an error.
5.21am GMT
18th over: India 48-1 (Rahul 36, Pujara 10)
This will mean nothing to non-Australian readers (though I suppose you can probably watch on YouTube, eventually), but on tonight’s ‘Cricket Legends’ episode on Fox, the Australian cricket journalist Mike Coward is the guest. That should be a beauty. Coward’s book ‘Cricket Beyond the Bazaar’ – about Australia’s triumphs and disasters touring India and Pakistan – is a classic. Maiden for Steve O’Keefe.
5.18am GMT
17th over: India 48-1 (Rahul 36, Pujara 10)
Explaining that Handscomb drop, Matthew Hayden ponders whether “the gods” are on Lokesh Rahul’s side today. The half-volley gods certainly are for this Indian pair. Again Hazlewood over-pitches and this time Pujara cashes in, flicking him for a quite casual boundary. Another is squirted through point by Rahul. India were right up against it half an hour ago. Now they’re profiting from their resilience.
5.15am GMT
16th over: India 38-1 (Rahul 31, Pujara 5)
At the start of the over the biggest risk of a wicket right appears to be a run-out, as both batsmen have a moment of hesitancy when there is a clear single, but then Peter Handscomb drops Rahul at short cover and in bizarre scenes; he hadn’t taken off the helmet he was wearing at silly point. Did it make a difference? Maybe. He dived to his left and got a hand to the drive, but it didn’t stick.
Aussies looking for wicket No.2 #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/8l1IovZ3HP
5.10am GMT
15th over: India 34-1 (Rahul 29, Pujara 3)
I’ve been focusing on the cricket so far, but it bears mentioning that either side of this pitch, the square has been turned into a bizarre, eye-gashing grid system. Why? I’ll try and find out, but it’s not a pretty sight. You could build a wall in the middle and play Battleship on it. Anyway, again Rahul has pounced from the last delivery of the over when Hazlewood over-pitches and gets driven down the ground.
5.02am GMT
14th over: India 29-1 (Rahul 25, Pujara 2)
Pujara gets his first single in a while to rotate the strike, glancing down to the 45 to pick up one, but both batsmen are still content to let O’Keefe establish his own rhythm as drinks approach. I can’t help but feel as though some of their predecessors might have gone on the attack by now.
5.00am GMT
13th over: India 28-1 (Rahul 25, Pujara 1)
The home crowd has had so little to cheer in the last half-hour they go absolutely bonkers here when Rahul gently clips two runs through mid-wicket when Hazlewood strays onto his pads. He’s a very neat and organised player, Rahul, but it’s a wonder Australia didn’t further explore the idea of roughing him up with the short ball. Against Starc he looked particularly susceptible. He deals far better with half-volleys, of that I’m sure. Hazlewood offers one up to finish the over and Rahul smokes it between point and cover to get four.
4.55am GMT
12th over: India 21-1 (Rahul 19, Pujara 1)
He isn’t spinning it to a degree that can be picked up by current camera technology, but Steve O’Keefe is angling and flighting the ball well and has a throaty appeal for leg before against Rahul to start this over. Had it turned, Rahul might have been in trouble, but it was likely sliding down leg and the Aussies decide not to review Nigel Llong’s not out verdict.
4.52am GMT
11th over: India 21-1 (Rahul 19, Pujara 1)
Starc has a rest after his first five-over spell, and Josh Hazlewood returns for another. The right-armer has changed ends but not his approach; to Pujara he’s angling it in towards middle stump and looking for the LBW. Pujara drives slightly impatiently towards cover but can’t pick the gap to Peter Handscomb’s right. At the end of the over Pujara calls for new gloves. He can’t buy a run, but it’s sweaty work all the same.
4.48am GMT
10th over: India 20-1 (Rahul 18, Pujara 1)
O’Keefe keeps going at Che Pujara, who is perhaps a little deferential in this over. Might India end up playing the reputation the left-armer established in the first Test, rather than the actual ball? We’re set for a nice little spell here to find out.
4.45am GMT
9th over: India 20-1 (Rahul 18, Pujara 1)
Starc continues to search for that toe-crushing yorker, which means he’s sending down the occasional full toss, but he’s never less than a threat. He sends one across towards first slip with Lokesh Rahul on strike, and though the batsman leaves it easily enough, Starc shakes his head at him as though he’s just been beaten all end’s up. “He’s such a lovely guy off the field,” Brett Lee says of Starc. More of those insights as they’re at hand.
4.42am GMT
8th over: India 20-1 (Rahul 18, Pujara 1)
Spin time! Hazlewood cools his jets a while and Pune Test hero Steve O’Keefe comes into the attack for his first bowl of the game. His Test figures leading into this encounter: 5 Tests, 26 wickets at 20.34. He’s wheeling away to Che Pujara first up, and the Indian No3 gets after him immediately, driving twice to cover and getting off the mark with the second, which brings a single. Lokesh Rahul is not quite as convincing when he skips down the track and flicks towards leg. We could have a nice little battle here.
4.38am GMT
7th over: India 18-1 (Rahul 17, Pujara 0)
Starc slings a rising bouncer down the leg side and though it draws no comment from the commentators, Matthew Wade does a helluva good job to dive to his left and save it. It was fizzing away for a certain boundary otherwise. A leg bye brings the first run not belonging to Lokesh Rahul, and Starc goes after the latter with the old one-two of a bouncer and a yorker. Rahul gets an inside edge from the latter and it trickles through mid-wicket for a couple. He was biffing them through cover in the first over. It’s a little harder graft now.
4.33am GMT
6th over: India 15-1 (Rahul 15, Pujara 0)
Hazlewood is wobbling it down at decent pace too, but zeroes in on Rahul’s front pad, applying his pressure with a monotonous, stump-to-stump line. It’s another maiden, and with that, it’s time to bask in some sweet memories...
First mention of Warnie’s mural for the Test. Here it is (with names provided) for those who haven’t seen it pic.twitter.com/uweQ6wRCt7
4.29am GMT
5th over: India 15-1 (Rahul 15, Pujara 0)
Starc chooses to slide them across Pujara to start with, probing away outside off stump and trying to draw him forward to glide. There are two slips and a short leg in place, and Pujara is his normal unflappable self, squinting into the sun between deliveries, then dropping his wrists and swaying out of the way when the short one comes through at 147kmph.
4.25am GMT
4th over: India 15-1 (Rahul 15, Pujara 0)
No third slip for Halzewood either, though he might not have saved a boundary that flies through that region from Rahul’s outside edge. That is the only damage for the over in what is looking like a testing little session for both batsmen. Both bowlers have hit a decent early rhythm and Starc’s yorker is working. That’s never fun to face.
4.20am GMT
3rd over: India 11-1 (Rahul 11, Pujara 0)
Cheteshwar Pujara is the new man at the crease now. He has one delivery to face and keeps out a yorker. Of interest before Starc’s wicket: only seven balls into his spell he lost his third slip, who moved across to extra cover. A tad pessimistic in the first 15 minutes of play? Either way, Rahul really doesn’t look comfortable when it’s short and angled at him from over the wicket. I’d be getting a leg gully in position pronto, personally.
4.18am GMT
Mukund departs! Oh dear, that’s an absolute shocker. It might have been heading marginally down leg, but being that it was a full toss from Starc and struck the opener’s front pad on the full, the umpire had no choice. Mukund consults with his partner, but he probably knows the answer before it’s given. Off he trudges for a duck in his first Test in six years. Sad!
4.12am GMT
2nd over: India 10-0 (Rahul 10, Mukund 0)
Abhinav Mukund is a little more circumspect than his partner as Josh Hazlewood wheels away. In ten Test innings so far the Indian opener has managed only the single half-century, and the last of those appearances was in August 2011, so he’ll be desperate to impress.
4.07am GMT
1st over: India 10-0 (Rahul 10, Mukund 0)
Mitchell Starc grabs the new ball for the Australians, stops at the end of his run-up and arcs his back into one final stretch to loosen up. Richard Illlingworth and Nigel Llong are our umpires for this game and they’re called into action before has been bowled, because some buffoon is moving around beside the sight screen.
3.57am GMT
Stat attack! This is a bit mad, really. But India have never been big on sticking with an opening combination for long, with so many versatile batsmen sliding around the order. News at the ground: the anthems are grinding away now, and we’ll have play in a couple of minutes.
Mukund and Rahul will be India's eighth different opening pair in the last 12 months #IndvAus
3.55am GMT
The bright side for Australia bowling first here is that Starc, Hazlewood and Marsh couldn't really be much fresher. #INDvAUS
3.46am GMT
Ahh, the soothing sight of Ryan Harris
There is something incredibly calming about the former Australian paceman’s presence, though sadly he won’t be opening the bowling today. He’s sitting in the Fox Sports studio and says fast bowlers get very excited indeed by the sight of “live grass” on the pitch, which is what we’ve got here. Whatever floats your boat. I sense that things wi