India concede they’re missing Kohli

Rival captain Steve Smith said India would still be in very good hands if Kohli was forced out of action, with Ajinkya Rahane having proved his credentials as a stand-in during the Ranchi Test.

Showing a healthy dose of resolute in tough conditions, Australia dug themselves out of a hole to ensure their dreams of winning a famous series in India is still well and truly on the cards. We needed seven wickets.

India captain Virat Kohli was inevitably the most popular figure among fans on Saturday morning, though it was nearly evident the previous evening itself that he wouldn’t play this fourth and final Test against Australia.

“There is a bit of a grass, but there are cracks and craters. It’s just that leg-spinner and chinaman are similar forms of bowling with one being right handed and other left handed”, he said.

In a major gamble by Indian selectors, Kuldeep was called in to make his Test debut despite not commanding a regular berth in his state side.

Mathew Wade scored 57 runs. India survived the final over without loss.

He now trails in second place behind Australian skipper Steve Smith (482 runs) in the series batting charts. In the first couple of sessions it didn’t do much.

With regular skipper Virat Kohli missing the match with a shoulder injury, the Rahane-led team took a bold decision to go with five bowlers.

Kuldeep mesmerised Australia’s top six, claiming the wickets of Warner, Peter Handscomb and Glenn Maxwell.

About India’s strategy on the opening day after Australia were off to a good start, the debutant said: “We planned about it during the lunch break”.

Incoming batsmen Bhuvneshwar Kumar departed in the next over without disturbing the score. Nobody expected them to get close in this series.

“Hopefully (batting last) is going to be a massive challenge for them, but that really depends on how long we bat for and how many runs we can set them”.

He had solid support from Saha, who was fortunate to still be at the crease given Matt Renshaw’s drop off the bowling of Cummins the previous evening. “For me it’s not about worrying about the end or the result”, said Smith, as Australia chase their first Test series win in India in 13 years. Cummins gave Jadeja a torrid time with his bouncers but after getting his eye in, the Indian left-hander smashed a four and a six off the short deliveries in one over after getting hit on the helmet by a nasty delivery.

Lyon accounted for the India middle-order ensuring that the hosts lower-order are faced with the daunting task of establishing a decent first innings lead or at least erasing the deficit.