Live Cricket Streaming : India vs Australia 2nd Test Match Day 4

The Australians have displayed a rather negative mind-set on this campaign. The fear of Indian off-spinners exploiting the rough created by left-arm pacemen appears to be haunting them.

India vs Australia 2nd Test Match Live Streaming – Link 1

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In Chennai, one saw left-arm paceman Mitchell Starc bowling heaps of overs round the wicket to avoid creating the marks for Ravichandran Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh. And this appears to be the reason too why Mitchell Johnson, a bustling left-arm scalp-hunter, has not figured in the Test here.

Despite the Aussie concerns — the side’s batting is left-heavy — the Indian off-spinners have been striking telling blows…with or without the rough.

Ashwin nailed southpaws David Warner and Phillip Hughes — a few Australian batsmen also seem obsessed with the successful methods employed by Matthew Hayden in India in 2001 — on the sweep here on Monday as Michael Clarke’s men stared at another defeat.

Conceding a 266-run lead, Australia finished day three of the second Airtel Test here on an uneasy 74 for two at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.

Earlier, India was bowled out for 504, with debutant off-spinner Glenn Maxwell and left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty sharing seven wickets between them. There is purchase for the spinners on this track but the bowlers need to hit the right areas.

The Indian innings essentially revolved around a massive 370-run association — India’s highest second-wicket partnership against any country — between Murali Vijay (167) and Cheteshwar Pujara (204). Then, the home batsmen fell in a heap.

When the Aussies batted again, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was luckless. Virat Kohli put down Warner (on 13) at gully. And Ed Cowan (on zero) was grassed by ‘keeper Dhoni — it was a difficult chance — off an inside edge.

Warner began brightly against Ashwin, operating with the new ball, but fell into a trap. The Indian ploy worked.

Switching to over the wicket against the southpaw, Ashwin’s motive was clear. He would try to prise out Warner on the sweep.