On the brink of tea on day four, Scott Boland dismissed Shubman Gill to ensure that Australia continued to dominate proceedings in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval. India were 41-1, still needing 403 to register a famous victory.
After Australia declared their second innings at 270 for 8, the Indian openers had started on a positive note. In the opening over bowled by Pat Cummins, Rohit Sharma brought out his favourite shot – the pull – to collect a boundary. Rohit then essayed a fluent on-drive, while Gill played the punched drive as Cummins came in for more punishment. Rohit followed that up by shuffling around the crease to nonchalantly flick Boland through the midwicket region.
When Mitchell Starc was introduced into the attack, Rohit pulled him into the stands. At that juncture, it seemed as if the pitch had settled down. Perhaps it was the effect of the heavy roller that resulted in the conditions easing out for the batters. Unfortunately for India, in the last over before tea, Gill edged one to Cameron Green, who pouched another brilliant catch. There was some doubt over whether Green had taken it cleanly or not, and the slow-motion replays, even with multiple camera angles, were far from conclusive. Eventually, it was ruled out.
Earlier, in the afternoon session, Alex Carey (66 not out), and Starc (41) had run the Indians ragged with a quick-fire seventh-wicket stand of 93 in 20 overs. The duo crunched cuts, steers, drives and the occasional slog too. Mohammed Shami, who was reintroduced into the attack in 81th over, then dismissed Starc, with Virat Kohli taking a sharp catch in the slip cordon. Shami followed that up by removing Cummins, which prompted the Australian declaration.
At the start of the morning session, the Indian players walked out with a purposeful gait, and an eye on taking early wickets. Although Shami continued to beat the bat in England by hitting a good length, Umesh Yadav, his pace colleague, bowled a tad fuller to force Marnus Labuschagne to edge one to Cheteshwar Pujara in the slip cordon.
Carey and Green, though, joined forces to not just keep India at bay, but also kept the scorecard ticking over. Carey, in particular, showcased some tactical nous by steering and guiding deliveries through backward point and third man. On the other hand, Green looked a little tentative, and was also hit on the shoulder by Mohammed Siraj’s lifter. But he was able to negotiate that tricky little phase.
Eventually, Green was dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja’s over-the-wicket angle. He could only glove one on to the back thigh, and then the ball carried on its way to disturb the timber.
Brief scores: Australia 469 (Travis Head 163, Steve Smith 121; Mohammed Siraj 4-108) and 270/8 (Alex Carey 66*; Ravindra Jadeja 3-58) lead India 296 (Ajinkya Rahane 89; Pat Cummins 3-83) and 41/1 (Rohit Sharma 22*; Boland 1-0) by 403