India v Australia: second Test, day one – live | Australia cricket team

6th over: India 13-0 (Sharma 7, KL Rahul 2) Kuhnemann has settled into his task well here, he keeps the pressure on and makes Sharma play every ball, no great turn from his slight round-arm action but admirably accurate. Nathan Lyon has been called for and will twirl away at t’other end. Just a couple more overs to survive for India.

5th over: India 13-0 (Sharma 7, KL Rahul 2) Dot followed dot followed dot followed dot… A maiden from Cummins, pitching it up and zoning in on stumps and pads.

4th over: India 13-0 (Sharma 7, KL Rahul 2) Kuhnemann shuffles in with hands delicately clasped, almost as if he is nursing a broken-winged bird (a Kookaburra?) Just a single to KL Rahul, a push through mid-on. Mark Waugh on TV commentary is spewing about the lack of in intensity in the Aussie field placing. He’s not wrong on this occasion.

Hohoho

3rd over: India 12-0 (Sharma 7, KL Rahul 1) Cummins spears one in back off a length and KL can only fence at it and breathe a sigh of relief he doesn’t get a feather. Cummins has been decidedly more accurate in these first few balls, he was out of sorts in the last game. Rahul gets off the mark with a back-foot punch from high on his toes.

2nd over: India 10-0 (Sharma 6, KL Rahul 0) Matt Kuhnemann opens the bowling in his maiden Test match! And there’s a pea roller! Wow. A regulation length ball from the debutant barely gets above toe height and shoots away through Alex Carey for four byes. Tidy first over from Kuhnemann who has a repeatable action and seems up for the fight.

1st over: India 5-0 (Sharma 5, KL Rahul 0) Sharma spanks Cummins through point for four! Cummins responds by thudding one into his mid-riff. Sharma wanders off to square leg for a breather and manages to get off strike. Box office stuff.

Pat Cummins has the ball in hand. His opposite number Rohit Sharma is ready to face.

Murk descending in Delhi but here come the Aussies. Interesting little period coming up here before the close of day one. There are nine overs scheduled, not sure if we’ll get through them.

Deliciously poised

WICKET! Kuhnemann b Mohammed Shami 6

77th over: Australia 262-9 (Handscomb 72, Kuhnemann 6) Jadeja gets Handscomb caught in the covers…OH NO HE DOESN’T! A no-ball! Handscomb is recalled and smears the next ball for four. Scenes.

77th over: Australia 256-9 (Handscomb 67, Kuhnemann 6) Kuhnemann is proving he is no mug with the willow and provides able support to Handscomb, a couple of neat twos in and amongst some tidy defence. Every run feels vital.

76th over: Australia 252-9 (Handscomb 67, Kuhnemann 2) Will Peter Handscomb chance his arm here? A square drive off Jadeja that whistles to the boundary brings up Australia’s 250. Deliciously poised this game.

75th over: Australia 249–9 (Handscomb 63, Kuhnemann 2) Matt Kuhnemann comes out on Test debut, walking into a cacophony of noise inside the stadium. Good luck lad… and he gets his first runs in Test cricket off a misfield by Axar Patel in the gully.

WICKET! Nathan Lyon b Mohammed Shami 10 (Australia 246-9)

74th over: Australia 245-8 (Handscomb 2, Lyon 10) Spindly shadows creep across the outfield in Delhi. Jadeja starts up again after drinks and, you guessed it, rattles through a maiden.

73rd over: Australia 245-8 (Handscomb 2, Lyon 10) Nathan Lyon playing a typically gritty cameo, he drives Shami through the covers to pick up four and follows up with a Handscomb-esque dab behind point for another boundary. Precious runs for Straya. Time for a drink.

72nd over: Australia 235-8 (Handscomb 61, Lyon 1) Spitting cobra of a delivery from Jadeja that rears up and raps Handscomb on the gloves. Shami is coming back into the attack so sadly Handscomb sends back his white sunhat and calls for the helmet.

Toby Andrew offers up Richie Richardson as the ultimate floppy-hatted batsmen. Of course Tobes, but there’s someone specific I’m thinking of…

“White-hatted batsmen always remind me of David Fulton choosing to wear a hat rather than a helmet when facing Wasim Akram in one of the domestic finals back in the 90’s sometime. Could it be that?

BINGO TO RICHARD WEBB!

71st over: Australia 234-8 (Handscomb 60, Lyon 1) Handscomb picks up a single to reach the sixties, things quieten down after another quick brace of wickets for India.

70th over: Australia 233-8 (Handscomb 59, Lyon 1) Jadeja at his cunning best, a maiden.

69th over: Australia 233-8 (Handscomb 59, Lyon 1) Close! Handscomb ups the ante now, rocking back and getting a thick edge to slash Axar through Virat Kohli’s hands at slip. That could have been nasty, four more to Australia.

WICKET! Todd Murphy b Jadeja 0 (Australia 227-8)

WICKET! Pat Cummins lbw b Jadeja 33 (Australia 227-7)

67th over: Australia 226-6 (Handscomb 53, Cummins 33) Pat Cummins plays a wristy twiddle into leg and picks up three runs as Pujara, in his 100th Test, hunts the ball down.

RE batting in a white sunhat, Arthur Graves emails in to suggest Graeme Hick is the batter I’m trying to summon. Could be right Arth – for some reason I had Kim Barnett swirling round my mind (as per, right?) but a quick Google doesn’t throw up any images of the Derbyshire legend doing the biz in a white floppy. The mind plays tricks.

66th over: Australia 221-6 (Handscomb 51, Cummins 30) Handscomb tickles a single to give Cummins the strike. Jadeja whistles through the next five balls and the crowd ramp up the decibel levels with every dot. India getting slightly twitchy, Kohli begins to conduct the crowd from the slips.

65th over: Australia 220-6 (Handscomb 50, Cummins 30) Five and a half years since his last – Peter Handscomb goes to fifty for Australia. Excellent batting, – skilful and patient, an almost laconic presence at the crease. Well batted ‘Pedey’.

64th over: Australia 214-6 (Handscomb 49, Cummins 29) Fifty partnership between Cummins and Handscomb, another velvet-soft-handed dab* from Handscomb behind square takes him to 49 and Australia inch upwards.

*Handscomb in Glove

63rd over: Australia 214-6 (Handscomb 45, Cummins 29) Lovely glide for four! Handscomb opens the face and runs the ball down to the fence behind point, this is a little gem of an innings, he’s five short of a patient fifty. A single brings Cummins onto strike and Axar Patel rips a quicker delivery past his edge, eeesh that was close – a gnat’s eyelash from the outer layer of linseed oil.

62nd over: Australia 209-6 (Handscomb 40, Cummins 29) A whopping seven runs off the over, Siraj is sheepish as he misfields for the second time in a few overs, the ball scooching under his hand and rolling away to the boundary to gift Cummins four. Handscomb quietly accumulates, handy partnership building again for Australia after a clump of wickets.

61st over: Australia 202-6 (Handscomb 38, Cummins 24) Handscomb is looking resplendent as he bats in a white sunhat (who does that remind me of… OBO hivemind?) a nurdle behind point brings another single.

60th over: Australia 201-6 (Handscomb 37, Cummins 24) Runs! Just a couple, Cummins flicks a full-bunger from Shami off his pads to get the score ticking again and brings up Australia’s 200 in the process. A fumble from Siraj in the covers then gifts Handscomb another. The pressure cooker just hisses a little in Delhi.

59th over: Australia 199-6 (Handscomb 36, Cummins 23) India continue to squeeze, Australia can’t get the one run they need to go to 200. Axar Patel keeps Peter Handscomb tied down. That’s three maidens in a row post tea.

58th over: Australia 199-6 (Handscomb 36, Cummins 23) The indefatigable Shami bustles in and keeps it tight, back to back maidens after tea. Shami is such a nice word to say out loud and makes me think of this:

“When my face is chamois creased”

57th over: Australia 199-6 (Handscomb 36, Cummins 23) An Axar Patel maiden to begin the final session. Peter Handscomb hasn’t (yet got a triple hundred) I’ve just shorn him of about 290 runs. OBO Don Rob Smyth always says he’s surprised by how few mistakes we actually make on here… that’s the line and I’m sticking to it.

The players gather on the boundary edge, we’ll be back underway very soon. I’ve just carb-loaded on toast and marmite (not the heinous veggie alternative, sorry Australia) and so am raring to go. Play has just finished over in New Zealand where it looks to have been another Bazballin’ day.

Whoopsie.

56th over: Australia 199-6 (Handscomb 36, Cummins 23) Back to back boundaries from Cummins, he tickles Siraj fine and follows up with a clip through mid-wicket. Useful knock already from the Australian skipper – he goes to 23 and Australia are one shy of 200. That’s tea. Honours even in that session for my money, 31 overs, 105 runs and three wickets. The Aussies going along at 3.39 an over. Not too shabby. Time for a brew, back soon!

55th over: Australia 190-6 (Handscomb 35, Cummins 15) Ashwin whirls away to Cummins. Big Pat is itching to get the long-handle out and smear another boundary but Ashwin uses all his tricks and nouse to keep him pinned down, turning a few past the edge in the process.

54th over: Australia 189-6 (Handscomb 34, Cummins 15) Siraj bustles in as ever. He’s bowled very well today – no wickets for his 21 runs but his opening spell this morning was box office and he could easily have picked up a handful. He starts tidily, just a single from the over.

53rd over: Australia 188-6 (Handscomb 33, Cummins 15) Another lusty blow from Cummins, he slog sweeps Ashwin for another maximum, the Aussie cap’n is throwing a few counterpunches. The sizeable crowd are into this duel, lots of whooping and hollers as Siraj is summoned into the attack.

52nd over: Australia 182-6 (Handscomb 33, Cummins 9) Could be the right call from Cummins to be the aggressor and take the attack to India. Handscomb quietly accumulates. A score of 250 on this wicket would certainly have the Aussies right in the game.

51st over: Australia 180-6 (Handscomb 32, Cummins 8) Now then, Pat Cummins decides poking and prodding isn’t the way to go, he drops to his knees and spanks a huge six over deep mid-wicket!

50th over: Australia 171-6 (Handscomb 29, Cummins 0) Another warp speed over from Jadeja which yields just a single to get Pat Cummins underway.

“Hello James,
(And well done on somehow arranging to come in at perhaps THE pivotal moment on the match – which means the series).

Hello Gervase Greene – the luck of the err English, I guess.

“A shame about Ussie, but can I just note Handscomb’s presence is so reassuring – and so different to his last Test stint. A few years skippering a Shield side can make such a difference. Like a county pro in the old days for England, there’s a gravitas that would otherwise be sadly lacking in this very fragile middle order.”

49th over: Australia 171-6 (Handscomb 29, Cummins 0) All eyes and no little hopes on Peter Handscomb now then, he collects two off Ashwin with a glance off his pads.