India have demoralised Australia by taking a two-nil lead in their four-Test series with a massive victory by an innings and 135 runs on Tuesday. The home side’s win in Hyderabad came at lunch on day four with spinners Ravi Ashwin (5-63) and Ravindra Jadeja (3-33) in dominant form.
Resuming on day four on 2-74, Australia were bowled out for 131.It’s Australia’s first innings defeat since the 2010-11 Ashes series.
Opener Ed Cowan top-scored with 44 in a shocking collapse of 8-56 from Australia’s batsmen which followed their eight-wicket loss in the first Test in Chennai.Shane Watson (nine) was caught down legside off the bowling of Ishant Sharma in the third over of the day on Tuesday in the type of lame dismissal every batsman hates.
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The spirits of the touring team’s dressing room sank when their in-form skipper Michael Clarke (16) was bowled by a delivery that turned away from left-arm spinner Jadeja at 4-108. Jadeja struck again in his next over at 5-111 when Cowan was caught at slip after the ball rebounded off wicketkeeper MS Dhoni’s pads.
Without addition to the total, Moises Henriques was run out for a duck at the striker’s end following a direct hit by Jadeja. The sense of panic in the batting team was clear.Allrounder Glenn Maxwell completed a poor debut with the bat (13 and eight) when he was lbw to offspinner Ashwin, who produced a delivery that turned the other way.
Peter Siddle (four) and Matthew Wade (10) fell in consecutive deliveries to Jadeja and Ashwin with the score on 130 and James Pattinson was Ashwin’s fifth victim, lbw for one.
The third Test of the four-match series starts in Mohali on March 14 and Australia will have plenty to ponder, including their top-order troubles.
An unlikely form reversal from Australia in the final two Tests would allow Clarke’s side to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
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