Australia v India: first Test, day three – as it happened

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2014/dec/11/australia-v-india-first-test-third-day-live

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7.05pm AEST08:05

Stumps, Day Three. India 369/5 (Sharma 33, Saha 1) trail Australia by 148 runs.

Well, great day of Test cricket.

Fine century from Virat Kohli, some very handy backup by Vijay (53), Pujara (73) and Rahane (62) - all of whom showed they can bat, at least on wickets conducive to same - and some pretty handy runs at the end from Rohit Sharma, a man who’s got runs in him (he’s the one scored 264 in a one-dayer).

The Aussies toiled away. Their best was Nathan Lyon (30 overs 103-2), while Ryan Harris tried hard. The rest of their seamers never really troubled India on a placid wicket, nor did the backup men.

Captain Michael Clarke tried a few things, though, and can be commended for it. He didn’t just keep throwing fast men after bad. He had Pete Siddle bowl two overs of bouncers, and Steve Smith two overs of no-one is really sure what, Steve Smith included.

But yes, a fine day of Test cricket. Join us again tomorrow from 10am Adelaide time, 10:30am in Sydney, 11:30pm GMT, and 5:30am in Dhaka, the city that came up when I typed “Random City Generator” into Google.

And that’s us. I’m Matt Cleary. I’ll be back on for the first session tomorrow, sharing fast typing duties with Geoff Lemon and Russell Jackson.

And bye for now.

Updated at 7.08pm AEST

6.36pm AEST07:36

97th over - India 369-5 (Sharma 33, Saha 1)

Okay - Big Mitch to bowl the last one. India’s scored tidily off him all day, but he revels in these last session blister-attacks. And is a Dangerous Man. He zaps one past Saha’s nostrils. Well played.

Johnson over the wicket. He whistles two past the body of the swaying Saha.

Here comes the last ball ... slower ball. Done and one. That’s stumps.

6.29pm AEST07:29

96th over - India 368-5 (Sharma 33, Saha 0)

Penultimate over. James May is calling me in two minutes. Bowled, Nathan.

6.27pm AEST07:27

95th over - India 368-5 (Sharma 33, Saha 0)

Oh - and all of a sudden it’s Dangerous Mitch again. He gets the captain, and then rattles the new man, Saha, with a succession of fierce bouncers that said new man does well to evade. What a game, this Test cricket.

6.22pm AEST07:22

Wicket! Kohli 115, c Harris b Johnson

Virat is gone. He’s hooked Johnson to deep backward square where Rhino Harris has done brilliantly to run in and slide and take a fine catch low-down. And that’s the end of the captain, a fine innings. But he’ll be a little disappointed with that in the shadows of stumps, he was seeing it like so many melons.

6.20pm AEST07:20

94th over - India 367-4 (Kohli 115, Sharma 32)

Lyon, again, his 963rd over this innings. Getting a fair bit of spin, some bounce. But these Indian men are set like the Casual Sets, Canberra’s pre-eminent pub rock-n-roll band.

Content to see it out, Virat and Rohit. We’re trundling away, to the end.

6.16pm AEST07:16

93rdd over - India 363-4 (Kohli 113, Sharma 30)

Mitch Johnson again. Left arm fast, though a bit all over the shop today. When’s Stumps? 6pm local? That’s 6:30 here. I’ve got James May that guy from Top Gear on the phone at 6:30pm, this is poised on a knife-edge. Let’s wrap it up, umpires, what say? Let’s have a wicket, Mitch.

Nope. Rather Kohli and Sharma continue on their un-wicked ways of run-making. They’re playing the big leftie quite easily, there are no demons in this pitch in the City of Churches, no siree Bob Simpson.

And onwards we meander towards the end.

Updated at 6.20pm AEST

6.12pm AEST07:12

92nd over - India 363-4 (Kohli 113, Sharma 30)

Siddle’s off. Cummins is comin on. He’s comin, Cummins. Oh yes, somebody’s comin. Pat Cummins.

BIG APPEAL! Sharma doesn’t play a shot and ... well. Hit him on the roll. Probably not out. Indeed that’s how it’s ruled.

Well - TV says: out. The Hawkeye thing says hitting top off middle. Probably the right call given “Doubt”, all that.

Sharma sweeps again, off his gloves, over everything. Luck is a fortune, someone said once, and we still say it today. Wouldn’t that be good, making up a saying people say a hundred years later. Dare to dream.

6.07pm AEST07:07

91st over - India 361-4 (Kohli 112, Sharma 29)

Siddle charging in, hurling the rock at Sharma, the batsman prodding it back like he’s flicking a beetle off his shoulder. Something. But he’s comfortable here. Nothing in the deck, it’s an autobahn on the Nullarbor. And while Peter Siddle is still charging in ... he looks like he needs a big feed. A big feed of meat. Bacon, say. Or a big T-bone. Maybe a rib-eye steak. Hmmm, oh my. Rib-eye steak. That is a piece of meat there, People.

How long until stumps? Gotta be soon.

6.02pm AEST07:02

90th over - India 360-4 (Kohli 112, Sharma 28)

Crowd: 19,518, pretty good for a Thursday school day. And there is more to do in Adelaide, why must people be so unkind. Good town, Adelaide. Wine, sports. You can take a very long walk. Won’t hear a bad word about it. Except for a pub in Glenelg which on Sundays gets.

Lyon pulls off a 50-octave appeal of throaty goodness, but Umpire Gould shakes his head as if to say: No.

Then Sharma dances down the wicket and hits Lyon’s full-toss for four, one bounce into the fence at the longest boundary in world cricket. Then he sweeps him strongly. India loving this.

5.57pm AEST06:57

89th over - India 354-4 (Kohli 111, Sharma 23)

Okay, 55 run partnership in 77 balls. It’s pretty handy. If Sharma had gone early the Aussies would’ve been cock-a-hoop. As it is, with Peter Siddle they’re fifth bowler since they took the new ball about 15 minutes ago, they’re ... they’re not. Not cock-a-hoop. What does that term mean, anyway. Something about a rooster, yodelling...

We may never know.

But know this: Peter Siddle’s bowled a quickish over of straight ones that presented the Indian batters less problem than a very easy Maths test.

5.53pm AEST06:53

88th over - India 348-4 (Kohli 108, Sharma 20)

Okay, Lyon King, do your thing. Relatively new ball. Should be bounce. Some fizz in the air. But Virat Kohli is more set than my mate’s band “Casual Sets”, catch them if you’re ever in Canberra and enjoy Chisel-style pub rock.

Or don’t and continue to enjoy the batting of Virat Kohli, the skipper and centurion, who is starting to own this day of Test cricket.

5.50pm AEST06:50

87th over - India 346-4 (Kohli 107, Sharma 19)

Mitch Marsh, son of Swampy, a nuggetty opener so crazy he’d ask his wife to feed cricket balls into a bowling machine set at Thommo-esque speeds.

Regardless, Rohit Sharma smashes him. Boom. Great pull shot. Sharma starting to get a taste for this Adelaide Oval featherbed. And one would warrant he’s just bashed the Son of Swampy out of the attack.

5.45pm AEST06:45

86th over - India 335-4 (Kohli 104, Sharma 11)

Harris on, Johnson off.

Ravi Nair says: “Hi Matt. Been thoroughly enjoying your description of “Kholi”’s antics. I wonder if anybody thought to note that India have passed the follow-on target? And have scored over 300 in a single day with four consecutive batsmen getting 50s. Or some such.”

They have now, Ravi Nair.

Harris bowls a maiden to Rohit Sharma. India sliding into this Test match with alacrity.

5.42pm AEST06:42

85th over - India 334-4 (Kohli 104, Sharma 11)

Mitch Marsh bowls a tidy enough over after Ryan Harris’s latest two-over spell. Kohli plays him quite easily but he beats Sharma with a highly tasty morsel last ball, it seamed away from Sharma, no shame in missing that, it’d have beaten the Don.

5.39pm AEST06:39

Hundred for Virat Kohli

Great shot off his toes brings up a great century from the India skipper. He’s 101 with a boundary through mid-wicket. Not looking like slowing down. Look in his eyes like, Halfway there? Not even. Fire in his eyes. Good stuff.

5.36pm AEST06:36

84th over - India 327-4 (Kohli 97, Sharma 11)

Boom! Kohli pulls Johnson to the mid-wicket fence, a super shot. Johnson is tearing in. But just not absolutely terrifying at the moment. You wouldn’t want to face him in the nude. But if you’re Virat Kohli on 94, you’re not sweating hollow-tipped dum-dum bullets of fear.

Kohli goes to 96 with a nudge off his hip. Then 97 with a tuck off his ribs. If you’re facing that in the nude you’ve got a broken rib. But our Virat, he’s in a little zone here. Batting beautifully.

Rohit Sharma then takes a couple, and there’s 9 runs off. Exxy, Big Mitch. Bit exxy.

5.31pm AEST06:31

83rd over - India 318-4 (Kohli 90, Sharma 9)

“Is it just me, or did the umpire declare ‘That’s time for drinks and a piss’ when it came to the break. How rude,” suggests Matt Cast from France.

Didn’t hear that one. Wouldn’t be the worst thing ever said on the cricket pitch, as those who heard David Hookes walk up the race on this venerable Adelaide Oval would tell you.

The Rhino’s ripped off another maiden. No he hasn’t, one off. Kohli’s on 90.

5.27pm AEST06:27

82nd over - India 317-4 (Kohli 89, Sharma 9)

Here he comes, Big Mitch, tearing in with the new red rock, the left-armed Wasim Akram occasional resembler.

First ball, shot. Great shot from Kohli, beautiful cover drive, a classical front-foot drive, boom through the covers. Four runs from Johnson’s first ball. Few balls later - bang, four more. Kohli back-foot bashes him to the same cover fence. He’s gone onto 89. Eleven off the over. Statement from India: Aint so bad, paper champion.

5.22pm AEST06:22

81st over - India 306-4 (Kohli 78, Sharma 9)

And here comes The Heat, The People. It’s Rhino Harris with the brand new red rock. Big outswing for Harris. Big bending swing. Nicely navigated early by Sharma, who left them quite easily. Important “shot”, the leave. Harris targets off stump. Three slips and a gully. Point. Few other fielders spread about. Boonie at short-leg? There was a time, Friends, when he never left. But now he’s a taking doll for a beer-box. True enough story.

Sharma is beaten by a Jaffa rolling down the aisle at the Civic Cinemas in 1978 by the last ball of that over. But he’s unscathed from the Harris maiden.

5.15pm AEST06:15

80th over - India 306-4 (Kohli 78, Sharma 8)

Lyon, looking to exploit the rough outside off stump. Bit of dust coming up from the footmarks. This does not displease the off-spinner from Young, Cherry Capital of Australia.

Rohit Sharma, though, pulls off a super sweep-whack, and it’s sped away to the square-leg fence, top shot.

5.12pm AEST06:12

79th over - India 300-4 (Kohli 77, Sharma 4)

Watto, again, bowling his skiddy little meds. Getting a little in-dip. You’d be annoyed he got you out, were you a Test batsman well set and 24 shy of a ton.

India reaches 300. Four wickets down. Keep that to stumps they’re a show in this Test match. Crucial, pivotal session here, The People.

5.08pm AEST06:08

78th over - India 299-4 (Kohli 76, Sharma 4)

“Are you intentionally misspelling Kohli’s name? Is this some Guardian inside joke?” asks Kabir Sethi.

No, mate. Just dud finger work.

Lyon King - five off the over. And onwards we roll towards that hard red rock, and Big Mitch, the Dangerous One.

5.05pm AEST06:05

77th over - India 294-4 (Kohli 74, Sharma 1)

“Hi Matt. Just wanted to know: is your spelling of Kohli as ‘Kholi’ courtesy of some private joke of which I’m unaware? PS. If the spelling is a ‘challenge’, why not do as I do and simply call him ‘Surly’? If the shoe fits … etc,” writes Sarah Bacon from the Middle East.

No joke, Sarah Bacon. Just poor, fast-finger work from the central commentary position.

And sorry, “Rohit” Sharma, not Robin. This is the bloke scored 264 in a one-dayer. How about that many runs? You couldn’t convinced Bill Edrich that was possible, I’ll warrant.

Oh, here’s Watto! Bowling very slow in-dippers. Like little slidy skiddy ones. Innocuous, and therein likes their danger. But Rohit Sharma sees him off.

How long until Bit Mitch? It’s in the post, people. But Lyon’s getting bounce. Interesting times.

5.00pm AEST06:00

76th over - India 293-4 (Kohli 73, Sharma 1)

New man is Robin Sharma, the keeper. Is he a keeper? Is there a Mrs Sharma? He faces Nathan Lyon. He sweeps him. Haven’t seen a lot of sweeping. But it gets Robin Sharma a run.

4.58pm AEST05:58

Wicket! Rahane 62, c Watson b Lyon

Well bowled, Nathan Lyon. He’s extracted some good sized bounce off a good length, forced Rahane back, the ball thudding off his gloves and lobbing a dolly to Shane Watson at first slip. He’s dangerous, the Lyon King. Well bowled. And well batted. And well umpired. Well commentated. Everyone take a big fat bow.

4.55pm AEST05:55

75th over - India 293-3 (Kohli 74, Rahane 62)

Smithy’s getting another one. He lands one on a good length, another on the toes, the next floats up like a balloon of goodness, the next winkles around the pads, fifth ball is short and cut, and the last is tucked off the hip. Ya.

Hundred partnership for these two, well batted.

4.53pm AEST05:53

74th over - India 288-3 (Kohli 73, Rahane 58)

“Still very early days of course, but good stuff so far from the young Indian lineup against a big scary score. Someone (probably named Kohli) needs to go on and make a proper hundred. Clarke might have missed a trick by not continuing with the Mitch/Lyon duo right after tea,” says Kabir Sethi, and it’s hard to argue.

Lyon, tidy over. One off.

4.50pm AEST05:50

73rd over - India 287-3 (Kohli 73, Rahane 57)

Righto, Steve Smith and is bouncy bag of tricks.

“How much coffee did you have before you started matt? I’m slightly frazzled just reading your posts let alone writing them,” writes David Warner from the Internet.

One cup, one sugar. Beer o’clock beckoning.

Smith leaks another six. That’ll be his spell, for mine.

Updated at 4.50pm AEST

4.47pm AEST05:47

72nd over - India 280-3 (Kohli 68, Rahane 55)

Lyon King bowls a short one, Kohli pulls it into Dave Warner’s heal. Heel. Heel it is.

Next one - boom, down the ground, classy on-drive, four bits. Lyon comes around the wicket. Right arm around. Kholi is cool with it. Batting with impunity these Indians.

And here comes Smithy again.

4.44pm AEST05:44

71st over - India 276-3 (Kohli 64, Rahane 55)

Here’s Stevie Smith, replacing the bouncer man, Pete Siddle. Smith’s first one is a half-track piece of happy goodness that Kohli pull-hacks down the ground for four. Smith follows it up with a full-toss, that Kholi drives to a fielder. This is Smith’s bowling career in a microcosm - there’s everything: half-volleys, ripping turners. It’s like watching all the television channels at once.

Chris Rogers saves a run with some tidy diving work on the fence. And Smith bowls to Kholi who works him wide. How many off? About eight. Nine, thereabouts.

4.39pm AEST05:39

70th over - India 267-3 (Kohli 58, Rahane 52)

Lyon King, bowling nicely, outside off and throwing it into the air, extracting a little turn, bounce, the things your offie needs.

Rahane Man? He’s got himself a fifty. Needs to go right on. New ball is on the way, and that means one thing: Big Mitch.

In the meantime Rahane drives nicely through extra cover for two.

4.35pm AEST05:35

69th over - India 263-3 (Kohli 56, Rahane 49)

Siddle, again, bowling short to Rahane. It appears to be a Plan. That or he’s gone mad with bloodlust. That’s probably not it. Vegans are nice, like hippies. Even if his last over was six short ones. And this over was seven short ones, one going so far over Rahane Man’s head he wouldn’t have hit it with a tennis racquet on Joel Garner’s shoulders.

Siddle follows up with a scramble-seamed piece of pie outside off and Rahane smokes him for four in front of point.

Siddle follows that up with pretty tasty short one. But they’re all short. And, well ... he’s under orders. But ... thirteen short ones in a row? As Marge Simpson would say: Hmmmm.

4.30pm AEST05:30

68th over - India 255-3 (Kohli 55, Rahane 44)

Lyon King again. Two over spell for the Rhino. Crafty stuff from Captain Clarke, he’s bowling a bit of everything by everybody. Steve Smith will get a bowl soon too, one hopes, he’s a bouncy human. Dave Warner, too, bowls funky little licorice leggies. And if Clarkey’s back wasn’t so much balsa wood, he’d have a crack himself.

As it is Lyon’s bowled a maiden.

4.27pm AEST05:27

67th over - India 255-3 (Kohli 55, Rahane 44)

Wow. First ball from Big Sid is pulled from outside off stump high out to mid-wicket where Nathan Lyon comes screaming in, dives towards it bravely, but can’t catch it or stop it going for four runs. And Rahane Man goes to 43, he’s moving along now, having something of a crack. Sid Vicious continues to pepper him with short ones, he’s getting yorkers from Rhino and bumpers from Sids. Clarke has a word with Siddle at mid-on. And Siddle bowls another short one that Kholi just turns around the corner in semi-ungainly fashion. Siddle bowling one of those spells, now. Another bouncer. Kholi turns it again. Mitch Marsh dives and stops the pull shot at short-leg. Not short leg. Short-ish leg. Halfway to the ump. Over.

4.23pm AEST05:23

66th over - India 248-3 (Kohli 53, Rahane 39)

Righto, The Rhino, again. Bustling in, full-chested. He spears in a yorker that Rahane Man, somehow, squeezes off the cue-end of his bat over Brad Haddin’s head for four. Top shot. No name for it. Let’s invent one, like old mate did with the Ramp Shot. The Rahane? To Rahane? We may never know.

Either way, Rahane’s starting to like it out in the middle. He’s flayed the Rhino through point, cracking square cut. And big Rhino stands mid-pitch and grips his septum with chagrin.

Chargin in again he fires in a yorker. Ten off. All happening? No, but a bit is.

4.18pm AEST05:18

65th over - India 238-3 (Kohli 52, Rahane 29)

Righto - who’s up now, Clarkey? Sid Vicious again? Oh yes, Big Sid it is. And our man Rahane, the Rahane Man, if you will and I do, blasts him through covers, four bits. Classical shot. They reckon he’s scored some big tons in first class cricket. This doesn’t tend to hold any water in Australia, we have a thing about “our” decks. We reckon they’re like snakes of death. Etiher way, Rahane Man has helped himself to some of Sid’s Not That Vicious’s right-arm overs, and there were seven runs off that one.

4.12pm AEST05:12

64th over - India 231-3 (Kohli 52, Rahane 23)

The Rhino, replacing The Lyon King, immediately. One over spell for Lyon. And in comes our Rhino, rumbling in like Buzz Lightyear, a stocky man. Kholi bops him for two through the covers. He’s on 52. He’ll need 252 if India are to get into this. Harris beats him with a tasty outswinger, hint of seam off the deck. Fair fast bowling, from Our Rhino. Chucking them through at 135km/h. Quick enough without being Thommo on the tear. Tidy over. And Virat sees him off with a series of straight prods.

4.09pm AEST05:09

63rd over - India 229-3 (Kohli 50, Rahane 23)

Righto. Sid Vicious, Peter Siddle, is the newest attack agent, the big Victorian bowls plenty of straight ones. Loves his veges, too, Big Pete. Indeed he’s a vegan, which means all he can eat is Eucalyptus leaves. And bark. And ants. Not sure about ants. Maybe sugar ants at a pinch. He’s sent one down legside that Rahane has helped to the boundary for four. Looked like leg-byes. Apparently not. Sid Vicious has 0-30 in eight overs.

4.03pm AEST05:03

62nd over - India 225-3 (Kohli 50, Rahane 19)

Okay, we’re away again, and Kohli smokes a nice little drive through cover for two. There’s his fifty. Well batted, Virat. Lyon is bowling with fine flight and guile, and extracting some sting out of the surface. Good contest here. Virat needs a mate, though.

Updated at 4.04pm AEST

4.01pm AEST05:01

Tea

Greetings, The People, Matt Cleary here, I’m going to take you on the Wild Ride that is this final session of Day Three of the first Test in Adelaide. Been a keen old day of cricket thus far. India’s found this typically pure Adelaide Oval wicket to their liking, on occasion, crafting some top notch cricket shots. Meanwhile Australia’s seam-and-spin sextet has found a bit of bounce in the wicket, and conjured three well-deserved wickets.

Who’s on top? Got to be Australia. Virat Kohli’s looked very composed. And good. He’s quite a good batsman. Someone, might’ve been Sourav Ganguly said he was the best junior cricketer he’s ever seen.

But you sense if he goes, there’ll be a procession.

They’re coming back out now. We are bare seconds from a start.

3.47pm AEST04:47

Tea: India 223-3

A very even session, and a really absorbing contest. Kohli batted tremendously to get all the way through looking so solid against some very good bowling from Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Lyon.

Cheteshwar Pujara batted beautifully for 73 before being nutmegged off the inside edge by Lyon. Good signs for him on this tour, and it helped push on the side after an 81-run partnership with Kohli. Pujara’s was the only wicket to fall, and while Rahane looked very shaky at times, he’ll have the chance to settle in after tea. Nathan Lyon also looked shaky when Murali Vijay was lofting him for sixes, but settled into an excellent line and consistently threatening length, getting some turn and plenty of bounce to keep the Indians guessing. Johnson went for a few, as ever, but had the ball whistling around and always looked in the game. It should be a fine final session, so join with Matt Cleary as he takes you through to stumps, and I’ll see you after lunch tomorrow.

3.37pm AEST04:37

60th over - India 216-3 (Kohli 45, Rahane 15)

Nathan Lyon continues, and Rahane searches for answers by backing away as he saw one wide of off. It wasn’t at all short, but he still managed to connect the cut shot and send it to the boundary. Four, but still an unconvincing shot. Two balls later he tries another cut to a shorter ball but misses it after it kicks. Therein lies the danger. The Australians were excited after that flew off Haddin’s gloves up into the air.

3.33pm AEST04:33

59th over - India 211-3 (Kohli 44, Rahane 11)

Hold onto your helmets, Mitchell Johnson is back. Kohli takes a tip-and-run single but makes it home. There’s a massive appeal against Rahane considering he missed his wide drive by about a foot. Rahane produces a checked pull shot that just punts the short ball away for one. Kohli calmly keeps one out of his ribs and takes another run. He doesn’t looked trobled, and his minor milestone is visible just down the road. Rahane fences at the last ball, misses, it flies through to Haddin after being whistled in short.

Lessons from this over: Kohli looks right at home, Ajinkya Rahane looks lost in a field without his pants.

3.28pm AEST04:28

58th over - India 208-3 (Kohli 42, Rahane 10)

Top stop from Clarke, he puts his spine on the line - is it Pine-Lime Splice time? Pulls out the big dive at mid off to save the Kohli drive. In the end, just a single from the last ball of Lyon’s over. My, has he settled.

3.25pm AEST04:25

57th over - India 207-3 (Kohli 41, Rahane 10)

One slip and a gully is all for Rahane, facing Marsh, after Kohli pulls a single from the first ball. Rahane rediscovers the virtues of a forward defence. Finally he pulls out a slightly better shot - a back-foot force from the fifth ball, through cover point for four. It was in the air for a while, though.

3.20pm AEST04:20

56th over - India 202-3 (Kohli 40, Rahane 6)

Rahane is rahorrible at the moment. Kohli raises the 200 with a single, then Rahane has an ugly slap at Lyon that steeples and barely lobs Johnson at mid on. Kohli makes sure to keep strike from the last ball.

Updated at 3.25pm AEST

3.18pm AEST04:18

55th over - India 199-3 (Kohli 38, Rahane 5)

You can see why Kohli wanted to bat out maidens. He gets a single to Marsh to get off strike, then Rahane has all kinds of swings at Marsh’s short deliveries without scoring from any of them. Looked all over the shop.

3.13pm AEST04:13

54th over - India 198-3 (Kohli 37, Rahane 5)

This is turning ton a super spell by Lyon. Again the line was good, just outside off and turning in, and the length was perfect. That one spat, peat at the gloves of Rahane, and landed just short of Steve Smith at bat pad. The next one leaps in similar fashion. Finally Rahane is able to escape strike after five balls. That image, seeing a batsman ruffled and hunted by Lyon, is the one that Australian cricket fans are desperate to see.

Updated at 3.18pm AEST

3.11pm AEST04:11

53rd over - India 196-3 (Kohli 36, Rahane 4)

Kohli being super watchful now that his first drop has left the scene. Up on the toes and defending Marsh off the back foot. Marsh tends to bowl a very straight-up-and-down style of stuff, banged into the wicket, so it’s not the most challenging. He sends down a coupleof short balls that will suit Kohli fine, as they’re easy to get under. Any ball that doesn’t make the batsman work is a bit of a wasted one.

3.07pm AEST04:07

52nd over - India 196-3 (Kohli 36, Rahane 4)

A friendly one to get off the mark. Lyon drifts too wide and too short, and Rahane cuts him through covers for four. There’s then a big appeal as Lyon turns one onto the pad, but it was clearly via the inside edge, and the umpire agrees. No need for yet another boring discussion about DRS then, though no doubt the TV mob will be having one.

3.04pm AEST04:04

51st over - India 192-3 (Kohli 36, Rahane 0)

Mitchell Marsh comes on, an interesting decision with the new man at the crease. he bowls a maiden to Kohli though, who just wants things to settle. Rahane may look edgy now, but he has form away from home.

Ajinkya Rahane's highest Test scores in South Africa: 96 in New Zealand: 118 in England: 103 #AusvInd

2.59pm AEST03:59

50th over - India 192-3 (Kohli 36, Rahane 0)

Big over for Australia and for Lyon. That will get the confidence up. There was some luck to the dismissal but he’d made it happen by keeping the batsmen unsure of what would happen when he bowled. Rahane comes out at No5, aims a big sweep at Lyon and is lucky to survive when he misses.

2.56pm AEST03:56

WICKET! Pujara 73, b Lyon

Got him! Some fortune, some of it deserved. Lyon lures Pujara into a big stride forward to the ball, it turned into him perhaps a little more than expected, and good some more bounce. It came off the inside edge, into Pujara’s back thigh, then ricocheted back onto the stumps. Very solid knock, but it’s over.

2.54pm AEST03:54

49th over - India 192-2 (Pujara 73, Kohli 36)

Nearly! This pitch is dying a little - we’ve seen plenty of balls bounce through to the keeper, and this time Watson gets the inside edge down the leg side as Kohli tries to glance, but the ball ies before reaching Haddin’s glove. Kohli comes back with a classical on-drive through midwicket for four.

2.51pm AEST03:51

48th over - India 188-2 (Pujara 73, Kohli 32)

If the answer is to come perhaps it will be from the sneaky little Nathan Lyon. He’s getting good loop, a little drift in the brisk beeeze that riffles his clothing as he comes in to bowl. Good line over the wicket and tightly around the off stump. There’s an inside edge from the first ball to Kohli that doesn’t quite carry to short leg. Plenty of caution and a single from the over.

2.48pm AEST03:48

47th over - India 187-2 (Pujara 73, Kohli 31)

Watson joins the boundary-conceding club after drinks, getting too full and being cover driven by Virat Kohli. Anything full has been punished here. Kohli takes a single and Pujara follows up with a brace. Is Watson hoping for a bit of reverse here? The going is becoming tough, but the intentions of the tough are yet to be made known.

2.42pm AEST03:42

46th over - India 180-2 (Pujara 71, Kohli 26)

India going nicely here. If this kept up a while longer, all the people carrying on about how India can’t bat in Australia would have to change their tune. They’d change it to India only being able to bat in Adelaide. Of course they’re right, India can’t bat in Australia. Aside from all the hundreds and double hundreds made here by Tendulkar, Laxman, Dravid, Sehwag, Ganguly... even this kid Kohli has one.

He and Pujara safely negotiate the last over before drinks with two singles from Nathan Lyon.

2.37pm AEST03:37

45th over - India 178-2 (Pujara 70, Kohli 25)

The hunch was spot on, Watto is into the attack. A couple of dots and then yet another Pujara glide, this time to first slip. He seems to play those instead of back-foot defenses or leaves. Is it a way of trying to score even while defending? Could someone who knows about batting please enlighten me? Watson on a good length, hard to drive, that in-between pace which isn’t the easiest to hit. Just the one run from the over, Pujara knocking the ball to square leg.

2.35pm AEST03:35

44th over - India 177-2 (Pujara 69, Kohli 25)

Kohli isn’t the type to miss out though. Lyon drags one short and Kohli cuts through cover point for four. Couple more singles but the spinner has mostly looked good this spell. Another spinner agrees. Shane Watson has been warming up at slip for the past two overs.

great to see Lyon back in the groove after Pakistan series. Seriously good bowler @ESPNcricinfo @CricketAus #australiavindia #matchpoint

2.30pm AEST03:30

43rd over - India 171-2 (Pujara 68, Kohli 20)

Twice more in that Harris over Pujara glides him to gully. In between times though, he gets one with a bit more width and crisply cuts it past the diving Lyon at point. A couple of balls later Lyon doesn’t even get to dive - Pujara’s square drive flashes by him in no time. Australia and India have swapped playbooks: you guys bowl full with an erratic line, we’ll wait for those balls and drive them for four. Pujara is streaming ahead.

2.27pm AEST03:27

42nd over - India 163-2 (Pujara 60, Kohli 20)

Lyon continuing with this teasing, accurate bowling. Again, just a single.

Russell is being mocked around the world and is now a bit maudlin.

Might go sync some tins.

2.24pm AEST03:24

41st over - India 162-2 (Pujara 59, Kohli 20)

Harris has no hesitation against Kohli either, bowling a very full over, trying to draw the nick. Kohli misses a couple, drives a couple to the field, drives one into the non-striker’s stumps. Maiden.

2.22pm AEST03:22

40th over - India 162-2 (Pujara 59, Kohli 20)

Lyon coming back nicely! Kohli didn’t look convinced against him in that over, just the single from the fifth ball.

2.19pm AEST03:19

39th over - India 161-2 (Pujara 59, Kohli 19)

That’s maybe the fourth time in the past few overs that one of this pair has guided the ball to slip on the bounce. Three slips in, or two and a gully depending on where you’re sitting. That’ll have to bring them unstuck in the end, although it’s played almost as a defensive shot - a way to get the ball safely to ground.

It’s Harris bowling, with pace and purpose. A couple of singles, before Pujara flicks off his pads just wide of Marsh set well back at midwicket, and survives for two. he celebrates by driving the next ball through cover for a clean boundary. They’re ticking over very nicely on the scoreboard, but still some 350 runs behind.

2.14pm AEST03:14

38th over - India 153-2 (Pujara 52, Kohli 18)

Nathan Lyon comes back, and for once isn’t mauled down the ground. Just three singles. These two need to bat long, not angrily.

2.10pm AEST03:10

37th over - India 150-2 (Pujara 50, Kohli 17)

Top contest, this. Johnson is bowling with plenty of snort, Pujara and Kohli are responding without fear. There’s a ripping short ball up at Pujara’s collarbone, that bit of angle from the left-arm over-the-wicket line, jagging up at Pujara tight on the line of off stump. He manages to angle it down with that glide shot into the slips. So well played, so well bowled. Pujara then gets a drive down the ground for three, before Kohli cracks a pull short straight to the fielder at square leg for no run. Playing their shots, but Johnson looks in the game.

The Indian one-fiddy is up, and Pujara’s half century: 96 balls, 6 fours.

2.04pm AEST03:04

36th over - India 147-2 (Pujara 47, Kohli 17)

Siddle keeps bowling the odd loose one. Four good balls at Pujara, then he slips one full and is cover driven for four. A single to follow. Pujara nears 50.

I am not the sort of man to revel in the misfortunes of my colleagues, but after 6000 perfectly crafted professional sportswritten words on the OBO this morning, Russell went straight onto Twitter and did this.

The prayers of a nation answered: a radio that sinks the ABC commentary with Nine's images! http://t.co/BrBotVi0Ou

*sincs - you know what I meant. I got too excited.

1.58pm AEST02:58

35th over - India 142-2 (Pujara 42, Kohli 17)

Shot, that one. The Big Pooje comes forward to Johnson for an exquisite cover drive of his own, perfect timing. It was a no-ball as well. They change strike, then Kohli plays with just as much touch and even less effort, hanging on the back foot to a slightly shortish ball on off, then almost just opening the face of the bat in the backlift, and letting the ball run off the face into the ground, between slip and gully, to third man for four. Brave? Foolish? Deliberate? Definitely elegant. Ten from the over.

1.51pm AEST02:51

34th over - India 132-2 (Pujara 37, Kohli 13)

If you’re still emailing Russell then you should probably stop that, and email me instead. Peter Siddle is the other post-lunch bowler, and he serves up a dessert ball, full on the pads, that Captain Kohli flicks away to the midwicket fence. Siddle comes back with an edge into the ground to slip. Six from the over.

1.47pm AEST02:47

33rd over - India 126-2 (Pujara 36, Kohli 8)

We’re back underway after lunch, as the tiny brightly dressed cricket children form some sort of guard-of-honour / handshake-gauntlet for the umpires, possibly just of their own volition. Where are their parents? The session resumes in lovely cricketing fashion for batting fans, as Johnson bowls full to Kohli who cover drives him for four. Sweet shot. There’s a single for Kohli into the covers as well, and two runs glided by Pujara past gully next ball. This is the pair, and will be all series, that must do it for India, and I could not be more excited about watching this next stage in their evolution. Grow feathers, you laggards!

Updated at 1.52pm AEST

1.33pm AEST02:33

Good afternoon all. Geoff Lemon jumping into the pilot’s seat while Russell Jackson goes for a well-earned nap, which he’ll need to have leaning against the wall in one of those tiny aeroplane toilets that you can’t even stand up in. Who designed this craft, sadistic Oompa Loompas? It’s not a big plane, it what I’m saying. Look, I don’t know how we got this far, let’s just start over.

It’s lunch! Ah, lunch. That means that the annoying Adelaide Oval MC is quizzing a shyly monosyllabic primary-schooler with temporary facial tattoos. One is a cricket bat and one is a strawberry, as best I can tell. You figure it out. On the television, recent NSW players Brett Lee and Michael Slater are completely impartially telling us how great Brad Haddin is, and how he should captain the next Test. Journalism!

1.20pm AEST02:20

That first session in brief

India were under the kosh early when fast-starting Shikar Dhawan was castled by Ryan Harris, but Murali Vijay and Che Pujara recovered well and even dominated the Australian bowling in parts. Were it not for Vjay’s dismissal at the hands of a pumped-up Johnson an over before lunch, you would have been confident giving India the honours.

Dhawan was out for a rapid 25, Vijay a more evenly-paced 53 and Che Pujara is the settled batsman now on 34. His captain Virat Kohli ducked into a rip-snorting bouncer from Mitchell Johnson from his first delivery but thankfully he’s recovered from the blow and will bat on after lunch, perhaps with a new lid.

Harris (1-20 off 9) and Johnson (1-38 off 8) were the pick of the Australian bowlers, Harris with his control and movement, Johnson latterly with his destructive, dangerous pace and bounce. Peter Siddle labored through 5 fairly toothless overs and Mitch Marsh conceded only one an over for five more, but spinner Nathan Lyon copped some tap, heaved for 34 from his 5 wicketless overs across two spells.

The big question mark for me after lunch will be whether Johnson recovers from the clear distress he felt at hitting Kohli and continues on with his searing, threatening bouncers. If he does he’s going to be a real handful in short bursts.

Geoff Lemon will be with you after lunch but I’m happy to hand around and indulge any questions about commentary-team street fights or heavy-handed security guards.

1.11pm AEST02:11

Some reader thoughts

Geoff Foley is keeping tabs on the Sheffield Shield crowds for us. “Was just checking out the feed at lunch from Bellrieve, with 3 security guards near the square,” he says. “There’d be a guard for each crowd member I’d say. Not sure that’s warranted surely?”

You never know how crazy things could get, Geoff. Sometimes those dozing old men can just lunge at you from out of nowhere. Adam Collins, on the other hand, is happy to see Mitch back and bruising them. “Cheering after back to back Mitch bumpers, then slow clapping before the next few. Best indication yet: cricket is back to normal.”

“Did Kholi change his helmet after it got hit?” asks Zachary Gomperts-Mitchelson. “Would be interested to know whether they’re designed with crumple zones like a bike helmet or to be some sort of solid barrier. Would guess the second.”

He didn’t change it, no, and I think Umpire Ian Gould wanted him to. You’d think he will at the break but I could be wrong.

1.07pm AEST02:07

And that is lunch

32nd over - India 119-2 (Pujara 34, Kohli 3)

“That’s such an Indian shot, isn’t it?” says James Brayshaw of Che Pujara’s fairly regulation glance to leg. Well, Ranji is credited with invented the stroke JB so I guess so. It goes for a boundary and is the only notable event in Ryan Harris’ over, which can’t help but be less eventful than the one that preceded it.

It also takes us though to lunch and though India will rue the fact that Murali Vijay perished so close to the break, they’ll be very happy that it should disrupt the dangerous momentum Mitchell Johnson had built in his last two menacing overs.

Johnson, on the other hand, might well have lost his appetite for carnage on account of that scare when he hit Virat Kohli flush on the helmet. Only time will tell but it’s at least a positive sign for cricket’s return to normality that he felt up to unleashing such deliveries in the first place.

1.01pm AEST02:01

31st over - India 115-2 (Pujara 29, Kohli 3)

Well that was a very strange over. Johnson looked shaken from the reality of hitting a batsman in the helmet and you can fully understand why. Kohli is fine and pushes three down the ground to get off the mark. At over’s end, a reassured Johnson is signing autographs on the boundary and looks a little more relaxed now.

12.59pm AEST01:59

Kohli has been hit!

Johnson steams in to the Indian skipper and unleashes another nasty bouncer. Kohli ducks straight into it, wearing it on the helmet badge and in doing so, provides everyone with a terribly awkward and tense moment. Johnson looks distressed but to be honest the batsman is fine. Clarke rubs his bowlers’ shoulders and reassures him. ‘It’s just part of the game’, seems to be the tone of their collective body language.

After checking that their opponent is fine to resume, the players take their positions again. How will this alter the tone of Johnson’s fiery spell though?

12.56pm AEST01:56

WICKET! Vijay c Haddin b Johnson 53 (India 111-2, Pujara 29)

The pressure tells! Johnson really worked Vijay over only moments ago and when he returns for another bout he angles one across the wary batsman and takes the edge of the bat. Haddin makes no mistake and the Aussies have the wicket they were after.

12.54pm AEST01:54

30th over - India 111-1 (Vijay 53, Pujara 29)

It’s a bit of a shame that Johnson and Harris haven’t fired in unison yet. At the moment it is the latter who is struggling to hit his straps. That doesn’t deter the Nine team, who on the the strength of what they’re seeing liken them to Lillee and Thompson.

12.49pm AEST01:49

29th over - India 109-1 (Vijay 52, Pujara 28)

Flesh! Heat! Mitchell Johnson has had enough of the tourists’ ascendancy so hammers a bouncer into Vijay’s ducking body, nearly takes his head off with an even sharper one to follow and then angles the third delivery beautifully past the outside edge of the slightly shaken batsman. It’s magnificent fast bowling and brings the local crowd alive.

Vijay, for his part, weathers the storm admirably because it can’t be easy to handle a fired-up Mitch. The over ends an eventful and absorbing maiden. Any questions about Johnson easing off in this series were emphatically rubbished by that over.

12.45pm AEST01:45

Murali Vijay reaches his half-century

28th over - India 109-1 (Vijay 52, Pujara 28)

He looked unconvincing early on, but Murali Vijay is gathering steam now and passes 50 with three runs square of mid-wicket after moving around his crease to Harris and disturbing his length a little. Harris, meanwhile, has been warned about running into the ‘danger zone’ down the middle of the pitch in his follow-through.

Needless to say this session is going India’s way.

12.41pm AEST01:41

27th over - India 106-1 (Vijay 49, Pujara 28)

Clarke now opts for a little more Mitch but these two batsmen are now well settled and locked on to their task. When Pujara starts playing Johnson comfortably the bowler slings down a fast, accurate bouncer to get him ducking. Pujara is perfectly happy to play out a maiden.

12.36pm AEST01:36

26th over - India 106-1 (Vijay 49, Pujara 28)

Michael Clarke doesn’t rate Nathan Lyon’s spell as highly as Shane Warne so takes him off and throws the ball to Ryan Harris, never a bad idea. Harris is a little straight though so Pujara - and I think we’ll see this sort of thing a fair bit this summer - picks him off his pads for another classy boundary.

At over’s end Harris stares back down the pitch with his hands on his hips as if to say, “well this isn’t as easy as I thought it was going to be.”

Only in Indian ones. MT @CricketAus: Should the DRS be used in all Test matches? Vote in the @CommBank Viewers' verdict here. #AUSvIND

12.33pm AEST01:33

25th over - India 101-1 (Vijay 49, Pujara 23)

Getting back to the commentary bar fight, which is now consuming my thoughts far more than Mitchell Marsh’s mediums, is it okay if we draft in fighters from other sections of Guardian Sport? Joe Gorman could bring all of his ‘old soccer’ hooligan mates with their knuckle-duster ultra-violence and flares.

I’m only joking Joe. I know you don’t like flares.

Kevin Mitchell knows a boxer when he sees one, but could he float like a butterfly and sting like a bee? I’m reaching here, bar Lemon we’d probably end up in a bloody pulp.

12.28pm AEST01:28

24th over - India 100-1 (Vijay 49, Pujara 22)

Nathan Lyon is “bowling so well here”, says Warnie, which seems an unnecessarily glowing endorsement given the way he’s being belted around.

Daniel McDonald is clearly an Anchorman fan. “I can’t make sense of Ian Healy at all,” he says, “but just wondering... who would win in a bar fight between the commentary teams from OBO, ABC, CH9, TMS, Sky??”

Well, I think I’d be clocked within seconds because I’d be looking around trying to catch a glimpse of Chappelli putting Beefy into a sleeper-hold. The ABC guys, with respect, are a little long in the tooth and would be easy pickings. Healy would fight dirty, so might be a handful. I’m not sure to be honest.

Lemon would be our wildcard. Don’t let the glasses fool you, he’s rangy and boasts a considerable wingspan. He might be able to hold Slater and Brett Lee with a hand each as I unleash some cowardly hay-makers.

12.23pm AEST01:23

23rd over - India 94-1 (Vijay 46, Pujara 19)

That Lyon near-miss has sent Shane Warne on a rant about the lack of DRS in this series. Something needs to be done about this nonsense, says Warnie. “I love the way you think the ICC governs the game,” replies a surprisingly chippy Mark Nicholas. Good form, Nicko.

12.19pm AEST01:19

22nd over - India 94-1 (Vijay 46, Pujara 19)

How comfortable is Murali Vijay at the crease now? Well, within the space of two balls from Lyon he’s both sweeping him and then hammering him over long-on for another six. Lyon strikes back momentarily, drawing the batsman forward defensively and rapping him on the pads. Was it in line? Was there an edge? Umpire Ian Gould says a firm ‘not out’.

Replays suggest it was perhaps heading down the leg side.

12.14pm AEST01:14

21st over - India 85-1 (Vijay 38, Pujara 18)

It’s possible that Che Pujara doesn’t rate Mitch Marsh’s pace, because he rocks back and hooks his high to deep mid-wicket from a delivery that was actually a lot quicker than he’d anticipated - 144kmph if the speedo can be believed. It hangs in the air for an eternity but is beyond the reach of the man in the deep.

Ian Healy is impressed with the big-game temperament that these two players have gained in the IPL, where long-form specialist Pujara has an average of 20.64. If anyone can make sense of that gambit, shoot me an email.

12.10pm AEST01:10

20th over - India 82-1 (Vijay 36, Pujara 17)

Michael Clarke has left the field up as Nathan Lyon bowls to Murali Vijay and the Indian batsman accepts the challenge, thumping the offie over the mid-wicket fence for the first six of the innings and then also lofting him to long-on for four more the next ball.

There goes that pressure then...

12.07pm AEST01:07

19th over - India 71-1 (Vijay 26, Pujara 16)

Mitchell Marsh might be bowling within himself but he’s applying pressure as well and that allows the Aussies to string together two consecutive maidens for the first time today.

12.03pm AEST01:03

18th over - India 71-1 (Vijay 26, Pujara 16)

Speaking of maligned players, Nathan Lyon appears again now with his off-spin and now has a few small foot-marks to bowl into. He begins with a tidy maiden to Pujara.

Reader Trevor Holden is puzzled. “Last night I showed my naivety about rain stopped play,” he says. “Now I am wondering why the ground is empty and Slats is trying to sell tickets for the Ashes tour. You never hear the Brit guys doing marketing.”

A few people have asked why the crowd is so thin. Firstly, England aren’t playing. India are actually the second best ‘draw’ traditionally, but you can’t help feeling as though the rescheduling of this game to such unfriendly weekday slots has been a hindrance and a put-off for the locals. That and their hardly-buoyant economy, to be fair. I thought yesterday’s crowd was actually pretty decent given the weather outlook and the fact that it was a Wednesday.

The sparkling new stands and increased capacity at Adelaide Oval also rather highlights the fact that they’re not packed to the rafters.

11.58am AEST00:58

17th over - India 71-1 (Vijay 26, Pujara 16)

Murali Vijay hasn’t set the world on fire this morning but he’s sticking at the task and always ‘maintaining his shape’, as the coaches would say. Typical of that is when with minimal back-lift, he gets forward to Siddle and gracefully pushes down the wicket for a straight boundary.

That lovely timing is mirrored a few balls later when Siddle strays culpably onto his pads and gets clonked for a wristy boundary through mid-wicket.

Might be time for Siddle to have a spell, methinks.

11.55am AEST00:55

16th over - India 63-1 (Vijay 18, Pujara 16)

Speaking of mouthwatering prospects, Mitchell Marsh has had Rod Marsh and co almost foaming up with anticipation in the last few months, but at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’m far less impressed with his bowling than his batting, and they did pick him on account of his bowling...

Perhaps he’ll just keep developing into an excellent number six and we’ll call it an unintentional stroke of genius. Perhaps also though, Marsh won’t take a hell of a lot of international wickets with this remodeled action of his. The changes have achieved the primary intention of eliminating the risk of injury to Marsh’s young and spindly frame but also, I feel, removed the threat of any danger for the batsman.

Bar a sharpish bouncer to Pujara, his first over here is fairly indicative of recent trends; military medium in the 135kmph range. That’s nothing to be sneezed at and I’m probably being harsh, but he just NEVER looks like taking a wicket at the moment. Hopefully I’ve just provided a reverse mozz.

11.46am AEST00:46

15th over - India 62-1 (Vijay 17, Pujara 16)

Again an edge falls short of the Australian cordon, this time a thick edge from the dangerously-living Vijay that flies towards David Warner at gully and ends up bringing three streaky runs.

“Isn’t it a mistake to speculate too blithely about Siddle’s place?” asks Robert Wilson. “Doesn’t he always get a hat-trick if you do that? I remember how patronising the English were about him in 2010 before he mullered them in Melbourne. I’m a believer in The Siddle.”

As am I and a defender of him too, but it’s now more a question of the quality of those coming up beneath him. Both Hazlewood and Cummins are now mouthwatering prospects, and I mean that literally. I am an embarrassing sight when I’m watching ‘The Haze’ unleash some chin music.

11.42am AEST00:42

14th over - India 59-1 (Vijay 14, Pujara 16)

It’s always tough to know exactly where to stand in the slips at Adelaide, especially since the introduction of these drop-in pitches and Australia dsicover this to their chagrin when a Vijay edge falls short in the gap between second slip Steve Smith and Mitch Marsh at third. They both dived but neither could reel it in.

Pujara celebrates his teammates’ let-off by punching Johnson down through long-off for three and then cracking a sumptuous cover-drive for four. Pujara is a batsman of the classical Rahul Dravid style and though desperately disappointed in his winter efforts in England, he’ll be hoping his calm temperament brings runs in Australia. So far, he’s looking good.

11.35am AEST00:35

13th over - India 46-1 (Vijay 11, Pujara 7)

Siddle keeps trucking and his radar is well and truly back on track now, allowing him to tie up Murali Vijay with a string of accurate in-duckers. It’s not exactly inspiring stuff though. Let’s leave definitive judgments until the end of the innings but the Victorian is genuinely lacking in any kind of bite right now.

11.32am AEST00:32

12th over - India 46-1 (Vijay 11, Pujara 7)

Shane Warne has now become almost aroused by the sight of Pat Cummins entering the arena as a sub fielder and has to have it pointed out to him that not only can he not grab the ball (he wasn’t even in the 12) but that Ben Hilfenhaus, spoken of in the past-tense moments ago, was in actual fact a member of Australia’s last Test touring party only a month back.

In lieu of any controversial abandonment of the rules of cricket, Johnson takes the ball again and Cummins stays in the outfield.

“You can keep your Bondis and your Noosas,” says reader Patrick O’Brien. “Frankston is the only beach in the world to have hosted Ava Gardner and Gregory Peck.” He refers of course to the Stanley Kramer film adaption of Nevile Shute’s ‘On the Beach’, which was filmed in my humble home town.

On that and contrary to popular myth, Gardner never said that Frankston was “the perfect place to make a movie about the end of the world”. The quote was made up by a Melbourne newspaper editor whose journalist couldn’t snag an interview with a stroppy Gardner. We’re so unfairly maligned, us Frankstonians.

11.25am AEST00:25

11th over - India 43-1 (Vijay 8, Pujara 7)

Perhaps wishfully, Nine are now showing highlights of wily Ben Hilfenhaus’s efforts in the last Aus-India series here in 2011-12. Warnie talks about him in the past tense, which is perhaps a little harsh on a man still plying his trade pretty well.

Peter Siddle also plies his trade reasonably well this over, never threatening specifically but at least offering more control and thus a maiden. Ryan Harris is probably too tired to benefit now.

11.22am AEST00:22

10th over - India 43-1 (Vijay 8, Pujara 7)

I love that Shane Warne, despite maintaining a long-term friendship with a man named Murali, still chooses to pronounce it ‘mural-ee’. Does no-one ever correct Warnie on these things? Ryan Harris, meanwhile, produces another quality over with varied lines of attack, all looking capable of pinching another top-order wicket.

Not going well for Aus at the northern end: 5 - 0 - 37 - 0 against 4 - 2 - 4 - 1 at Harris' end.

11.17am AEST00:17

9th over - India 41-1 (Vijay 6, Pujara 7)

Nathan Lyon’s speculative spell is over for now and Peter Siddle will replace him to do some grunt work into a stiff breeze. Shane Warne calls him Australia’s “workhorse” (twice within a minute, in fact), which might be an insult to some bowlers but in Siddle’s case is almost a term of endearment.

He is certainly under the pump in this series though. Word leading into the UAE tour was that he’d put on 5kgs and an extra 10kmph, but results were mixed. Here his line and length is all over the shop to start with and he’s struggling to apply pressure to the batsmen. Unfortunately for Australia, that allows Pujara to turn the strike and get himself a few cheap runs to get off the mark.

Pujara, let it be said, is not one to miss out when bowlers angle into his pads and he finishes the over with a Mark Waugh-esque clip to the deep mid-wicket boundary. Clarke has a bit of an issue on his hands here; Harris needs someone applying pressure at the other end and so far he’s not getting much help.

11.11am AEST00:11

8th over - India 30-1 (Vijay 5, Pujara 0)

Harris is in a magnificent rhythm this morning. That ball to Dhawan angled across but actually nipped back in off the pitch a little more than I’d first noticed. Che Pujara appears and prods helplessly at an absolute jaffa that pitches on a perfect length and moves inches past the edge.

Ryan Harris is ‘on’.

11.08am AEST00:08

WICKET! Dhawan b Harris 25 (India 30-1, Vijay 5)

Ryan Harris continues to bowl with the wind at his back and his variety brings a wicket. This time he’s fuller and angling at Shikar Dhawan’s off stump, forcing the batsman to play a speculative stroke but all he can do is send an inside-edge back onto his stumps. Just as he was starting to look dangerous, Dhawan is back in the sheds.

11.04am AEST00:04

7th over - India 30-0 (Vijay 5, Dhawan 25)

Well here’s a bit of a surprise - Nathan Lyon is on for an early bowl into the breeze and getting appreciaple bounce and turn from the start. He might have got Vijay too if Australia had a half-decent specialist short leg fielder.

Less impressive is a half-tracker to Dhawan, who smashes it the boundary with a rasping pull shot. You get the sense that this Indian pair will look to attack Lyon at every opportunity and not let him settle.

@rustyjacko agreed on Harris' mastery - his pitch accuracy is McGrath-like. Not sure which of these openers I'd least like to face

10.59am AEST23:59

6th over - India 22-0 (Vijay 3, Dhawan 19)

With Vijay looking unlikely of getting off the mark in conventional style, he benefits from a shambolic piece of fielding from Peter Siddle at mid-off. It was only a push to the off side but the Australian makes a meal of his bend and gather and it trickles past him for three.

Shikhar Dhawan currently averages 202 in Tests against Australia. #AUSvIND

He might find the going a little tougher on these pitches, but I could be wrong.

10.55am AEST23:55

5th over - India 19-0 (Vijay 0, Dhawan 19)

Johnson is back on track in this over, bouncing Dhawan and giving him a far more thorough examination than prior. Like Warner on day one, Dhawan throws the kitchen sink at it when he’s given some width and cracks a lofted boundary through the gully region. He’s doing all the scoring himself at the moment.

@rustyjacko These two opening bowlers have a combined age of over 68 years. That can't have happened often in Aus history.

10.50am AEST23:50

4th over - India 15-0 (Vijay 0, Dhawan 15)

For those who are interested, Michael Clarke is indeed out there in the field and calling the shots despite that painful-looking injury.

Tom Cowie has noticed it. “Michael Clarke fielding at mid on/mid off puts paid to the longstanding suburban club cricket tactic of inserting your least mobile (or most rotund) bloke into the cordon. Not sure I agree with it, a thousand fourth grade sides can’t be wrong.”

You’re right Tom, though us cordoners normally field there on account of being the most rotund and slowly-moving members of the side; we all still retain the ability to bend over, which is not Clarke’s forte right now. Heaven help him if he has to dive though.

Ryan Harris, meanwhile, continues to zero in on Murali Vijay’s off stump and is probing with a variety and skill I would actually describe as gorgeous. He’s just a joy to behold, Harris. So often we associate fast bowling with the young and lithe, but the 35-year-old now has the experience and guile of the master technician and it makes him a formidable weapon for Clarke. In lieu of anything hittable, Vijay sees out a maiden.

10.45am AEST23:45

3rd over - India 15-0 (Vijay 0, Dhawan 15)

Johnson has his first tilt at Dhawan and there’s immediate action when an inside edge flies fast and low towards a diving Haddin but it’s fractionally too difficult for the Aussie keeper to haul in. Those are tough ones for ‘keepers and he did everything humanly possibly to pouch it but just fails.

With that let-off, Dhawan is freed to clip Johnson’s next slanting delivery to the deep square leg boundary. Better still is a straight drive from Dhawan when Johnson gives him a half volley. There’s minimal backlift but he just creams it past the bowler for a boundary. That’s followed by another four through mid-wicket and Dhawan is off to a flying start.

10.41am AEST23:41

2nd over - India 1-0 (Vijay 0, Dhawan 1)

Ryan Harris has been slowly patched-up over the last six months to take his place in this series and in the past few weeks has tuned up nicely with a few vintage spells in the Sheffield Shield. Here he starts typically gingerly and first we’ll probably see him warming up his joints.

After Dhawan’s single to get he and his side off the mark, Harris has a hopeful LBW shout against Vijay but Umpire Ian Gould has no interest and shakes his wholeheartedly. That still gives Harris heart and he sends a classical out-swinger past Vijay’s flashing blade.

“Pish and tush to your seagull-pugilism and your Dandenong,” says Robert Wilson. “Australian’s are so sweetly boastful of their awful bits. There is a place called Millisle in Northern Ireland which is so depressing that the seagulls don’t even come there anymore. It has a concrete beach and prize-winning suicide rate. Look up the Places of Interest section on its Wikipedia page. It’s a masterpiece.”

He then sends me a photo of this town, which it’s needless to say is distinctly lacking in anything you’d call ‘charm’.

10.35am AEST23:35

1st over - India 0-0 (Vijay 0, Dhawan)

As expected, Johnson takes the new ball for Australia but Murali Vijay looks as though he was expecting the first delivery up his nose because the in-swinging attempted yorker he cops comes as a rude shock. Thankfully for he and his side, he gets bat on it.

Vijay defends confidently for a few balls but Johnson then sends a shorter, sharper delivery away off the pitch and past the outside edge of the Indian opener. The Aussie is up around 148 kmph in his first over and it’s a maiden. This could be the calm before the storm for the tourists and the Aussie cordon is already oohing and ahhing in satisfaction.

10.30am AEST23:30

What can we expect from the Australian quicks?

Will they be as frightening as last summer? When will the first bouncer come? Is this Indian batting line-up capable of withstanding the heat? Will I ever stop posing these rhetorical questions?

One major point of interest for me - because we know what sort of heat Harris and Johnson are capable of - is how far Peter Siddle goes to consolidating his spot. Right now he has the tall and bouncy Josh Hazlewood snapping at his heels (can you snap at heels from that height? Probably not) for a spot in this side. A further push will come from Pat Cummins and James Pattinson soon enough.

Australia is blessed with some serious fast bowling depth, but that’s surely cause for mild concern for Siddle, a heart-and-soul bowler who has given so much of himself in the past 4-5 years. His performances in this Test will be an intriguing sub-plot.

10.21am AEST23:21

Yesterday’s highlights, if you missed them

Steve Smith was magnificent yesterday and Michael Clarke a wonderful ally despite his dodgy back. In between all of those rain breaks the Aussies really rattled along and there were plenty of eye-catching strokes.

We’re 10 minutes from play this morning, which is a perfect amount of time to catch up on those two centuries.

10.16am AEST23:16

About last night

Yes, yes, we took off a bit early and missed that last mini-session of play. To be fair, the appearance of Millionaire Hot Seat on Channel Nine indicated to me that there would be no further play. I was wrong, as was the woman who couldn’t tell her Notting Hill quotes from her Love Actually ones. When you’re missing sitters like that, you don’t really deserve a million bucks, do you?

Anyway we’re all very sorry for this slight on you, our dear readers.

Speaking of which, OBO regular Sam Fiddian emailed in moments after stumps last night with a worthwhile addition to the debate about Dandenong’s place in the pantheon of crap Australian towns. “Your put-down of Dandenong misses it’s vital place in Australian society,” he said. “It will be the first place in Victoria to be sacrificed in the event of nuclear attack.”

“Frankston, on the other hand, could survive a direct hit from the sun. The life forms that seem to orbit the area around the railway station would outlive cast-iron cockroaches.”

Sam, only last week I was doing the evening train station run down in Frankston and saw a chap, slightly unsteady to start with, almost knock himself off his feet in the process of throwing two wild roundhouses at a seagull. You don’t see that every day.

Frankston is also the formative cricket territory of Australian Test players Brad Williams and Bryce McGain. So it has something going for it.

10.09am AEST23:09

Morning all

...and welcome to the third day’s play of this opening Test of the summer between Australia and India. Mark Nicholas, Ian Healy and Shane Warne are out in the middle wearing brown, midnight blue and charcoal suits respectively, which can mean only one thing: the head of the Channel Nine wardrobe department is no less colour-blind than at any other point of the last 35 years.

Of more interest is that they stand in beautiful sunshine and the ground looks a picture. Hope remains that we’ll have a far less frustrating day than yesterday. At the moment - based on their warm-up drills, anyway - it looks as though Australia will declare on their overnight score of 517-7 and have a bowl.

You can get me on russell.jackson@guardian.com or via twitter (@rustyjacko) with all of your comments and quips this morning. I’ll be taking the shine off the new ball before Geoff Lemon and Matt Cleary blast away in the afternoon sessions.

Actually, an update: Ian Healy’s wearing a massive moon boot. Did he fall off the segway again?

9.59am AEST22:59

Good morning and welcome to the live blog. After two days of drama and emotion, the actual cricket might start to emerge through the haze.

Russell Jackson will be along shortly to guide you through a slightly extended morning session to make up for Wednesday’s weather delays.

Australia seem likely to declare at some point this morning if they don’t do so immediately. Steve Smith, who is unbeaten on 162 and one of three New South Wales players to reach three figures in the match, a first for Tests, says skipper Michael Clarke was going to sleep on the decision. If he got any sleep, that is. Apparently he played in a back brace on Wednesday, Smith has revealed, and has to keep moving to keep the pain from his back injury at bay. Not sure about him crouching at slip.