Five key moments in Bengaluru where Australia lost the second Test

As the dust settles around India’s magnificent victory in the second Test at Bengaluru, it’s difficult to believe just how far ahead Australia were in the match at one stage. In the first day, they had bowled India out for 189 and gone to stumps at 40/0. Nathan Lyon’s 8/50 were the kind of figures dreams are made of. For India to come back and not just win, but win by a margin of 75 runs, which on a track where the highest score was Australia’s first innings 276, is a massive victory.

Sure, India were emphatically brilliant. But if Steve Smith is to be brutally honest with himself and his team, India got out of jail. And Australia let them.

The Renshaw stumping

It was a tough and gruelling morning session in the first day and India had already got the two big fish of David Warner and Steve Smith. Only 47 runs were scored in 29 overs in that first session.

The talented and young Aussie opener, Matt Renshaw, though, had dogged it out and, in Shaun Marsh, he had found an able partner. The first four came in the ninth over of the second session and it came off Marsh’s bat, but little by bit, the partnership was progressing. Quietly and slowly, Renshaw and Marsh were quelling India’s optimism. Another four came off the next over and then Renshaw hit a four himself off Ravichandran Ashwin to get to 48.

He got to his half-century and the dam finally looked like it had been breached. The partnership was nearing 50 and Australia’s deficit was touching 60 with eight wickets in hand.

Ravindra Jadeja to Renshaw, Australia 128/2. Renshaw went down the ground and helped himself to a beautiful six. Next ball again he went down the ground but got beaten in flight. Still managed to keep his wicket. And then, came the massive misstep. Again he skipped down the ground. This time, Jadeja saw him and sent it down the leg-side. Out, stumped, way down the crease. Renshaw was out for 60. He was just warming up and looked good for a ton which might have taken the wind out of India’s sails.

The Starc big hit that didn’t come off

Australia resumed on Day 3 at 237/6. A lead of 48 precious runs. Bit by bit, Mitchell Starc and Matthew Wade pressed on. They took the score above 250 and then 260. Starc, especially, was showing positive intent, scoring at a strike rate of above 50. The partnership neared 50 and the lead over 70. It looked like Australia would get a lead of above 100, which would have been gold dust in the context of this match.

The 118th over. Starc was given out caught-behind off Ravichandran Ashwin but reviewed it successfully. Two more runs came in the over. Easy runs coming. He should have know not to press his luck further but then, finally went ahead and lost it. A high-risk shot, the slog-sweep against the turn. Especially with a fielder out there. Really not required. But Starc played it and Jadeja took a beautiful well-judged match.

And that kickstarted the collapse. 269/7 became 276 all out for Australia. What should have been a lead of above 100 turned out to be only 87. If only Starc hadn’t played that shot. Sigh...the what-ifs of cricket.

The Pujara drop

Cheteshwar Pujara played a gutsy 92 but he enjoyed all the luck in a very edgy start to his innings. This was over 13 of India’s second innings. Hazlewood had just pegged back opener Abhinav Mukund’s stumps. Off the fourth ball he faced to Lyon, Pujara got a thick edge which hit keeper Matthew Wade’s pad and lobbed up to no man’s land. The next ball was a bat-pad which again frustratingly didn’t go to hand.

But the actual chance came in the next over. Off the second ball, he got a thick edge. Steve Smith, at slip, had gone up too early – he stretched his left hand out, but couldn’t cling on. He did make up for it with a blinder to send back KL Rahul later but the damage was done. Had Australia got Pujara out then, perhaps India’s lead would never have crossed 150.

The Rahane drop

It may be unfair to call this a drop but then it was Australia who benefitted from taking some stunning catches in the Pune Test. And if you want to beat the No 1 Test team in the world in their backyard, these are the sort of catches you just need to hold on to.

After a good opening, Australia had roared back into the reckoning. India were 122/4, the lead wasn’t even 50. Ajinkya Rahane had come in to bat, but he wasn’t in the best of form. He played out the 39th over off Hazlewood but it was Lyon who was looking dangerous. When he was just on three runs, Lyon got one to kick back at him. The ball took Rahane’s wrist guard and bounded over to the leg-slip cordon where David Warner jumped but couldn’t hold on. The rest, of course, is history.

In fact, what will sting more for Warner, who prides himself on his fielding standards, was that this wasn’t his first drop in the Test. In the first innings, he had dropped KL Rahul at the same position. All difficult chances. But then, didn’t someone say catches win matches?

The Shaun Marsh non-review

It wasn’t the perfect start for Australia in their ultimately ill-fated chase of 188 but it wasn’t too bad either. One-third of the target had been whittled down with just eight wickets lost. Steve Smith was looking comfortable at the other end. Shaun Marsh, fresh from his 66 in the first innings, also looked up for a scrap.

He was playing the spinners well, he even hit Ashwin for a boundary. But against Umesh Yadav’s pace, in particular, a good length delivery from around the wicket on a fifth stump line, he offered no shot and was thudded on his front pad. A bad call. Given out immediately.

But that wasn’t his worst decision. Shaun Marsh deliberated, spoke to his captain but did not go for the review. He should have thought better. On first glance, the ball never looked like nipping back enough. And replays backed it up. It was missing the stump by a huge distance. Perhaps, Australia didn’t want to waste another review after David Warner had used up one. But Shaun Marsh should have been more sure. And Steve Smith should have stuck to his guns.

If Marsh had reviewed, he would have been out there, maybe even with Peter Handscomb later on. He played spin well so he might have handled Ashwin a little better. But such are the vagaries of this beautiful game that we follow.