Ashwin's early spell puts Aussies in Boxing Day spin

It was surely unusual to see off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin handed a ball just 10 overs old on the first morning of a Boxing Day Test match but, as India coach Ravi Shastri well knew, it was not unprecedented.

Melbourne's Test pitch has copped its share of criticism over the preceding decades, from the dire days of the 1980s when its benign black soil was more Lifeless Lagoon than Merri Creek, to more recent 'roads' whereby drop-in pitches made matches eye-wateringly one dimensional.

But the regeneration of the centre strip since it was rated as 'poor' by the ICC three years ago meant the surface that greeted Australia and India this morning was decidedly more hirsute (with grass cut to a generous 11mm) with a foundation as hard as anyone who monitors such things could recall.

Therefore, upon losing the toss and being asked to bowl first on a pitch that contained sufficient day one moisture to render it 'tacky', with a mat of grass expected to accommodate seam movement, and lively bounce from the rock-hard sub-surface, the stage seemed set for India's trio of quicks.

Then, after an exemplary five-over opening spell from Jasprit Bumrah that accounted for rival opener Joe Burns and cost just six runs, there was discernible muttering from the socially scattered crowd when Ashwin was announced as his replacement at the bowling crease.

Even before its pitch troubles, the MCG has rarely been regarded as a venue that offers much to finger spinners on Boxing Day morning, a celebratory day more often remembered for the fast bowling deeds of Dennis Lillee, Allan Donald, Brett Lee (on debut) and any number of West Indian terrors.

Indeed, the last finger-spinner to take on the role of first-change bowler and end Boxing Day with a brace of wickets was Shastri, who did just that in the 1985 MCG Test that history usually recalls as being Steve Waugh's first for Australia.

And that came about through circumstances rather than strategy, given Roger Binny – one of only two India seamers in that outfit alongside skipper Kapil Dev – broke down after three overs and it was left to the spinners to fill the breach.

This was a vastly different pitch to the one on which Shastri claimed 4-87 from 37 overs of left-arm orthodox spin 35 years ago, but as the team's master tactician now that skipper Virat Kohli has returned home on paternity leave, Shastri would have known Ashwin could be influential.

As did the bowling group, marshalled by Kohli's stand-in Ajinkya Rahane.

"When we were bowling in the morning there was some moisture on the wicket," Bumrah said at day's end.

"As you saw, Ashwin as well as (left-arm spinner Ravi) Jadeja got some spin so we wanted to make the most of the moisture.

"He was getting good bounce as well, so all of these things we were trying to keep an eye on so that is why (Ashwin) came early into the attack."

The tackiness in the surface meant the ball might hold-up after bouncing, thereby making fluent strokeplay difficult.

The thatch grass provided purchase for not only seamers, but also for a spinner who imparts significant revolutions on the ball even when it is new and sports hard, sharp stitching.

And as preparation for this four-match Vodafone Test Series on flinty Australia pitches, Ashwin has been working assiduously on gaining more over-spin, a ploy that allows the drop more quickly and bounce more steeply.

It is a key weapon employed by Australia's most successful Test off-spinner Nathan Lyon for those reasons.

The other factor likely to have influenced India's unconventional tactic was the absence of their most experienced Test seamers Ishant Sharma (recovering from a side strain), and Mohammed Shami who suffered a fractured arm when struck while batting in the first Test and is sidelined for the series.

So India's third pace option was debutant Mohammed Siraj, whose remarkable rise from community tennis-ball cricket in the Banjara Hills precinct of Hyderabad five years ago has been lately tinged with sadness.

The 26-year-old, whose father made a living as an auto-rickshaw driver in the city of almost 10 million people, learned last month that his dad had passed away from a lung condition at home aged 53.

Siraj knew that if he returned to India for the funeral in late November, the ongoing COVID19 quarantine restrictions would effectively quash his dream (shared by his late father) of a Test debut, so he remained with the touring party and earned selection based on his form in recent tour games.

However, troubling the top-order of Australia A at Drummoyne Oval and tackling the first XI at the birthplace of Test cricket on its biggest (albeit downsized for the pandemic) stage present altogether different challenges, so Ashwin was preferred as first-change bowler.

Whether by shrewd design or happy happenstance, it proved a master stroke.

Not only did the 34-year-old tempt Burns's current opening partner Matthew Wade into an ill-advised heave against a slower, flighted delivery that yielded a fly-ball to mid-wicket, he was able to resume his contest with Steve Smith before Australia's best batter became set.

Ashwin had baffled Smith in the series opener at Adelaide Oval, sliding a quicker ball on to the former Australia skipper who played for the turn but edged a catch to slip having scored only a single.

The success of Ashwin's clear plan to the lynchpin of Australia's top-order was obvious as the bowler galloped across the Adelaide outfield and punched the sky in triumph as he launched into what was envisaged as a soaring victory leap, but more closely resembled a low-speed hop.

The veteran of 72 Tests and holder of more than 370 wickets is rarely prone to such outburst of glee, but he replicated the move today when he again out-thought his quarry.

This time, Ashwin's over-spin meant the ball Smith saw fizzing towards his leg stump dropped more quickly than he expected and, in reaching to turn it away on the leg-side in a bid to procure his first run, he flicked it directly into the hands of Rahane positioned precisely at leg gully.

It was the same ploy that took care of Australia captain Tim Paine later in the day, and the team's top-scorer Marnus Labuschagne fell to a similar trap – albeit off Siraj, to land the new boy a maiden Test wicket he will forever cherish.

Labuschagne later conceded the placement of leg-side catchers was part of a novel blueprint deployed by India but, given its effectiveness as Australia were reduced to 195, one that he and his fellow specialist batters will need to quickly counter.

"What we're seeing with the modern game is that people are very quickly coming up with new ways, and thinking about the game slightly differently," he said at day's end with India 1-36 in reply.

"Today they came out with a heavy leg-side field and bowled very straight and didn't really give us any scoring options to the off-side.

"So for all our batters, you've just got to keep rolling with the punches, learn the game and take that from innings to innings."

Labuschagne clearly learned quickly about the bounce Ashwin was extracting with his over-spin, and that formed the basis of his call to instantly review an lbw decision given against him when on 26 and which was shown to be clearing the stumps.

What he hadn't anticipated was the swing Siraj was able to find once the ball reached about 50 overs in wear and tear, an extra element to challenge Australia's batters just as he and Travis Head were starting to look comfortable in adding 86 for the fourth wicket.

"He was very eager to bowl in the first session, he was waiting for his chance – he's worked really hard and he's come up through the ranks," Bumrah said of his new Test teammate who finished his first day as a Test cricketer with 2-40.

"When he came on after lunch, there was not a lot happening so he bowled with a lot of control and then suddenly he started getting a little bit of movement.

"Playing his first Test match he played really well and he showed confidence using all his skills."

India's bowling blueprint was a success they needed to boost morale following their hefty defeat in Adelaide after being bowled out for 36 in their second innings, and the loss of Kohli (as had been foreshadowed) immediately after.

But as Labuschagne was quick to point out, the dramatic day three events in Adelaide barely a week earlier – after Australia had surrendered a first-innings lead before cruising to an eight-wicket win – means any plan is only as good as the opposition's ability to counter it.

"They're bowling real straight lines, you're not getting many runs through the off-side," he said.

"This is the art of Test cricket.

"This is why we love it.

"It's a challenge for the bowlers to come up with new ideas to stop the batters scoring and build pressure, and that's what they did today.

"But I think we learned that from last match, no matter how many you have you're always in the game."

Vodafone Test Series v India 2020-21

Australia Test squad: Tim Paine (c), Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner

India Test squad: Virat Kohli (c) (first Test only), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj

First Test: Australia won by eight wickets

Second Test: December 26-30, MCG, 10.30am AEDT

Third Test: January 7-11, SCG, 10.30am AEDT

Fourth Test: January 15-19, Gabba, 11am AEDT