India vs Australia- 1st Test, 5th Day -The Quick Flicks

Day five of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy lasted for little over twenty overs. The sparse Chennai crowd witnessed a clinical performance by the home team. Here are some of the stand-out moments from the final day of the Test match.

How long will India take to finish off?

Moises Henriques was the lone warrior for the Australians

It was only a matter of time before the final wicket fell. But after the first twenty minutes of play, the spectators got nervous. This was mainly because the No.11 batsman, Nathan Lyon, was defending solidly. Moises Henriques was controlling the game nicely.

It took Indians nine overs to dislodge the final wicket and deny Australia the possibility of any heroics.

Henriques was unconquered.

Six and out:

No, we are not talking about Brett Lee’s band. It is about Murali Vijay, who threw away his wicket after hitting a six. Is Vijay helping his own cause by playing loose shots? We all know the answer.

Bespectacled Virender Sehwag seemed to sight the ball better, which is good news for Indian cricket. But the way he got out against Lyon was not something we see from Viru, and the opening conundrum still exists after the ouster of Gautam Gambhir.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man:

He was padded up in the dressing room. The giant screen in the ground showed glimpses of Sachin Tendulkar, which got a huge roar from the crowd. They were surreptitiously hoping for the fall of two quick wickets.

Their prayers were answered. And the master was probably honing skills for the IPL. Two sixes off two balls, that too effortless hits, was the highlight of the day.

Drop and run:

Lyon induced an edge from Pujara, but wicket-keeper Matthew Wade failed to latch on to the chance and the ball ricocheted off him over the first slip fielder, Michael Clarke. That was not the graceful way to end the proceedings but India did not complain.

Pitch talk

In the post-match presentation, Clarke acknowledged the fact that they were beaten fair and square on a good wicket.

“No excuses, we got outplayed,” said Clarke.

MSD- A dream to score a double hundred?

Ravi Shastri asked Mahendra Singh Dhoni if it was a dream come true scoring a double ton for India. Dhoni responded by saying that he never dreamt of playing for the country.

Statistician’s delight:

Dhoni became the most successful Indian captain after the Chennai triumph, winning 21 Test matches. He shares the record with Sourav Ganguly.

This was the third occasion when the Indian spinners picked up all the 20 wickets in a Test match.