Recovering Virat Kohli does not take field on day two

A fluent 67 from KL Rahul helped India post a strong response to Australia’s first innings total of 451 on the second day of the third Test in Ranchi. Cummins showed no sign of the injuries that had kept him out for those long years; no sign either of any rust, which was remarkable considering he came into this Test on the back of a single first class game.

“He’s a guy who can get that variable bounce with the way he digs the ball into the wicket”, he said of his team mate.

Describing Virat Kohli as “head and shoulders” above his global contemporaries, former England captain Andrew Flintoff said that the Indian skipper is “on a different planet”. For the next four days, one thing is sure.

While the International Cricket Council is set to hold clear-the-air talks between the two men, the new exchanges are likely to complicate the efforts to broker peace between the top two-ranked Test teams.

While the Indian lower order has generally chipped in with more than useful contributions in the a year ago or so – particularly in the series against England, there’s been little of note from so far in the two matches in this series. Understandably, the conditions have been testing – but there have hardly been any dismissals which can be attributed to demons on the pitch.

He edged a length delivery from the spinner and wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha took a neat catch. You look at the four main captains; Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, Joe Root and Virat Kohli. Kohli has managed to accumulate only 40 runs with an average of 10.00 in the series so far. They have lost four, drawn twice and tied once.

Earlier, Glenn Maxwell (104) scored his maiden test hundred and extended his fifth-wicket partnership with Smith to 191 runs. Will they go for an all-round option in Glenn Maxwell or Marcus Stoinis, or will they go for a specialist batsman in Usman Khawaja?

Having already been off the field for close to three and a half hours, there is a distinct possibility Kohli will not be allowed to bat any higher than No.7, in accordance with the rules. In both matches, the pitch has played a significant role in the outcome. Victory from here would be the equal of anything achieved in recent Australian Test history.

While not as hard to bat on as Pune, the second test strip offered inconsistent bounce throughout the match, with some deliveries shooting through very low.

The Indian squad is, more or less, the same as the one that was named for the first two Tests, with the only difference being the exclusion of all-rounder Hardik Pandya.