Dharamsala Test: Australia’s ‘power’ struggles and other key moments

The third day of the fourth and final Test between India and Australia was memorable for Ravindra Jadeja’s seventh career fifty, his 96-run partnership with Wriddhiman Saha and partial DRS problems faced by the visitors.

Ravindra Jadeja smashed his seventh fifty and give India the advantage with a 96-run partnership with Wrirddhiman Saha while Australia were blighted by a partial DRS problems on day 3 of the fourth and final Test. HT looks at the top five moments of the day.

Ravindra Jadeja celebrates his half century with a sword routine by his bat in Dharamsala on Monday.(reuters)

Australia’s ‘power’ struggles against DRS

At the start of day 3 in Dharamsala, Australia faced problems with the DRS. Not because they did not have reviews, but because only one portion of the DRS component was available. From the 94th over till the 103rd over, there was a power cut in the area where the DRS operations were being conducted, which meant that ball-tracking could not be available. The back-up generator also did not work. The umpires informed Steve Smith that only the snickometer and the pitch map would be available. In the 102nd over, Josh Hazlewood appealed twice for an lbw against Ravindra Jadeja but on both occasions, Australia could not take the review due to the unavailability of ball-tracking. The power issues were sorted out and the full DRS became available after the 104th over.

Ravindra Jadeja’s sword dance in the hills

Ravindra Jadeja survived some testing periods from both Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood in the morning session but he held firm. After successfully reviewing a caught-behind appeal first ball of the day, the left-hander survived some close lbw shouts as he made use of the power failure which resulted in DRS not working for the first 14 overs of the day. Following the first hour, Jadeja opened up and deposited Nathan Lyon for a six over long on. Jadeja notched up his seventh fifty and celebrated it by swinging his bat like a sword. He finally fell for 63 but his 96-run stand with Wriddhiman Saha had given India the lead.

Dharamsala pitch: ‘Durban’sala or WACA?

On the second day, both KL Rahul and Matthew Wade had said that this was the best pitch in the entire series. On Monday, Umesh Yadav was getting zip off the deck at 145 kmph. The pitch was almost like a springboard, producing bounce that kept Wriddhiman Saha busy behind the wickets. The way Indian bowlers got swing and bounce in the second innings, it looked as if the match was played in Perth of the 80’s or Durban. The cracks present on the deck made the WACA comparison even more tangible.

Australia's David Warner leaves after he was dismissed by India's Umesh Yadav during the third day of their fourth Test in Dharmsala on Monday. (AP)

Warner’s Indian nightmares continue

Before this series, David Warner was in the middle of a purple patch where he slammed five ODI centuries in 10 games and averaged 71 in the three Tests against Pakistan. However, in this series, he has failed to deliver any impact. He was undone by a good ball from Umesh Yadav in the second innings as he fell for 6. His series aggregate of 193 runs, at an average of 24.12, highlighted his struggles at the top. He fell twice to Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja while Ravichandran Ashwin was his nemesis three times. He was also Kuldeep Yadav’s first victim in Tests. The dashing left-hander failed to improve from his struggles in the 2013 series, where he averaged just 24.37.

Maxwell gets the better of Kuldeep Yadav

In the first innings, Kuldeep had flummoxed Glenn Maxwell with a googly that dipped and spun away sharply. In the second innings, Maxwell decided to go after the chinaman. After playing out his first over carefully, the Victorian right-hander slammed a boundary and lofted the bowler for a six over long-on off consecutive deliveries. He continued his good work by punching yet another boundary to the deep cover fence. Maxwell was looking in good touch but Ashwin cut short his innings as he fell for 45.