Spinners make hay while Kaif shines

India A took a stranglehold over their three-day game against the visiting Australians here on Thursday as spinners Mohnish Parmar and Piyush Chawla turned the screws on them. At close, Australia A were tottering at 113/8, still 22 runs short of avoiding the follow-on, Parmar having taken 3/37 and Chawla 2/26.

India A squandered a sound overnight position to be bowled out for 284, but hit back as their spinners took control.

Resuming at their overnight 180/4, India A’s hopes rested on Mohammed Kaif and Virat Kohli. The pair had raised 90 on the first day and looked good for more. But Kohli (49) chased a Doug Bollinger delivery and was taken by Simon Katich at first slip. The Delhiite stood his ground after umpire Sadanand Vishwanath had ruled him out and it only showed the youngster in poor light.

Kaif, on the other hand, looked set for a well-deserved century. Along with Uttar Pradesh statemate Chawla (66), who was aggressive from the word go, the duo put the Aussies in their place. Just six short of a ton, Kaif lost his nerve. In a moment of hesitancy, Kaif stepped out to off-spinner Marcus North but only managed to hole out to Bollinger at long-off after a well-made 94 (204b, 15x, 1x6).

With Chawla not willing to hang around and scoring at a fast pace, Bollinger wiped out the tailenders with ease. A tall left-arm fast bowler, whose sharp pace is accentuated by probing line and length, Bollinger was guilty of pitching it too short on day one. The 27-year-old, however, made amends with a three-wicket haul on a humid day to finish with 4/59.

Chawla’s half-century studded with 10 boundaries and a six had given the hosts a moderate score to defend. But on hindsight, it proved to be more than enough.

With new-ball bowlers Dhawal Kulkarni and Sudeep Tyagi sending back opener Phil Hughes and Adam Voges early, the chink in the Aussie batting was visible.

The introduction of Parmar only added to the tourists’ woes. Not long ago, the Gujarat off-spinner had been a clone of Sri Lankan wizard Muttiah Muralitharan with his open chest action. But with his doosra being banned by the ICC for illegal action, Parmar is back with a modified action.

Skipper Simon Katich, even with his unorthodox style of batting, failed to survive against Parmar and was trapped plumb in front. And soon the procession started. A late entry notwithstanding, Chawla soon reduced the visitors to 89/5. The leg-spinner struck in quick succession to send back a dodgy Marcus North 41 (90b, 7x4) and Luke Ronchi. Parmar complemented with the wickets of Ashley Noffke and Beau Casson late in the day to leave the Aussies staring at big first innings deficit.