Updated December 31, 2014 09:32:42
It was a day of pure contradiction.
An early start to a morning so delicately poised was scuttled when rain swept in after just three balls. Things then never recovered from the delay.
A team that preaches aggression and attack - even when such an approach becomes intemperate and self-destructive - played with premeditated conservatism. Australia had set sail for the draw.
An opponent for which this ultimately spelled defeat did nothing but play along as if this was some sort of reprieve or moral victory.
Two teams, seemingly on the brink of fisticuffs, retreated to the neutral corners and refused to come out swinging.
Shaun Marsh, clearly under instruction, played as if time was no issue until within reach of his century. He then suddenly put himself on the clock, panicked, and perished on an anxious whim.
One Australian captain assured from the commentary box that the team would push for victory when the time was right.
The occupying captain, a man so instinctively brash as to attempt a Test match ramp shot to hurry along a double century, kept the collective powder dry.
The audacious Steve Smith was badged a conservative.
Virat Kohli held his nation's fortunes in his firm grip and was accused of playing for himself.
A pitch long characterised as two-paced and suspiciously regarded for its 'tennis ball bounce', remained unerringly true for the duration.
And a ground that had yielded 16 consecutive results and had not required a fifth day since 2009 staged a draw.
The only pillar that wouldn't be upheaved: Australia had not left enough time to convert its ascendancy into victory. Its priorities were staked elsewhere.
The logic was sound.
The purpose of this brief red-ball chapter of the longest summer was to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
By day's end that mission had been accomplished. Had this been the Ashes the presentation would have been met with national euphoria.
Instead there was a palpable sense of frustration heightened by a good dose of confusion. It was all so out of character.
It had been more than two years since a drawn Test on Australian soil. In home conditions the winning streak sat at 10.
Apart from the dropped catches on the third afternoon this was textbook: build a lead, prosecute it forcefully, drive home the result.
It had been assumed Marsh and Harris would plunder the old ball for five or six overs and push the target beyond 350 as Australia has done countless times before.
Instead they occupied the crease, taking time and two dozen overs out of the game.
Marsh's century became either a priority or an alibi. His suicidal attempt of a single on 99 encapsulated the folly of the pre-lunch endeavours.
With the target set extravagantly at 384 the only number that mattered was 70 overs.
In Adelaide, Australia had needed 88 overs to pry India out. Back in the controversial close shave of the 2008 SCG Test against India, it was the 71st over in which Clarke weaved the magic with barely minutes to spare.
As the afternoon wore on at the MCG, each wicket served as an accusing sentence.
Three wickets fell in nine overs. There was a necessary period of waiting for a rare Kohli mistake, which came the first ball after tea.
Then came the delivery of the summer from Mitchell Johnson to knock over Cheteshwar Pujara in the 51st over.
Ajinkya Rahane then finally mistimed a pull shot ending 199 minutes of occupation as the final hour ticked up.
That meant six wickets were down with 15 overs remaining.
As MS Dhoni and Ravichandran Ashwin resisted, there was the smattering of leading edges, outside edges and top edges. They flew over heads, landed short and were dropped on the sprawl.
A flurry teased but never materialised. Australia had no right to be frustrated: this was the path it chose.
Four wickets in four overs was highly improbable. Smith adjudged it impossible and shook Dhoni's hand, the trophy safely back in Australian custody.
Every action of Smith's across two Tests at the helm has left an impression - his splendid and adventurous batting; his boyish charm and admirable determination.
In the MCG stands on day two it was agreed amongst the once-a-year cricket goers that he was bringing people not only back to the team but the sport.
Three days later came the most instructive lesson thus far.
It is rare indeed for an Australian team not to ruthlessly pursue every victory and instead accede to the bigger picture.
Perhaps this is the inhibition of the fill-in captain. The series was not his to squander, but to bank.
Or perhaps it's the nature of a young man revealing itself, wrapped though it might be in a contradiction.
Topics: cricket, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, australia, india
First posted December 31, 2014 09:22:27
