In the third Test against Australia, former India captain Virat Kohli scored a gritty 22 in the first innings and continued to display good form in the second innings. However, his progress was cut short as he was dismissed for 13, trapped LBW by Australia’s Matthew Kuhnemann. Kohli attempted a pull shot to a delivery that skidded and missed the line entirely, resulting in his dismissal.
Although he had the option to review the decision, he did not, and the Australian players celebrated with enthusiasm while Kohli and the Indian dressing room were stunned by the turn of events.
Cheteshwar Pujara against Australia a never-ending story
Cheteshwar Pujara played a valiant inning, enabling India to obtain a narrow advantage over Australia in the second innings. However, in the earlier part of the day, Australia staged a comeback and caused India to struggle at 79-4 in their second innings by tea on the second day of the third Test on Thursday. This was after India had experienced a disastrous batting collapse.
At the interval, India was still trailing by nine runs on a treacherously turning pitch in Indore. Cheteshwar Pujara displayed composure and was unbeaten on 36, while Shreyas Iyer was yet to open his account.
On day one of the four-match series, spinner Matthew Kuhnemann took five wickets and helped Australia restrict India to a meager total of 109. Australia aimed to capitalize on this opportunity to stage a comeback from their 2-0 deficit.
However, on day two, despite starting at 156-4, Australia failed to build a substantial lead. Their batting line-up collapsed before lunch, and they were all out for 197. Seam bowler Umesh Yadav and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin dominated, taking the last six wickets and conceding only 11 runs.
Despite facing a pitch with unpredictable bounce, Cameron Green and Peter Handscomb managed to survive the first hour. Green’s long stride proved effective in neutralizing India’s spin attack.
Aussies lose 6 for just 11 runs
However, things took a turn after the drinks break when Handscomb was caught by Iyer at the short leg off Ashwin. He had added 12 runs to his overnight score before departing for 19. Umesh trapped Green for 21 in front of the stumps. Umesh continued his success by bowling out Mitchell Starc for a single, causing the left-hander’s off-stump to spin toward wicketkeeper Srikar Bharat.
The Australian team then suffered a rapid collapse as Alex Carey was out for 3, lbw to Ashwin. Umesh went on to take Todd Murphy’s wicket for a duck, while Ashwin cleaned up Nathan Lyon for five.
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