Ind vs Aus LIVE Score, India vs Australia 3rd Test, Day 3: An ultra-defensive approach by the senior batsmen put India in a spot of bother before Rishabh Pant’s impressive strokeplay lifted them to 180 for four against Australia at lunch on the third day of third Test here on Saturday.
Cheteshwar Pujara found it difficult to keep the scoreboard ticking during an extended first session as he crawled to 42 off 144 balls.
Skipper Ajinkya Rahane managed 22 off 70 balls before being played on by an off-cutter from Pat Cummins, while Hanuma Vihari (4, 38 balls), who has been in terrible form, was needlessly run out when he went for a quick but non-existent single.
It was Pant (29 batting, 45 balls), who showed some intent and tried to release the pressure created by Pujara’s negative approach.
A total of 84 runs from 34 overs during the session, with lack of intent especially from Pujara, didn’t help India’s cause and Rahane’s dismissal was purely due to the scoreboard pressure.
Ind vs Aus LIVE SCORE, India vs Australia 3rd Test, Day 2 Live Score
9:00: WICKET!!! Green to Jadeja, out Ashwin Run Out!!
Don’t know who was at fault there. Was it Jadeja, or was it Ashwin? Knowing Ashwin doesn’t take these quick singles, Jadeja should not have called for it.
8:54: 92nd over: India 206-6 (Jadeja 1, Ashwin 10) Nathan Lyon gets an early look at the second new ball. He could cause mayhem with the harder Kookaburra on a surface that is noticeably deteriorating. Ashwin watches the first ball of the over misbehave outside off stump so he charges ball two, meets it on the half-volley, and drives through mid-off for four. The rest of the over is cat-and-mouse with Lyon alternating between straighter overspinning deliveries and slower tempters outside off, inviting further attacking strokes.
8:33: WICKET!!! Hazlewood to Pant, out Caught by Warner!!
Edged and gone! Hazlewood has broken the half-ton partnership. Another start wasted by Pant. But, this was always on the cards with the Indian wicketkeeper playing his shots.
8:32: FIFTY for Pujara!!
Pujara is doing the best thing. Playing the complete over making the ball softer. A couple of more overs and he will score big. This is his slowest half-century in his Test career!
85th over: India 189-4 (Pujara 45, Pant 35) Rishabh Pant is hit! And hurt. Pat Cummins is the one who broke Shaun Marsh’s arm in the nets during the World Cup, and who broke Mohammed Shami’s arm in Adelaide recently, and he might have done for Rishabh here. Cummins around the wicket, attacking the stumps, then nearly drawing a play and miss. But from the fifth ball he comes in short at Rishabh, chest high, and the batsman tries to pull but gets through the shot early. It hits his left elbow on the bone and he’s in real pain. Down on his knees, testing out his arm. Flinching as the physio touches it.
He looks in real pain, and he’s trying to tough it out. Gets some bandaging on there, there’s a big swelling like we’ve seen from Jimmy Neesham or Brendon McCullum before, from memory.
Ouch! Pant cops one on the elbow #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/26SAgfh6mV
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 9, 2021
7:57: 81st over: India 183-4 (Pujara 45, Pant 29)
New ball immediately, and it will be Starc to get first use rather than one of the other two quicks. Paine wanting him to swing one into the right-hander, or get some extra bounce with a short one. But mostly it’ll be pitched up, you’d assume. Good yorker first ball! Swinging in, but Pujara is waiting for that, equal to it, glancing it off his toe and away through backward square for two. Short leg, leg gully, midwicket, fine leg all in place. Two slips and a gully, cover, mid off. Pujara leaves one angled across outside off, leaves another swinging down leg.
07:20: Lunch – India 180 for 4
They’re 158 runs behind, with a well-set batting pair and then Jadeja and Ashwin’s batting to come. Will that be enough to reach parity? So much riding on exactly that. Batting last will be difficult, so India can’t expect to chase anything substantial. The Australians really kept the pressure on through much of that session, but Pant got things moving late in the way that he does. Call him the prunes of the Indian team. They made 84 in the session, but without him it was 55. Two wickets gone, those of Rahane and Vihari, but Che Pujara has been rock-solid, even as Lyon has posed questions. The new ball will arrive one over after lunch, and that’s been the time in this match when bowlers have looked most dangerous. I suspect we’ll see Cummins and Hazlewood take it. On we go in half an hour.
6:45: 74th over: India 168-4 (Pujara 40, Pant 19) Seven overs to the new ball, and Paine brings Marnus Labuschagne into the attack. He very nearly gets a wicket first ball with a filthy half-tracker down the leg side. Pant swishes across the line at it, and it’s extremely close to the underside of the glove. Umpire Wilson says not out, Paine is utterly convinced. Refers it, but loses review.
6:34: 72nd over: India 158-4 (Pujara 40, Pant 10) Lyon loses his accuracy in this over. Floats one very wide to Pant that the batsman leaves. Then one a bit short that lets Pant cut a single, and now width to the right-hander and Pujara forces square for four! Cracks that with an almost straight bat, top shot between point and cover. El Che moves on to 40 from 133 balls.
6:09: WICKET!! Lyon to Hanuma Vihari, out Hanuma Vihari Run Out!!
Needless! A wicket gifted away to Australia. There was never a run but Vihari went for it and paid the price. Brilliant bit of work from Hazlewood though. Flighted delivery to which Vihari uses his feet and pushes it firmly towards mid-off, Hazlewood dives to his right and makes the stop, then hits the bulls-eye at the bowler’s end.
6:01: 63rd over: India 134-3 (Pujara 26, Vihari 3) Lyon to Vihari, who takes a couple of runs with a glance down the leg side, darts back for the second. Then another edge over Wade! Vihari pushing hard it, looking to score, edging into pad and on a finer angle than Wade could cover at short leg, again diving back but not getting a touch.
5:47: 62nd over: India 132-3 (Pujara 26, Vihari 1) Four around the bat for Pujara again, so he takes them on! Skips down and on-drives along the ground for four. He recognises that he has to force that field back, and that he has opportunities with the gaps out there. The same again as Lyon drops short, and Pujara cuts him for four! Not too short, but Pujara uses his weight transfer to rock back and nail it between the two catches on the off side.
5:34: 59th over: India 120-3 (Pujara 16, Vihari 0) Hazlewood bowls on the leg stump, and I’m not sure if that was a tactic but there’s a cry of excitement as Pujara glances it away in the air, the way he’s got out before. Australia have a leg gully in place but that shot goes much squarer, safely for two. There’s protection back on the rope to save it. He’s also got a short straight mid-on standing near the non-striker, just to mess with Pujara’s footwork and eyeline.
5:15: WICKET!!! Cummins to Rahane, out Bowled!!
The short ball ploy works for Cummins and Australia! Shortish delivery around off, this one jags back into the batsman as Rahane chops it onto the stumps. Just when he had started to look positive, Cummins has got the better of Rahane. Huge wicket, huge moment in the game.
5:05: 53rd over: India 110-2 (Pujara 12, Rahane 16)
Why is the run-scoring too slow? Defensive mindest or good bowling or a combination of both? or has the pitch changed? — Australia are bowling well and the duo are respecting that but whenever there’s a scoring opportunity they have taken it. Anyway there’s plenty of time left in the Test.
4:58: 51st over: India 102-2 (Pujara 12, Rahane 8) Cummins in at the pads, and Rahane slants away a single behind square leg. He’s been clever at this so far, Rahane, finding a run here and there to make sure it’s not entirely a defensive exercise. Considering how hard it might become to face Lyon later, it won’t be a big help to block out the quicks without scoring. Pujara sees out the next five balls.
4:56: 50th over: India 101-2 (Pujara 12, Rahane 7) Starc begins from around the wicket to angle in at the right-handers. He is also using bouncers but Pujara is doing what he does best — Waits, Watches, Endures.
4:41: 46th over: India 100-2 (Pujara 12, Rahane 6) Nathan Lyon will start proceedings for the day, Australia’s off-spinner who Ric was writing about in the previous post. He has plenty of company around the bat: short leg, slip, and a roadblock as Jim Maxwell calls it, at bat-pad on the offside of the pitch.
4:32: The players have made their out to the middle. Pujara and Rahane who had a very defensive approach yesterday, will look to be a lot more positive today. They were tested by Starc and Lyon to an extent, but they need to make sure the Australian bowlers don’t dominate proceedings today. Interesting times ahead. Lyon to continue for the hosts. Here we go!
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