It was a day that belonged to India as they strengthened their position in the test match. A total of 11 wickets fell on day 3, six of them Australian as they finished the day leading by just two runs ahead of the Indian first innings score. India were bowled out for 326 in their first innings after which their bowlers brought them back in the game by dismantling the Australian top-order at the MCG.
Starting their day on 277, India added another 49 runs to their overnight score as they were bowled out for 326. Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed for 112, while Ravindra Jadeja fell just after scoring his 15th Test fifty. While Rahane lost his wicket via a run-out, Jadeja was dismissed by Mitchell Starc. The Indian tail-enders were not able to contribute much as Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon came together to clean them up. Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc finished with three each as Pat Cummins picked two and Josh Hazlewood picked one.
Australia’s second innings started on a bad note much like their first. Umesh Yadav dismissed Joe Burns (4)with a perfect outswing delivery. Matthew Wade (40) and Marnus Labuschagne(28) added 38 before the right-hander was done in by Ravichandran Ashwin. he was dismissed in an identical manner in which Steve Smith was dismissed in the first innings of the Adelaide Test. The ball took the outside edge of his bat as skipperAjinkya Rahane completed a safe catch.
Steve Smith had yet another poor outing with the bat in the second innings as well after failing in the first. This time around, he was bowled round his legs by Jasprit Bumrah as he tried to flick the ball moving onto the off stump. The ball took the leg ball brushing his pad. Smith, has now scored just 10 runs in his last four test innings at an average of 3.33 including a duck. Smith’s wicket was the most vital Australian wicket of the day. The Australian scorecard read 71 for 3 post Smith’s dismissal.
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India close in on crucial win
Travis Head then joined Wade at the wicket and scored 17 off 46 deliveries. He played cautiously and looked good to dig deep Ajinkya Rahane made a tactical bowling change bringing Ravindra Jadeja from the other end. The left-arm spinner trapped Wade on the back foot and the batsman was ruled out on DRS after he referred the on-field umpire’s decision who ruled him out. Wade was dismissed with the team score on 98. Immediately after his dismissal, Mohammed Siraj accounted for Travis Head’s wicket on that same score knicking him off in the slips.
Australian skipper Tim Paine was involved in a controversial dismissal after the replays shown that he was ruled out based on a spike on the snickometer while there was nothing transparent on the hotspot. Paine’s dismissal stirred the age-old controversy on DRS after there were a few umpiring howlers throughout the day’s play.
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Simon Taufel goes through the umpires' steps when using their "conclusive evidence protocols", and why one frame *past* the bat matters #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/ROpuzNSFc6
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 28, 2020
With the score Australian score at 98 for six, Pat Cummins (15) and Cameron Green (17) added an unbeaten 35-run stand till stumps on day 3. They are now leading India by just two runs with a lot of batting still to be done. Meanwhile, it was another brilliant display of bowling from the Indian bowlers. The wickets were shared by all of them with Ravindra Jadeja taking two and the others sharing one each. Umesh Yadav after his initial burst walked off the ground with a calf injury. He will be taken for scans as the Indian team awaits a decision on him.
Brief Scores
Australia 195 and 133 for 6 (Wade 40, Jadeja 2-25) lead India 326 (Rahane 112, Jadeja 57, Lyon 3-72, Starc 3-78) by two runs
