INDIA: Australia started the Third Test against India in Indore in fine form, with rookie left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann leading the charge with five wickets for just 16 runs.
India vs Australia
India’s decision to bat first backfired as they lost half their side in the first hour of the day to the spinners.
Mitchell Starc could have easily given Australia the first breakthrough, but the team opted against going for a review twice, with Rohit Sharma being adjudged out on replays each time.
The introduction of spin in the 6th overturned the game on its head, with Kuhnemann and Nathan Lyon complementing each other well to leave India struggling at 45/5.
Virat Kohli and KS Bharat tried to stem the rot with a confident 26-run stand, but it was short-lived as Todd Murphy got Kohli for the third time in the series, followed by Bharat falling LBW to Lyon.
India continued to lose wickets after the lunch break, with Kuhnemann picking up his maiden five-fer in First Class cricket, and the hosts were all out for 109.
The hosts could have been bundled out for an even lower score, but Umesh Yadav’s lusty hitting took India to a better total. Australia’s reply with the bat was confident, led by Usman Khawaja’s artful 60.
Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne put up a good stand, taking the Aussies one run within parity. While Khawaja batted cautiously for most of his innings, he eventually fell to a Jadeja delivery after hitting his 21st Test fifty.
Steve Smith tried to assert his presence by hitting a string of boundaries but was caught behind off the bowling of Jadeja. However, Australia managed to go to stumps without further damage, already eking out a handy lead.
India’s conservativeness with reviews resulted from burning two against Khawaja off Jadeja, which turned out to be comfortably missing the stumps. Jadeja then used up India’s last review against Steve Smith.
Australia will be buoyed by their strong performance on day one, with the pitch seeming to favour spin. India, on the other hand, will need to rethink their strategy going into day two.
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