Edited By: Aditya Maheshwari
Last Updated: March 01, 2023, 17:27 IST
Ravindra Jadeja (4/63) took all four wickets for India (AP Image)
Ravindra Jadeja was the lone bowler from India to get his name on the wickets tally on Day 1 of the Indore Test.
Ravindra Jadeja managed to pull India back into the game by claiming four wickets but Australia ended Day 1 on top in the third Test match of Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore. The pitch once again turned out to be a rank-turner but it was the Australian spinners who managed to take the advantage of it in the best possible way. Matthew Kuhnemann spun his magic and claimed a five-wicket haul as India were bowled out for just 109 inside the first two sessions of the game.
Australia took a crucial 47-run lead at stumps as they post 156-4 with Peter Handscomb (7*) and Cameron Green (6*) in the middle.
India vs Australia 3rd Test Day 1 Match Highlights
It was a disastrous performance from the Indian batters as they failed to put up a fight against Aussie spinners on a tricky batting surface. Virat Kohli was the highest scorer for India with 22 as he also faced the most numbers for the hosts – 52 balls. India kept losing wickets at regular intervals as the Australia spin troika – Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy and Kuhnemann exploited the surface very well.
Lyon and Murphy took three and one scalps respectively as Australia spinners shared all the wickets that fell; with the final wicket coming out of a calamitous run-out.
Meanwhile, Jadeja managed to dismiss Travis Head in the second over of the innings to give India a ray of hope on a Day where nothing went in their favour before that. Head was trapped in front of the wicket for 9. Jadeja had a chance to take another wicket in almost no time as he managed to outfox Marnus Labuschagne on a duck but it turned out to be a no-ball as the Aussie batter survived.
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Labuschagne and opener Usman Khawaja shared a crucial 96-run partnership for the second wicket. Khawaja was cut above the rest on Day 1 when it came to tackling the spinners as he scored crucial 60 runs off 147 balls which was laced with 4 fours.
Jadeja managed to spin his web around the star Australian batters in the final session to get the better of Labuschagne and Khawaja in quick succession.
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He castled Labuschagne on 36 as the ball didn’t bounce much and the Aussie batter failed to get the bat down in time. While Khawaja was caught at deep mid-wicket by Shubman Gill who took a good diving catch to end the southpaw’s quality knock.
The Indian spinner also dismissed Steve Smith before the stump to pull India back into the game. The stand-in Aussie captain failed to read Jadeja once again in this series and get caught behind by wicketkeeper KS Bharat for 26.
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