On Wednesday, the third Test match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy began at the Holkar Stadium, and it was a day dominated by Australia.
Ravindra Jadeja: 4 Wickets Against Australia
The day began with India winning the toss and electing to bat first on a pitch that had sharp turn and variable bounce. However, it was the Australian bowlers who took control of the game, led by Matthew Kuhnemann who took his maiden Test five-wicket haul. He was well-supported by Nathan Lyon, who picked up three wickets, and Todd Murphy who took out the prized scalp of Virat Kohli. India was bundled out for just 109 runs.
After the quick fall of Indian wickets, Usman Khawaja, with his soft hands and calm head, played a fine knock of 60 runs to put Australia in ascendancy with a vital 47-run lead. He stitched a vital 96-run partnership with Marnus Labuschagne, who played a useful knock of 31 runs before being dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja.
The final session of the day began with Khawaja playing Jadeja with ease, flicking and reverse-sweeping him for runs. However, Labuschagne got stuck against Jadeja from the 31st over onwards, as he was beaten by the left-arm spinner at least five times. Eventually, Jadeja got a slider to fox Labuschagne, who was on the backfoot, and the ball kept low to crash into the stumps.
After Australia took the lead, Khawaja had a tough time against Jadeja when the left-arm spinner bowled from over the wicket angle. He tried to counter it by sweeping, but that caused his downfall as he swept straight to deep mid-wicket off Jadeja. Australian captain Steve Smith played some good shots for boundaries off Axar and Jadeja, but he was eventually dismissed by Jadeja as well.
Cameron Green and Peter Handscomb saw out the remaining overs of the day as Australia finished at 156/4 in 54 overs, with Khawaja being the top scorer with 60 runs. Jadeja was the pick of the Indian bowlers, taking all four wickets to fall in the Australian innings.
Conclusion;
Overall, it was a dominant day for Australia, who will look to build on their lead on day two of the match. With the series tied at 1-1, both teams will be looking for a victory in this crucial match. The performance of Kuhnemann and Khawaja will give the Australians confidence heading into the next day's play, while India will need to regroup and come back strongly to stay in the game.
