Pujara keeps India alive after Australia grab lead in Indore

02.03.2023 - 12:33 channelnewsasia.com

INDORE, India :Cheteshwar Pujara kept India alive in the third test against Australia after the touring side claimed a handy first-innings lead of 88 on day two of the contest in Indore on Thursday.Australia lost their last six wickets for just 11 runs to be all out for 197 in reply to India's first-innings 109 on a raging turner at the Holkar Cricket Stadium.India slumped to 54-3 in their second innings before Pujara, batting on 36, steadied the ship and guided them to 79-4 at tea.Shreyas Iyer was yet to open his account and India were still nine runs behind at the break.Earlier, Australia looked in command at 186-4 and there was no sign of their impending collapse with Cameron Green and Peter Handscomb looking rather comfortable against the spinners.After an opening hour of risk-free accumulation of runs, both the batsmen fell in successive overs, which triggered a collapse.Ravichandran Ashwin (3-44) induced an inside edge from Handscomb and Iyer took a sharp catch at short leg to break the dour fifth-wicket stand.Handscomb, who was trying to defend the ball, soaked up 98 deliveries for his 19.Green fell for 21 in the next over, trapped lbw by Umesh Yadav, who generated enough reverse swing to trouble the Australian tail.Both Mitchell Starc and Todd Murphy lost their off-stumps to the seamer who finished with figures of 3-12.Nathan Lyon (3-27) rattled India early in their second innings dismissing both the openers, Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma.Matt Kuhnemann removed Virat Kohli (13) and Ravindra Jadeja's endless blocking did not work either but Pujara arrested the slide with a judicious mix of caution and calculated aggression.India are 2-0 ahead in the four-test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

cricket Cameron Green Nathan Lyon Peter Handscomb Umesh Yadav Todd Murphy Australia India

Star India batter Virat Kohli was on top of his powers in the fourth Test against Australia, which ended in a stalemate on Monday. Kohli looked in his element during the entire high-scoring encounter and scored his 28th Test century. It was Kohli's first century in the format after a gap of more than three years. Kohli's marathon 186-run knock guided India to a massive 1st innings total of 571, and was named 'Man of the Match' for his efforts.

Watch: Virat Kohli, Steve Smith's Expressions After Axar Patel's 80m Six Go Viral

Axar Patel has been used as a third-choice spinner till now by skipper Rohit Sharma but the all-rounder impressed everyone with his batting prowess on Day 4 of the fourth Test match between India and Australia in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Axar slammed a valuable 79 to provide perfect support to Virat Kohli and guide India to a solid position in the match. One of the shots from Axar that was the highlight of the day's play was a massive six off Matthew Kuhnemann as he heaved the ball over the mid-wicket boundary. The shot left everyone stunned with Kohli breaking into a smile and Australia's stand-in skipper Steve Smith looking baffled by the power and distance of the shot.

Watch: Virat Kohli, Steve Smith's Expressions After Ravindra Jadeja's 80m Six Go Viral

Watch: Virat Kohli Furious At KS Bharat After India Keeper Almost Costs His Wicket

Cricket fans around the world had a gala time after Virat Kohli brought up his 28th Test century during India's fourth Test against Australia, to guide the hosts to a dominating position on Day 4. The star batter reached the triple figures in the longest format after a hiatus of 3.5 years. Starting Day 3 at 289/3, Team India lost the wicket of Ravindra Jadeja after the all-rounder played a reckless shot and gave away his wicket to Todd Murphy. After his dismissal, wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat was sent onto the crease as Shreyas Iyer had missed out on the match due to pain in his lower back. Bharat gave a strong support to Kohli and impressed everyone with his knock of 44 runs. However, there was a moment in the match when Kohli lost his cool at the youngster.

Virat Kohli Slams 186, India Ahead By 88 Runs In Fourth Test Against Australia

Virat Kohli scored 186 as India ended their first innings at 571 in the fourth and final Test against Australia in Ahmedabad on Sunday. At stumps on the fourth day, Australia were three for no loss in their second essay with Matthew Kuhnemann (0 batting) and Travis Head (3 batting) seeing through their six overs in the final session. Australia are behind by 88 runs.

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Indian superstar Virat Kohli hit his first Test century in over three years on Sunday, ending his long drought with an imperious 186 and sparking raucous celebrations at the world's biggest cricket stadium.