India vs Australia | Talking points from the third Day of the third Test

Brief scores: Australia 451/10 (Steve Smith 178*, Glenn Maxwell 104; Ravindra Jadeja 5/124) lead India 360/6  (Pujara 130*, Vijay 82, Cummins 4/59) by 91 runs.

Pujara walked in to bat at the beginning of the day’s play and has managed to remain unbeaten until the end of the third day’s play while completing his 11th Test century along the way. While Pujara hasn’t had the best of support from his teammates in terms of partnerships, he has taken on the responsibility of getting India as close as possible, to the Australian first innings total.

Pat Cummins justifies his selection:-

Although the selection of Pat Cummins to replace injured Mitchell Starc ahead of Jackson Bird for the ongoing Test divided opinion in Australia, his performance with the ball in the first innings has certainly put an end to any apprehensions that the fans would have had.

Cummins’ biggest scalp so far, has been that of Indian skipper Virat Kohli. Cummins bowled a driveable delivery to the Indian captain, inviting him forward, but the ball caught the edge of the bat before making its way right into the hands of Steve Smith in the slip cordon. Kohli was greeted with an unpleasant gesture from Aussie skipper Steve Smith, who mocked Kohli’s shoulder injury.

Kohli’s woes with the bat continue:-

As good a player as Kohli is, he does take awhile to settle into his game at the start of his innings. The Australians seem to have figured this out with Smith introducing Cummins into the attack, after taking the second new ball. The move paid dividends as Cummins dismissed the Indian skipper soon after.

Though Kohli was in ominous form going into the current series, he is yet to find his form, so far. While this innings could be ignored due to his shoulder injury,  if he doesn’t rediscover his touch soon, he might be in for some serious questioning.

Coming to the end of the day’s play, the Test Match seems to be wonderfully balanced. With two days left to play India are in a good position to take the lead tomorrow with the settled pair of Pujara and Saha at the crease. With the kind of spin power that India have at their disposal, they might still have a chance of winning the Test.

Australia, on the other hand, would like to knock out the remainder of the Indian innings tomorrow morning and possibly bat the remaining two sessions to set a target for the Indians to chase on the final day. Whichever way you look at it, both teams have all to play for on Day 4 in Ranchi.