Day three’s match report:
Time for me to say thanks for your company and goodbye for now. Do join us again tomorrow for what promises to be an intriguing day four from Ahmedabad.
Take a bow, Shubman Gill 🫡#INDvAUS #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/M8U2gneid8
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 11, 2023
Shubman Gill speaks:
It feels great to be able to get a hundred in India, a great feeling. This is my IPL home ground and I’m glad to get some runs here. The pitch was pretty good to bat on. Anything that was happening off the pitch was off the rough area, it was important for us to be able to bat big and keep ticking the singles whenever possible and that’s what my mindset was.”
The day firmly belongs to Shubman Gill for his sparkling century - all crisp drives and elegant back foot strokes peppered throughout an innings of real patience and solidity. His 128 off 235 balls has kept India in the fight and given them the chance to still take the series outright.
Stumps: India 289-3 (trail Australia by 191 runs)
Jadeja and Kohli survive to the close and will be back to chip away again tomorrow. There was a hundred runs added and just the one wicket to fall in that session. It’s been a tough day of Test cricket for both sides but they’ll both be pleased with how they stuck at it in searing heat. All to play for with two full days to go.
99th over: India 289-3 (Kohli 59, Jadeja 16)
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98th over: India 288-3 (Kohli 58, Jadeja 16) A mixed bag from Kuhnemann who is struggling to settle on a length, he’s either too full or too short and is easily worked away for runs. Five off the over and there’s one more to go, Nathan Lyon to bowl it.
97th over: India 283-3 (Kohli 56, Jadeja 13) Poor old Nathan Lyon is given just one over of rest, he’s back on to replace the wayward Starc, Kohli works him away for a solitary single. We’ve got a couple of overs left in the day.
96th over: India 282-3 (Kohli 55, Jadeja 13) The lesser spotted Matt Kuhnemann is coming on to bowl. This is just his tenth over of the day. Now then, Jadeja comes to life – dancing down the wicket and clobbering for six over long-on!
95th over: India 273-3 (Kohli 53, Jadeja 6) Starc starts with a rank loosener and has a weary chuckle, that was a tired looking ball. His pace is well down and he looks a little creaky in his comeback over.
or 99.94?
When did cricket commentary become an endless rolling clinic on how to play the game? 99.99 percent of people watching will never be able to play it the way the Test stars do. That’s why we’re watching.#INDvAUS
— Greg Baum (@GregBaum) March 11, 2023
94th over: India 271-3 (Kohli 53, Jadeja 5) Kohli fllicks behind square for a couple, he’s looked increasingly assured as the afternoon has gone on. Mitchell Starc is going to come on for a burst with the new ball. Key period coming up at the end of the day, can Australia winkle out a couple of wickets with the new nut?
93rd over: India 269-3 (Kohli 51, Jadeja 5) Lyon changes the angle and comes around the wicket, Kohli gets him away for a couple of runs that sees him go to a patient fifty. Incredibly, that is his first Test half-century in 16 innings. He offers a double fist shake towards the dressing room in celebration.
92nd over: India 266-3 (Kohli 48, Jadeja 5) Attrition! Attrition!
91st over: India 263-3 (Kohli 46, Jadeja 4) Jadeja is strangely becalmed at the crease. He has just four runs from his 34 balls. Lyon rrrrips one past his outside edge, that was a lovely ball! Alex Carey whips off the bails in the hope that Jadeja toppled out of his crease but the replay shows his foot stayed grounded behind the line. Fine bowling from Nathan Lyon.
90th over: India 261-3 (Kohli 44, Jadeja 4) Still no sign of the new ball for Australia. Todd Murphy is picked off for a couple of singles.
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89th over: India 258-3 (Kohli 43, Jadeja 3) Nathan Lyon into his 32nd over. Murphy has bowled 19 and Kuhnemann is lagging behind on 11. The experienced old hand varies his pace and keeps a lid on Kohli.
88th over: India 258-3 (Kohli 42, Jadeja 3) Todd Murphy to twirl away after drinks and he starts with a maiden. Slow going in Ahmedabad. Not cricket related but this just brought a wry smile to my face:
— Tim Key (@timkeyperson) March 11, 2023
87th over: India 258-3 (Kohli 42, Jadeja 3) Lyon nearly makes it three maidens in a row but then he goes and spoils it all by doing something stupid like sliding one down the leg side that Kohli glances for four. Time for a drink.
86th over: India 254-3 (Kohli 38, Jadeja 3) Murphy follows up with a maiden of his own to Jadeja, the all-rounder has been very subdued so far. India still trail by 226 runs with an hour or so left of day three.
85th over: India 254-3 (Kohli 38, Jadeja 3) It is an engrossing duel between Lyon and Kohli, both using all their nouse to go toe to toe. Lyon varies his speeds and tempts Virat with a couple of loopy balls, Kohli is watchful and doesn’t take the bait. A maiden.
84th over: India 254-3 (Kohli 38, Jadeja 3) Murphy looks a bit beleaguered here, Kohli is able to stay deep in his crease and work him around with very little fuss.
83rd over: India 251-3 (Kohli 36, Jadeja 2) Lyon sends down another testing over, just a single worked off the last by Kohli. Still no sign of the new ball, the camera cuts to Mitchell Starc in his sunhat and RoboCop style shades, he don’t look like he’s getting loose.
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82nd over: India 250-3 (Kohli 35, Jadeja 2) Huge appeal from Todd Murphy and he likes the look of this… Australia call for the review after the on-field umpire is unmoved. NOT OUT. Jadeja got a meaty inside edge on the ball into his pad and so he survives and Australia lose a review.
81st over: India 249-3 (Kohli 34, Jadeja 2) Jadeja does get off the mark with a prod behind square, some nifty running sees them come back for two. Lyon is getting some good loop and drift on the ball, he’s giving it more air than Murphy and Kuhnemann and the odd ball is turning quite sharply, that was what did for Shubman Gill.
80th over: India 246-3 (Kohli 33, Jadeja 0) Todd Murphy keeps Jadeja on nought with some tidy bowling. The new ball is now due for Australia but it doesn’t look like they are going to take it, for now at least.
WICKET! Shubman Gill lbw b Lyon 128 (India 245-3)
A wonderful innings comes to an end. Lyon flights one up that turns back sharply and pins Gill in front. The batter sends for the review but it is in vain, three reds confirming the ball would have hit leg stump. Jadeja, in his cap, joins Kohli in the middle.
79th over: India 245-3 (Kohli 32, Jadeja 0)
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78th over: India 243-2 (Gill 127, Kohli 31) Murphy tightens things up with a maiden and there’s drama on the horizon…
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77th over: India 243-2 (Gill 127, Kohli 31) Mitchell Starc runs in under intense sunshine and truth be told he looks slightly weary. Kohli opens the face and runs him down to a vacant third for four. The runs coming more easily for India and the fifty partnership between Gill and Kohli.
76th over: India 235-2 (Gill 126, Kohli 24) Too full from the returning Todd Murphy and Kohli doesn’t miss out, lashing off the front foot through the covers for four. Australia are five overs from being able to use a new ball, this partnership is becoming a worry.
75th over: India 228-2 (Gill 124, Kohli 19) Twelve overs bowled after tea, India have added forty runs but still trail by 252 runs. Time for a drink, it’s a scorcher in Ahmedabad and I’m going to grind some beans*
*Quickly splosh hot water on some instant coffee before hurrying back to my laptop.
74th over: India 225-2 (Gill 122, Kohli 18) Three runs gathered comfortably off Kuhneman. All too easy. Mitchell Johnson ticking in the commentary box, you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry.
73rd over: India 222-2 (Gill 120, Kohli 17) Mitchell Starc replaces Lyon and is greeted by a sumptuous straight drive from Kohli that traces away back past the bowler for four. Shot! Kohli then flicks a length ball off his hip and he’s timed the silk stockings off it for four more. Starc kicks the turf in frustration.
72nd over: India 214-2 (Gill 120, Kohli 9) Kuhnemann lets out a grunt as he sends down his effort ball, he’s a bit too short though and Kohli and Gill are able to hang back and nurdle him around. In the commentary box, Mitchell Johnson is bemoaning the fact that there doesn’t seem to be much needle between the sides.
71st over: India 210-2 (Gill 117, Kohli 8) Lyon toils away around the wicket. Gill pats back a couple before scampering out of his crease and whipping through a tiny gap at mid-wicket for four runs. Have I mentioned how lovely he is to watch? It’s worth repeating.
70th over: India 205-2 (Gill 112, Kohli 8) A single to each batter, just ticking along after tea.
This made me chuckle:
— The Grade Cricketer (@gradecricketer) March 10, 2023
69th over: India 203-2 (Gill 111, Kohli 7) A loud cheer goes up around the vast stadium as India bring up the 200. Kohli is busy and picking off the ones and twos, getting into his work. In a bit of a surprisng move, Kuhnemann is coming on to replace Todd Murphy.
68th over: India 199-2 (Gill 110, Kohli 4) Todd Murphy is quietly impressive, he’s accurate and probing, zeroing in at the pads, getting the odd ball to skid and hurry the batters. Just a single off the over to Shubman.
67th over: India 198-2 (Gill 109, Kohli 4) Enthralling cat and mouse from Lyon and Kohli, five dots sees Virat kept honest before some lovely placement brings him two for a glide into the off side.
66th over: India 196-2 (Gill 109, Kohli 2) Gill is showing all his shots now, he drops to his knees and reverse-sweeps a length ball from Murphy, powerfully struck away for four.
65th over: India 191-2 (Gill 105, Kohli 1) Nathan Lyon twirls away, Kohli works him off the pads into the leg-side to get off the mark and the single is accompanied by gleeful cheers from the crowd.
64th over: India 189-2 (Gill 104, Kohli 0) Todd Murphy starts the evening session, he’s pocketed Virat Kohli three times already in this series and very nearly has him again! Kohli plays for the turn but the ball skids on and passes his outside edge by the width of a rizla paper. Steve Smith wants to send it upstairs but Alex Carey isn’t convinced, rightly so.
Rightio, the players gather on the boundary ready to take the field for the evening session. Kohli and Gill at the crease for India and Australia striving, let’s play.
☕ TEA, DAY 3! Shubman Gill played extremely well in this session as he scored a brilliant century.
— The Bharat Army (@thebharatarmy) March 11, 2023
🙌 We lost Pujara just before the tea break but we have King Kohli in the middle. Let's hope the King-Prince duo play well!
📷 BCCI • #INDvAUS #AUSvIND #BorderGavaskarTrophy… https://t.co/fQKkye7m3I pic.twitter.com/E4nQiGR6kd
63rd over: India 188-2 (Gill 103, Kohli 0) Virat greets Gill with a firm hug and then settles in to face Nathan Lyon. Close! Lyon gets one to spit past the outside edge and then follows up with another that takes the edge of Virat’s blade but it just falls short of Steve Smith at slip. With that flurry of action it is time for tea.
WICKET! Cheteshwar Pujara lbw b Murphy 42 (India 187-2)
*That’s exactly what they needed!* Australia get the wicket, Todd Murphy gets one to pitch and straighten and it slides past Pujara’s forward poke and wraps him on the pad. The umpire gives it on the field and the DRS review confirms it is the correct decision. Enter Virat Kohli.
62nd over: India 187-2 (Gill 102, Kohli 0)
Shubman Gill goes to a century! A paddle sweep sees the ball run away to the fine leg fence and the crowd rise and cheer. Gill removes his helmet and beams, all boyish good looks. However, it isn’t the only thing of note to happen in the over. Drumroll…
61st over: India 182-1 (Gill 97, Pujara 42) Shot! Gill prances down the wicket and drives Lyon back over his head for another four, that takes him within one blow of notching his first home Test century…
60th over: India 177-1 (Gill 92, Pujara 42) It’s a Murphy-Pujara maiden which gives me the opportunity to have a flick through these:
The 50 photographs that reshaped sport.
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) March 11, 2023
By @WeeksJonny, @graceholliday and @larry_ryan https://t.co/xxw5etkhPN
59th over: India 177-1 (Gill 92, Pujara 42) Nathan Lyon is summoned to replace Cameron Green who lopes off in shame after leaving the lid off the pressure cooker. A couple of singles.
Jaap Van Etten emails in with a bugbear:
“Jim, in this quiet passage of play, can I bring my bugbear to the OBO crowd? Whenever a wicket falls, chances are in my experience extremely high that at least one commentator will shout: “That’s exactly what they needed!” This always pisses me off, because when would a wicket NOT be exactly what they needed? Isn’t that the whole idea of every ball bowled?
Am I the only one in the OBO crowd getting annoyed by commentators doing this? Loving the OBO, as always.”
58th over: India 175-1 (Gill 91, Pujara 41) Another boundary! India have come to life in the last five minutes, Murphy floats a full toss down and this time Pujara gets in on the act, trotting out of his crease to bunt it through mid on. Normal business is resumed thereafter with five dots completing the over.
57th over: India 171-1 (Gill 91, Pujara 37) You wait 96 deliveries for a boundary and then two come along at once! Shubman Gill plays a lovely back foot drive to find the lesser spotted fence and then follows it up with a delicious cover drive for four more. He’s such an aesthetically pleasing player, a brace to the leg-side boundary takes him into the 90s. A nosebleed inducing 12 runs off Cameron Green’s over.
56th over: India 159-1 (Gill 80, Pujara 36) It’s a scorcher in Ahmedabad and Pujara seems to be struggling with a bit of cramp. The physio comes on to give him some treatment and he looks fine to continue. The mind wanders to 1986…
55th over: India 158-1 (Gill 79, Pujara 36) The pressure nearly tells as Gill forces into the off side and calls Pujara through for a risky single… he just about makes it home and the throw from Travis Head is a bit of a wild one. India aren’t really going anywhere, Pujara loves this sort of dogfight but it will be interesting to see how the usually swashbuckling Gill responds to being tied down for a lengthy period.
54th over: India 154-1 (Gill 77, Pujara 35) Murphy twirls away and it’s a case of dot after dot after dot after dot. A maiden. It feels like something’s gotta give.
53rd over: India 154-1 (Gill 77, Pujara 35) Cameron Green replaces Starc and he’s bustling in at the stumps, there’s a leg slip in place and Alex Carey is up to the stumps. Pujara and Gill manage to break the shackles ever so slightly with a couple of singles. The run rate has really plummeted in the last few hours, there’s been no boundary for India in over 13 overs, it’s a slow simmer.
52nd over: India 152-1 (Gill 76, Pujara 34) The bespectacled Todd Murphy is over the wicket to a packed leg side field, Steve Smith is on the squeeze, not giving any easy singles. Pujara can’t find the gap to rotate strike and it is six more dots, join em up.
51st over: India 152-1 (Gill 76, Pujara 34) Thanks Angus and hello everyone. It’s all gone a bit soporific since lunch eh? Pujara is doing what he does, he’s 34 from 86 balls. Australia need to prise him out if they are to have a chance of forcing this game towards a result. Mitchell Starc sends down a tidy maiden.
50th over: India 152-1 (Gill 75, Pujara 34) Gill scoops a single behind square to start Nathan Lyon’s 20th over. Pujara plays a strange shot to the next, letting his bat sway parallel to his body like a pendulum. Weird but it gets him a single and after 12 half-centuries since January 2020, who am I to question him? A third single taken from the last… as a tremor runs through the crowd. It can only mean James Wallace taking the fresh OBO cherry and me getting a spell in the deep. Thanks for your company, folks. I will see you on – gasp! – Day Four.
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49th over: India 149-1 (Gill 74, Pujara 33) Are Australia turning the screws here? India were steaming along at 3.44 runs per over in the first session, rattling up 93 runs from their 27 overs. But since lunch Australia have put a clamp on things and only 18 runs have come from the 11 overs since the break at the miserly rate of 1.64. Smith is making a move with his field too, bringing in a leg slip to compliment his own position outside Carey. Can Starc find the magic ball to put them to use? Not in this over he can’t.
48th over: India 147-1 (Gill 73, Pujara 32) Lyon to Gill and there’s a sharper angle on the first ball as it jags back in. Gill is equal to the task, fending away, and moving his feet to the next few to play out a maiden, Lyon’s third of the innings.
47th over: India 147-1 (Gill 73, Pujara 32) Starc has notched fifty from his 10 overs and for his 11th he remains stubbornly over the wicket to Pujara who steps out and pushes a ball on off stump through gully for an easy two. This partnership with Gill is at 73 from 153 balls. It has slowed down after lunch but shown no sign of stalling. India trail by 333.
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46th over: India 145-1 (Gill 73, Pujara 30) India trail by 336 and captain Steve Smith and his chief weapon Nathan Lyon are furiously hatching plans. The arms are waving and the field is changing. This might be mere gamesmanship, slowing the game down, disrupting the too-easy rhythm of these batters and sowing the seed that something is happening when it isn’t. So far after lunch Australia have put a stopper in the boundaries and only 15 runs have come from the eight overs since. But there’s been nary a sniff of a wicket either and the singles are flowing freely… although Starc tried to turn that one into a five with a wild throw that Alex Carey had to dive full-length to stop running to the boundary.
45th over: India 144-1 (Gill 73, Pujara 29) A shout. A stutter. But no run. Starc’s attempted yorker was easily dug out but it was 70% a single and Pujara didn’t like the risk. Mitchell Starc is persisting over the wicket, trying to angle it in on the toes but it’s not working, and as he strays to leg again is easily worked into the outfield by the right-handed Pujara the mystery of why the big left-handed quick is not coming around the wicket deepens. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
44th over: India 143-1 (Gill 73, Pujara 28) Lyon notches his second maiden of the innings as Gill goes into his shell and looks for a shot to spark another rush of runs. Hang on, it just arrived: Mitchell Starc is coming back into the attack. I swear Shubman Gill is licking his lips but it’s Pujara on strike.
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43rd over: India 143-1 (Gill 72, Pujara 28) Gill clips Green for a run leaving Pujara, the master bat from the Gujarat town of Rajkot, a cover drive from this stadium. He has huge local support here and they cheer even the scoreless shots mightily. Just a single from the Green over.
42nd over: India 142-1 (Gill 72, Pujara 28) Nathan Lyon is hunting Test wicket #480. Did he imagine such a quest when he was working as a curator, I wonder? The story is legend now. The boy from the town of Young, famous for its cherry orchards, becomes a gardener and groundsman at cricket grounds… until the day the aptly named Darren Berry spotted Lyon take a smoko from preparing the Adelaide Oval wicket to throw a few down in the nets. A star was born and 118 Tests later he’s got another cherry in his hand and he’s trying to bowl a peach.
41st over: India 141-1 (Gill 71, Pujara 28) Here comes the Green machine… and there goes Cheteshwar Pujara edging through the empty slips cordon for FOUR. Green throws his head back. He’s finally rushed one onto Pujara and found the edge of a bat five-feet wide but there’s no one there to take the catch. Tis a cruel game, Cam. Meanwhile his captain, Steve Smith, who would normally be occupying that first slip position, doesn’t budge from the outfield and the cordon remains vacant. India trail by 339.
40th over: India 136-1 (Gill 71, Pujara 24) Lyon skips in for his fifteenth over. He has 0-32 but just the one maiden and he can’t claim another here as Pujara pushes a single into the onside from this over.
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39th over: India 136-1 (Gill 71, Pujara 23) India trail by 350. Cameron Green is into the attack, hurling down his rocks at 135kph from a height of three metres. The 23-year-old did his bit with the bat. Can he deliver more magic with the ball? So far he’s not troubling Gill or Pujara but nor are they giving him any stick. Until now. After a couple of dots and a couple of singles Green strays and Gill punishes him, driving through mid-on for a boundary. Gill is looking very comfortable and well he might – he’ll be teeing off for local IPL side the Gujarat Titans on this very ground next month.
38th over: India 130-1 (Gill 66, Pujara 22) Big session ahead! Australia desperately need to break this blossoming partnership between Pujara-Gill. Will it be spin or seam that does it? Nathan Lyon starts the counter-attack after the break and Shubman peels off a single but nothing more.
LUNCH Day 3: India 129 for 1 (Gill 65, Pujara 22). India trail by 351
A good session for India and they needed it. There’s still a mountain to climb – 351 runs to be exact – but they are climbing it surely and quickly, with Cheteshwar Pujara and Shubman Gill in the midst of a fifty partnership for the second wicket and looking great.
Australia’s attack are working hard but Mitch Starc’s profligacy has released any pressure built by Nathan Lyon and Matt Kuhnemann and allowed India to rattle along at almost four per over. Still, the footmarks Starc is creating in his delivery stride may yet be his greatest contribution. Australia will take enormous heart from the delivery Todd Murphy ripped out of the rough and past the bat and pad of Gill late in that session. Food for thought at Lunch, no?!
Time for us to have a bite and bit to drink. We’ll be back in the land where every day feels like summer in two shakes of a lamb’s tail…
37th over: India 129-1 (Gill 65, Pujara 22) Green hits 140kph! Seems there’s some sap left in the Australian allrounder after his 170-ball 249-minute innings on days one and two. But he can’t crack the Pujara-Gill union and we go to lunch with a victory for India in that session – 95 runs for the loss of just one wicket.
36th over: India 126-1 (Gill 63, Pujara 21) What a ripper! Murphy cut Gill in half there, landing it in the rough outside off stump and bisecting bat and pad. How did it miss the stumps? In the end it flew over the middle peg and bounced so extravagantly Carey missed it too and it ran away for four byes. Six runs from the over and that brings up the fifty partnership for these two.
35th over: India 120-1 (Gill 62, Pujara 20) Here comes wonderboy! Cameron Smith has been given a chance to break this dangerous partnership but his first ball is offline and Gill cuts it for two. Green gets his radar right next delivery and after sending it down at 135kph from a long lever attached to a 200cm frame, Gill has to dig it out of his armpit. Green batted beautifully for his maiden Test century. He had six fifties and four seventies but three-figures had proven a bridge too far. But he has shrugged the gorilla off his back now and can go forth with confidence that he’s a Test centurion. Did I mention that he has 23 Test wickets at 30 and a best of 5-27 to boot?
34th over: India 118-1 (Gill 60, Pujara 20) Todd Murphy is bowling but Cameron Green is warming up. And just in time as Pujara dances down to Murphy’s second ball and splits the fielders on the onside for a splendid four. Lovely shot by the big marn. He now has 20 at a strike-rate of about 50 and is showing plenty of positive intent with both his feet and his bat (not so much his running). Five from the over and India trail by 362.
33rd over: India 113-1 (Gill 59, Pujara 16) Smith’s faith in Starc is being tested but he stays true to his fast man and throws him the cherry again for a ninth over. He’s coming around the wicket to Gill but India’s batters are knocking him either side for singles and waiting for what they think is the inevitable loose one… and there it is as Pujara drives a full ball to the rope… but not all the way. It’s only two after some handy fielding from Travis Head. Gill thinks there was three to be had there and gives his older partner some lip about it.
32nd over: India 108-1 (Gill 57, Pujara 13) Lyon is resting so his cub, Todd Murphy, will get a spell. Murphy didn’t bowl yesterday but won plenty of praise for his tight lines and pressure bowling in Indore, despite little reward for his toil. Gill is going along at a gallop and Smith needs those runs to evaporate. As usual, Murphy does his job, with Gill only taking one from the over.
31st over: India 107-1 (Gill 56, Pujara 13) Where’s Cameron Green? That’s the question Australian fans are asking. Surely after his 114 with the bat he deserves a whirl with the ball? But still Smith persists with Starc. What’s his plan here? Is he trying to keep air in the tyres of his mercurial quick? Or does he just fancy roughing the footmarks up to the max before the ball goes soft in the later sessions. His delivery stride is kicking up plenty of dust but Starc hasn’t found any of his characteristic reverse swing so far. And Gill is really climbing into him. Starc had a run of four dots going there but then he strays to leg and Gill simply clips it through midwicket for four and a total of six from the over.
30th over: India 101-1 (Gill 51, Pujara 13) Pujara is a big unit but nimble. He steps down to spinners when they’re on a fifth stump line and does again to Lyon here even as he switches from over the wicket to around mid-over. Pujara now has 2004 runs against Australia in Tests and most of those have left scar.
29th over: India 100-1 (Gill 51, Pujara 12) Curious move by Smith! He’s bringing Mitchell Starc back into the attack. Starc was profligate this morning, going for 14 from one over and 12 from another before getting the hook. His line wasn’t right then… and it still isn’t right. Shubman Gill cuts a wide one to the boundary. That’s his FIFTY. Well played, Shub. At 23, he’s a rising star in this India side although his 14 Tests so far have conjured just the one Test century (this is his fifth half-century). But he’s handsome and hungry, as shown when he curses himself for missing the chance to put another Starc half-volley to the fence. Still, six from the over and the India hundred is up.
28th over: India 94-1 (Gill 46, Pujara 11) Virat Kohli is laughing and licking his lips in the India dugout. He is the next-man-in and there’s a growing volume in the crowd as the fans see him on screen and await his arrival at the crease. Huge innings for Kohli – he is currently a staggering 41 innings without a Test century! Just a single for Gill from Nathan Lyon’s 12th over. He has figures of 0-28.
27th over: India 93-1 (Gill 45, Pujara 11) Recognising the threat Pujara poses once set, Steve Smith has an attacking field in place for Kuhnemann’s eighth over. It’s not working though as Gill and Pujara work three singles and a loft over mid wicket for two to take a total of five from the over. India now trail by 387.
26th over: India 87-1 (Gill 43, Pujara 7) Lovely shot by Pujara to take Lyon for two runs through cover. He then skips down daintily to the third for a neat single. Although we haven’t seen his best in this series, Pujara is still name that puts a chill in the marrow of most Australian cricket fans. He made his name with a stoic 72 in a tricky chase against Australia in Bangalore in October 2010 but more notably, was India’s chief destoyer in their historic first series win on Australian soil in 2018-19. In that series Pujara faced 1258 balls across the four Tests and scored three centuries. He takes a third run from this over.
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25th over: India 86-1 (Gill 43, Pujara 4) India have the total under 400 now as Pujara and Gill pluck a couple of singles from Kuhnemann’s seventh over. He throws a no ball for overstepping into the bargain to make it three from the over.
24th over: India 81-1 (Gill 42, Pujara 3) Pujara and Lyon resume hostilities. They have been duelling for over a decade now after Pujara made a belated Test debut in 2010 following six seasons of first-class cricket. Apparently that delayed arrival on the international scene was because Pujara’s junior clubs, Saurashtra, and Rajkot, are considered relative backwaters and his home track is one of the flattest tracks in India. Why else would his triple-century aged 14 go under the radar? Anyway, he’s certainly made hay since being given his chance, with over 7000 Test runs at 43 currently against his name.
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23rd over: India 78-1 (Gill 40, Pujara 2) Gill takes a single to deep square leg leaving Pujara to prod at Matthew Kuhnemann. The 35-year-old veteran of 102 Tests is chasing his 20th Test century. And he brings it two runs closer by skipping down and sending the fifth ball backward of square. Nice shot by Pujara but he misses the last delivery and there’s a big appeal. The Australians convene over a review but there’s more shrugging than shouting so they let it go. Good call because there’s a big inside edge.
22nd over: India 75-1 (Gill 39, Pujara 0) Big appeal from Lyon! His first ball of the over to Shubman Gill skidded on and made heavy contact with the pad. Lyon liked it a LOT. He spun and screamed, leaning back and flapping his wings like a man falling backwards off a boat. But Smith and Carey weren’t as animated and Australia refuse to review. Just as well. Replays show an inside edge. The formidable figure of Cheteshwar Pujara has set up camp in the middle and after Marnus Labuschagne helps tighten his pads, he sees off his first ball from Lyon.
WICKET! Rohit Sharma c. Labuschagne b. Kuhnemann 35 (India 74-1)
There’s the breakthrough! Kuhnemann tosses this one up a little faster and with a dash more float. Rohit Sharma steps down to drive but he’s deceived by the length and instead of hitting over the top he only bunts the ball to Labuschagne at short mid-off. India’s captain is out and Australia draw first blood on Day Three!
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21st over: India 72-1 (Rohit 34, Gill 37) India have taken 36 runs from the 10 overs this morning and they add another two to the total from Kuhnemann’s fifth over. He has 0-8. Hang on, make that 1 for 8!
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20th over: India 72-0 (Rohit 34, Gill 37) Lyon is bowling well this morning. Although Mitchell Starc went for plenty in his opening spell he did create some footmarks at the end Lyon is bowling to and that rough is creating a little confusion in the India batters. Rohit and Gill have grafted singles but nothing more and neither can be said to look comfortable against the GOAT.
19th over: India 71-0 (Rohit 33, Gill 37) Between ends Steve Smith had a long chat with the umpire after that rejected review. He’s frustrated that a ball shown to be hitting the stumps has been given not out because it’s outside the line. Sorry Smudge, them’s the breaks. Kuhnemann’s fourth over is tight but toothless. Rohit dabs a single around the corner to get a run but that’s it.
18th over: India 70-0 (Rohit 32, Gill 37) So much depends on Nathan Lyon as the leader of Australia’s spin attack. Rohit takes a single from the first and Gill sends a crowd catch back to the second for no run. There’s an appeal on the third as Gill comes down with a long stride but the shout lacked conviction I thought. The onfield decision is NOT OUT but nonetheless Australia will review… replays show it’s pad first so that’s a start… but ball tracking shows it pitching outside off even though it’s glancing leg stump. So despite the ball shown to be hitting the pegs, because the point of impact is outside the line, Gill survives and Lyon is denied. Australia lose a review but their hope in Lyon will be renewed. Three from the over and India trail by 410 runs.
17th over: India 67-0 (Rohit 31, Gill 35) After 16 first-class games and three Test matches, Kuhnemann rolls in to Shubman Gill. He has made a bright start to his international career with eight wickets so far at the handy average of 23 including a wonderful 5 for 16 in Delhi. India take two from his first over today.
16th over: India 65-0 (Rohit 30, Gill 34) While the runs torrent at the other end, Lyon has them trickling at his. He leaks a single on the final ball but that’s it. Looks like Starc has been sent to the naughty corner by Smith and it will be three-Test leftie Matthew Kuhnemann who will get a go.
15th over: India 64-0 (Rohit 30, Gill 33) Starc has his speed up over 140kph now. That last over will have raised a few of those famously sensitive hackles of his. Again he pings it in short at Rohit but despite the ball getting good steepling bounce Rohit swings hard but can only bunt it short of leg slip. The India skipper gets it right second time though as he takes another ball straying to leg and swipes it around the corner. FOUR! Too full by Starc. And too short, as proven by the loose bouncer he puts in on his final delivery. Rohit’s riposte? Turn, swivel, swing… SIX over the backward square leg boundary! Ten from the over and 24 runs from Starc’s last 12 deliveries. India flying!
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14th over: India 54-0 (Rohit 20, Gill 33) Lyon staunches the wound left by Starc’s car crash over, with just two singles coming from it. India trail by 426 runs but at this rate they’ll get there quickly.
13th over: India 52-0 (Rohit 19, Gill 33) Starc rolls in again. No swing for him today so he’s scrambling the seam instead. After a single and a two… BAM! A Shubman Gill shot to scramble Starc’s brain. The big quick put it outside off on a full length and Gill stepped out and brought the blade down like a guillotine to send it careering to the boundary. That was so worrying a sign for Australia Steve Smith has rushed over to chat to his bowler. Starc will come around the wicket instead it’s decided… but it doesn’t matter if you bowl wide and short as Gill takes it off his chest and gloves it over his shoulder for another boundary. To the last, Gill steps back and swats it down the ground for three. A pulverising over for India – 14 runs from it and the fifty partnership is up already.
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12th over: India 38-0 (Rohit 18, Gill 19) Nathan Lyon will resume at the other end. The 35-year-old offie had 0-14 from his three overs yesterday and has started over the wicket today to Shubman Gill, flinging them down between 87-95kph. Lots of oohs and aahs but no breakthrough as Lyon starts with a maiden.
11th over: India 38-0 (Rohit 18, Gill 19) Day 3 is away! Mitchell Starc is kicking us off and Rohit Sharma is on strike. Straight away we have a single from the first delivery as Starc over-pitches on middle and is worked away on the leg side. Gill flicks the fourth away for a run too as Starc strays onto the same trajectory. Two from the over and India now trail by 442.
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Everyone’s still raving about Usman Khawaja’s epic 180 yesterday. It was the third-highest Test score by an Australian in India, behind only Dean Jones’s courageous 210 in the Tied Test in Chennai in 1986 and Matthew Hayden’s 203, also in Chennai in 2001.
Haydos has already told us plenty about the latter in his TV commentary so, as we wait for the players to take the field, let’s revisit Deano’s incredible knock – his first Test century in just his third Test and “one of the greatest ever played”…
For those who came in late, here’s how Geoff Lemon saw Day 2…
Preamble
Greetings cricket fans, welcome back to Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad for the fourth Test between India and Australia in the 2023 Border-Gavaskar series. Angus Fontaine here with you for Day Three, and what a day it promises to be.
Normal Test cricket has resumed here in India. After three Tests of bewitched pitches, sideways spin and ruinous batting collapses, bat is now dominating ball. The proof was in the pounding India’s bowlers took at the soft hands of Usman Khawaja, who took his overnight 104 to a magnificent 180 from 422 balls, and Cameron Green, who cantered from 49 to 114 to clinch a maiden Test century.
Together they put on 208 runs, the second-highest stand for Australia in India after the 222 Kim Hughes and Allan Border put on at Chennai in 1979. Even when both departed, stubborn tail-gunner resistance from Nathan Lyon (34) and Todd Murphy (41) clawed Australia to a total of 480. Inspired by the heroic efforts yet again of Ravi Ashwin who took 6 for 91, India’s openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill then survived 10 overs to start Day Three at 36-0.
It’s a bright beginning India must turn into a blaze of runs if they are to rebound from their nine-wicket defeat at Indore and win this Test to lock themselves a finals berth at the World Test Championship in London in a few months time. Standing in their way is an Australia team who have rediscovered their character, and a plucky Sri Lanka side chasing a 2-0 series victory over New Zealand to leap-frog India into the WTC final against Australia.
So plenty to play for. And plenty of star power to play for it.
Can India skipper Rohit Sharma conjure another century like his match-turner in the first Test? And will Virat Kohli rediscover form? Not long ago he was the game’s No 1 batter and averaging 55 but since the start of 2020 “King Kohli” is averaging under 27, hasn’t scored a Test century in three years and has slid to #20 in the ICC batting rankings. Is today his day?
For Australia, most hopes lie with match-winners Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon. With Pat Cummins home on compassionate leave after the passing of his mother yesterday, Starc will have only Cameron Green as seam support. Lyon, the hero of the Indore victory with 11 wickets, has two Sundance Kids riding with him in Todd Murphy and Matt Kuhnemann. Can these three amigos spin Australia to that rarest of feats: consecutive victories in India?
We’ll find out shortly so buckle ‘em up and batten ‘em down.
