India vs Australia 2017, 2nd Test: Four Talking Points Of Day Three
Mar 6, 2017 at 7:00 PM
India owned day three, yes that’s true, they did. Maybe for the first time in fourteen days but they seem to take the game away from Australia now.
They were hammered, bowed down on day one and struggled to take any laurels by the end of day two also. Come day three, India did all, played spin well, tackled pace and more importantly reverse swing, batted for more than two sessions without losing too many wickets and in the end held their head high.
Aussies, on the other hand, were looking desperate, uncomfortable with the score and even after realising two days are left and they have to bat fourth. India, after a torrid start to the Test, have now taken the driver seat, for a day at least and look to dominate the remaining six sessions.
There were few moments Australia cherished about and many India felt proud about. So at Sportzwiki, we bring four talking points of the day.
4. The Slippery Hands
Like every day, catches were dropped on day three also, but not from Indian players this time, rather it was from the Australian players. India could have landed themselves in the same situation as before had Matthew Wade or Steven Smith taken those catches. Cheteshwar Pujara, India’s mettle in this innings was dropped twice and made Aussies pay for it.
Not only this, he nicked few deliveries which fell short of fielders. He did leave one which for a moment of the second seemed to have hit stumps, but it didn’t, and left Smith to feel sorry. Ajinkya Rahane too escaped a scare as he was dropped by David Warner at the leg-slip off Nathan Lyon. Putting them down invited problems for the visitors as they now trail behind 126 runs with India having six wickets in hand and two days to decide the fate of the match.
3. The Strong Batting Show
The lost touch seems to have found its way back. On day three, three Indian batsmen’s stood up to the challenge and came out on the top. Praising first, opener KL Rahul scored his second fifty of the match while Cheteshwar Pujara, after being dropped twice early on, showed big heart and made the bowling line-up suffer for his wicket. He remained not out on 79 off 173 balls.
Nathan Lyon, first innings hero went wicketless in the innings so far, though he did trouble Rahane and Pujara in bits. Rahane, the troublesome batsman against the turning ball showed glimpses of past as he scored an unbeaten 40 off 105 deliveries. In the last session of the day, no wicket fell, for the first time for any team on the tour.
Banking on their concentration levels, India would now for a dominating lead and thus would aim for the win in this match.
2. Goat, Gary, Lyon. Who?
Bad days can come your way but not straight after you had lived your best. Something same happened with Nathan Lyon on day three. The eight-wicket taker in the first innings hasn’t picked a single one in his 27 overs on day three. Harsh, no? Well, his partner Steve O’Keefe got one off KL Rahul. He must thank Steve Smith for such a wonderful catch.
However, contrary to the spin magic seen in the series so far, it was the forgotten seamer Josh Hazlewood who shined with the ball. Out of the three he grabbed, two were just beauties, one to Abhinav Mukund and other to Ravindra Jadeja. On both occasions, he let the ball come in and dislodge the stumps. To say the least, he did bowl brilliantly.
- The Virat – DRS Drama, Again!
It’s almost hard to not find a reason to not include Virat Kohli’s case into the talking points. On day three, he b did take another DRS to avoid an adjudged LBW decision and failed, again. Must admit the call was tough, he was trapped in front – yes, he nicked- the third umpire said he doesn’t have conclusive proof, and then the call went in umpires favour and he was given out.
More disappointingly, one review went in vain and that too in Virat’s case. With eight more overs to touch 80 and with six wickets remaining to fall, India can hope to change their DRS record now.