The Fact India: Australia has taken a 296-run lead over India on Friday, the third day of the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Australia’s team scored 123 runs for 4 wickets in the second innings till stumps. Marnus Labushen returned unbeaten on 41 and Cameron Green on 7 runs. Earlier, India’s first innings was reduced to 296 runs. Australia had scored 469 runs in the first innings. Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur’s century partnership saved India from following on.
The first session of the third day (Friday) has been named after Indian batsmen Ajikya Rahane and Shardul Thakur. Both saved India from the threat of follow-on by sharing a century partnership. In this session, India scored 109 runs losing one wicket. Rahane also completed his career’s 26th half-century and 5,000 Test runs in the same session, while Australian fast bowler Stock Boland bowled wicket-keeper batsman Shrikar Bharat on the second ball of the day. Indian batsmen got three lives after Bharat’s dismissal.
In the second session, 69 runs were scored in 20.4 overs and 5 wickets fell. In this, India lost the last four wickets in scoring 46 runs, while the Australian team lost one wicket in scoring 23 runs. In this session, apart from Rahane, Shardul, India’s stable batsman Shami, Umesh were out. At the same time, Australia lost Warner’s wicket. In the last session of the day, Australia lost three big wickets in scoring 100 runs. Opener Khawaja, Smith and Head were out in this. Jadeja took two and Siraj took one wicket.
In India’s first innings, Ajinkya Rahane (89 runs) and Shardul Thakur (51) saved India from follow-on by playing half-centuries. There was a 109-run partnership between the two for the 7th wicket. Earlier, India’s top order flopped. Rohit Sharma 15 and Shubman Gill were dismissed after scoring 13 runs. Pujara and Kohli also went on to score 14-14 runs. Jadeja got out for 48 runs. He prevented the Indian innings from disintegrating for some time by sharing a 71-run partnership with Rahane on 100 balls. Pat Cummins took three wickets. Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and Cameron Green got two wickets each.
Australia, playing the second innings, got initial setbacks. The team had lost the wickets of the openers (Khwaja 13 runs and Warner 1 run) for 24 runs, but here Steve Smith and Marnus Labushen took the score to 100. In such a situation, Jadeja did Smith on a personal score of 34 runs. Travis Head (18 runs) also became a victim of Jaddu. Both of them had scored centuries in the previous innings.
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