Ajinkya Rahane might have departed early but Rishabh Pant and Cheteshwar Pujara ensured that India showed fight to keep hopes of a fighting contest alive on the final day of the Pink Test against Australia here at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Monday.
At the lunch break, India's score reads 206/3, still needing 201 runs to win the match. For the visitors, Pant and Pujara are currently unbeaten on 73 and 41 respectively. The first session saw 36 overs being bowled and 108 runs were scored.
Resuming day five on 98/2, India did not have a good start as the side lost skipper Ajinkya Rahane (4) pretty early as he was sent back to the pavilion by Nathan Lyon and it gave Australia a chance to create more pressure. However, the visitors made a surprising move as the side sent in wicket-keeper batsman Pant ahead of Hanuma Vihari.
The move worked well as Pant played in an aggressive manner and took a special liking towards Lyon and he did not let the off-spinner settle. Pant went on to bring up his fifty and as a result, he became the youngest wicket-keeper (23 years and 95 days) to score 50 plus runs in the fourth innings of a Test in Australia. He beat the record of former Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy who was 24 years and 216 days when he achieved the feat.
In the end, Pant and Pujara managed to survive the first session and the visitors went to the break with seven wickets still in hand. Both Pant and Pujara have extended their fourth-wicket partnership to 104 runs.
On day four, Australia had set a target of 407 for India to win the third Test. Cameron Green and Steve Smith played knocks of 84 and 81 respectively as Australia declared their second innings on 312/6.
Brief Scores: Australia 338 and 312/6d; India 244 and 206/3 (Rishabh Pant 73*, Cheteshwar Pujara 41* Nathan Lyon 1-69).
( With inputs from ANI )
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