India have had a disastrous start, losing five wickets for a paltry scoreline in the third Test match of the Border – Gavaskar Trophy against Australia at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Wednesday.
Having won the toss, India chose to bat first, however, they lost quick wickets to superb bowling from Australia. The men in blue lost opening pair of skipper Rohit Sharma and in-form Shubman Gill for low scores. Rohit Sharma was sent packing for 12 runs by Matthew Kuhnemann who also dismissed Gill for 21 runs.
Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara was the next to follow, who only scored one run before being bowled by Nathan Lyon. Soon after, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who has been in excellent form in the series with the ball and also bailed out the team with the bat, was sent home off Lyon’s delivery, caught by Kuhnemann at short cover. Jadeja went after scoring just four runs and facing nine deliveries.
Then it was the turn of Shreyas Iyer to get out cheaply. Iyer could not manage to trouble the scoreboard, going for zero off two balls. His wicket was taken by Kuhnemann, who along with Lyon has run havoc in Indore. Kuhnemann has taken three wickets and Lyon has taken two so far.
For India, it is up to former captain Virat Kohli, alongside Srikar Bharat who are in the middle to make something of the first innings. India lead the series 2-0, having won the previous two matches comprehensively.
Australia, who have received criticism for their batting performance so far in the series, are coming in hard against India in the third Test. Australia also currently lead the World Test Championship rankings which India will manage to qualify for if they defeat Australia in the ongoing four-match series by a margin of either 3-0 or 3-1.
