Indian Test cricket fans saw their team crumble like a pack of cards as it was bowled out for 244 runs in their first innings to concede a 94-run lead to Australia on the third day of the third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday. Pat Cummins was the wrecker-in-chief taking four for 29.
India had lost just two wickets in the first session and managed to score 84 runs in that pre-lunch period as Cheteshwar Pujara (50) and Rishabh Pant (36) looked to resurrect the innings following the early loss of skipper Ajinkya Rahane (22) and Hanuma Vihari (4).
However, post-lunch, they succumbed to the new ball as the Aussie pace duo Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins kept an immaculate line and length. India lost four wickets for 15 runs to lose track. Cummins was the first to get under India's skin as he hit Pant on his elbow. The left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman seemed to have got rattled after that and went for an expansive drive off Hazlewood only to edge it to first slip. Pant has been taken in for scans after the session.
Pujara was the next to fall, in the next over, as he nicked a back-of-the-length delivery from Cummins to wicketkeeper Tim Paine. That opened up the tail. R Ashwin and Navdeep Saini followed soon after and so did Jasprit Bumrah.
The last wicket between Ravindra Jadeja (28 not out) and Mohammed Siraj added 28 runs with Jadeja doing bulk of the scoring. As many as three batsmen were run out -- Vihari, Ashwin and Bumrah.
For Australia, while Cummins took four wickets, Hazlewood took 2/43 and Starc returned 1/61.
Brief scores:
Australia 338 vs India 244 (S Gill 50, C Pujara 50, R Pant 36, R Jadeja 28 not out, P Cummins 4/29, J Hazlewood 2/43)