India vs Australia Live Score 2nd Test Day 3: Follow latest updates
India vs Australia 2nd Test Day 3 Live Score: Australia ran away with day two at the Adelaide Oval in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with fantastic performances across the board leaving India reeling and making it fairly apparent that the hosts are prepared to tie the series at 1-1 and make it a three-match shootout. India continue to trail by 29 runs, but with just 5 wickets in the bank, it seems as if India won’t be able to do enough to upset the applecart on day three at the Oval.…Read More
Australia’s equation is fairly straightforward: keep doing what they have been doing with the ball, plugging away with wickets and not allowing India to form the sort of long and draining partnerships that helped them bat so well in the third innings in Perth. With only one recognised batting partnership left, that of Rishabh Pant and Nitish Kumar Reddy currently at the crease, Australia are one wicket away from killing any hopes of a miracle comeback from the bat of two attacking, exciting batters.
Equally, looking for a miracle comeback stemming from audacious strokeplay and courage on behalf of these two youngsters is exactly what Indian fans will wake up in the morning dreaming about. Rishabh Pant has already played his fair share of spectacular hands in Australian conditions, and will be needed once more to play the role of the hero by taking the attack to an Australian seam battery with its tail up.
Having started his innings off with a carefree leap down the wicket on his very first ball, Pant has continued attacking in that manner, using unconventional shotmaking to find boundaries and try and force the bowlers off their length. More of that will be the need of the hour, with Indian fans aware that if he gets set and goes big, anything could happen at the Adelaide Oval.
He has an able partner up the other end, with Nitish Reddy having shown plenty of characters and bravery himself in just three innings on Australian soil. With a bag full of tricks of his own, and plenty of power in the tank, Australia are learning to be wary of the impact Nitish can have as well. Whatever the case might be, it is a partnership which promises to be entertaining as the two young guns look to counter-attack and not allow themselves to be dominated by Australia’s bowlers. They will play risky strokes and give chances to the Aussies, but those are chances that must be taken.
India will also have to rely on another strong batting performance down under from Ravichandran Ashwin, the man who has rescued them with bat so many times. With every run of the essence and integral to India’s hopes in the match. A couple of big partnerships could give India some momentum and put them in a place where they can dare to dream of toppling the Aussies, but it’s a tall ask, and India will need every bit of application and commitment from their lower middle order.
Australia, on the contrary, will have faith that Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Scott Boland will continue to bowl in the manner they did on the evening of day two and the afternoon of day one, leaving their batters a minimal target to haul down, and allowing the bowling core to rest up before a crucial revenge match at the Gabba in Brisbane next week. Australia are an impossible team to play against when they have the momentum going their way, and it’s a matter of a huge confidence boost for the Aussies.
Earlier in the day, Marnus Labuschagne finally provided a score of significance as he motored along in the morning session to reach his half century. Although Nathan McSweeney and Steve Smith fell in quick succession and gave India a sniff, Travis Head survived the testing early period, going on to score a scintillating century in front of his home crowd in Adelaide. His run-a-ball 140 swung all the momentum in Australia’s favour, as he got enough support to bash India’s bowling everywhere.
India’s openers came out in the fading light against the swinging pink ball, and although they played some good cricket shots and kept a good rate of scoring, wickets fell at regular intervals and never allowed a partnership to flow. Jaiswal and Shubman Gill were both dismissed after brisk and confident starts, somewhat against the run of play, while the experienced core of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma continued to struggle, both seemingly off the pace and not looking quite like themselves. India will be happy that there are a few runs on the board thanks to the front-foot-forward batting heading into day three, a small victory.
Australia are on the verge of victory, but India are hunting for a legendary escape. Can India steal a result from the jaws of defeat once again? Day three will provide the answer to that question.
Here are some pointers to Day 3 of India vs Australia 2nd Test:
– Rishabh Pant (28*) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (15*) will resume the Indian innings on Day 3, looking to stitch a solid partnership to rescue the visitors.
