India in Australia 3rd Test, Day 3 Highlights: Kohli, Rahane Propel India to 462/8 at Stumps, Trail Australia by 68 Runs
Virat Kohli (169) and Ajinkya Rahane (147) added a record stand of 262 runs for 4th wicket on Day 3 at MCG. Catch all Day 3 highlights here.
India end Day 3 on 462/8, trailing Australia by 68 runs. Catch all the highlights here (Scorecard | Highlights):
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12.54 (IST): STUMPS! Australia end the day with psychological advantage as Kohli's marathon knock comes to an end. He goes for 169. India reach 462/8, trail Australia by 68 runs. An outstanding effort from Kohli and Rahane (147) has pulled India out of real danger of suffering a heavy loss. The match is now evenly poised and Day 4 will hold the key.
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12.02 (IST): Oh the Kohli-Johnson show! Kohli smashes Johnson through covers and flexes his arms to Johnson. Johnson has a few words and a smile to offer. Kohli hits a four off the next ball too. Excellent contest, this. India 448/7
Virat hits Mitch for four and starts blowing him kisses! What a day of Test cricket! http://t.co/LDINCret7f #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/lSJmwVxp0e
- cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) December 28, 2014
11.55 (IST): Shami is no mug with the bat! He cuts a short ball from Watson between slips and gully. India 440/7
11.49 (IST): OUT! Ravichandran Ashwin is gone! He is caught and bowled by Ryan Harris for a duck. India 434/7
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11.44 (IST): 150 for Virat Kohli! He gets there with a flick shot through mid-wicket. India 434/6
11.42 (IST): Dhoni is gone! India are throwing away an excellent day's play here. The Indian captain edges a Ryan Harris delivery to Haddin behind the stumps. India 430/6
11.25 (IST): MS Dhoni is trying all sorts of things here. He has almost done the split while trying to sweep Lyon, he is coming across to the pacers and trying to play on the leg side and has even got a slog sweep for four. He bats on 9 off 18 balls with Kohli on 146. India 427/5
11.15 (IST): Oh gosh! What has Rahul done! Nerves, perhaps? He went after Lyon and attempted an audacious sweep shot against Lyon. A top-edge carried straight to Hazlewood. Rahul's brief debut ends, he goes for 3. India 415/5.
11.01 (IST): Debutant Lokesh Rahul walks out to join Virat Kohli in the middle.
10.59 (IST): WICKET! Ajinkya Rahane's scintillating knock of 147 comes to an end. Nathan Lyon bowls from round the stumps and Rahane goes for a sweep but misses and hit hit on line. Kumar Dharmasena raises his finger and Australia show relief more than celebrations. India 409/4
10.47 (IST): FOUR! Rahane moves into 140s with a glorious cover drive off Nathan Lyon. It also brings up 250-run stand between Kohli and Rahane. India 397/3
10.41 (IST): Sensational batting from Kohli and Rahane. They've added 49 off 54 balls since tea. India 385/3
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10.28 (IST): Rahane now has his highest Test score of 119!
10.20 (IST): The Aussie bowlers are showing signs of fatigue here. 15 runs collected off Johnson's over. India 358/3
10.19 (IST): Kohli goes after Johnson! Two more short balls and Kohli pulls them both for fours. India 355/3
10.17 (IST): Kohli brings up 200-run stand with Rahane with a four off Johnson. India 347/3.
10.15 (IST): Kohli and Rahane resume with similar confidence. Crucial for India to reduce the deficit as much as possible by close of play to try and make a match of it.
09.45 (IST): TEA TIME! Kohli (104*), Rahane (111*) take India to 336/3 at tea vs Australia (530). Trail by 194 runs.
Terrific Kohli-Rahane partnership at MCG.Delightful contest fr Test Crkt followers!But Ind still not out of woods as they bat last on day 5!
- Bishan Bedi (@BishanBedi) December 28, 2014
09.37 (IST): 100 for Virat Kohli! His 9th in Tests and 3rd of the series. India 334/3
09.22 (IST): 100 for Ajinkya Rahane! His 3rd in Tests. It has come off just 127 balls. India 315/3
09.06 (IST): Oh dear! Another chance! Johnson bowls a short ball and Kohli goes for a pull. He fails to connect and the top-edge, much to his delight, falls away from a running, diving Brad Haddin. India 298/3
09.04 (IST): Kohli (88) and Rahane (88) have now added 150 runs for the 4th wicket.
09.02 (IST): Rahane seems to be suffering from cramps. The doctors attended to him briefly but he's back to take strike. India 297/3
08.59 (IST): Another FOUR! Watson strays down the leg side and Rahane flicks it to the fine leg fence. India 295/3
08.58 (IST): Rahane moves into the 80s with a cut behind point off Watson. India 291/3
08.53 (IST): DROPPED! Kohli, who has clearly lost a bit of concentration, edges a Johnson delivery and Shane Watson fumbles at first slip. Kohli survives. India 287/3
08.50 (IST): Kohli and Johnson had a few words for each other between overs. The umpires had to calm a visibly furious Kohli.
08.45 (IST): Ooh aggression! Kohli drives the ball back to Johnson and steps out, Johnson throws the ball back and it strikes Kohli on his leg and he is on the ground. Johnson walks up and apologises, Kohli is quickly back on his feet and moves on. India 279/3
Words being exchanged out there. Kohli didn't seem too happy after this incident at the start of last over #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/gUhgWsyOBR
- cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) December 28, 2014
08.38 (IST): Just as Rahane and Kohli are nearing their respective centuries, Smith brings back Ryan Harris. This could be a big test for the two batsmen. India 279/3, trail Australia (530) by 251 runs.
08.36 (IST): New ball taken and Mitchell Johnson is back into the attack.
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 08.35 (IST): Oh dear! Nathan Lyon drops a sitter. Rahane hits a ball back and it goes straight through Lyon's hands.
How costly will that dropped catch be? Johnson has taken the second new ball now: http://t.co/LDINCret7f #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/NtrOJYX0zz
- cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) December 28, 2014
08.27 (IST): Ajinkya Rahane has two Test tons prior to this innings - at Wellington and Lord's. Can he make it 3 at MCG today?
08.23 (IST): Smith bowls a full toss and Rahane drives it well through covers for four. India 268/3
08.21 (IST): Steve Smith brings himself into the attack with new ball due in 5 overs. India 262/3
08.15 (IST): FOUR! Virat Kohli moves on to 75 with yet another cover drive for four. India 255/3
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08.12 (IST): 250 up for India!
08.10 (IST): Kohli (69) and Rahane (57) have added 100 runs for the 4th wicket. Excellent batting by the duo. India 247/3
07.59 (IST): FIFTY for Ajinkya Rahane! His third 50 of the series. It has come off just 60 balls. India 239/3.
07.05 (IST): LUNCH! India reach 224/3 at lunch, trail Australia by 306 runs. Virat Kohli (60 not out) and Ajinkya Rahane (43 not out) have added 77 off 97 balls. Visitors collect 116 runs in the first session.
06.50 (IST): FIFTY for Virat Kohli! His 10th in Tests. What a crucial knock this has been after two early wickets this morning. India 213/3
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06.48 (IST): Rahane has showed great positive intent to complement Kohli well in the middle. He moves into the 40s and India go past the 200-run mark.
06.40 (IST): Kohli and Rahane bring up 50-run stand for the 4th wicket. It has come off just 62 balls. India 197/3
06.35 (IST): FOUR! Rahane pulls a short ball from Harris behind square for four. India 192/3
06.33 (IST): Here's Haddin's acrobatic effort for his 250th dismissal behind the stumps. Not bad for a 37-year-old eh?
Was Haddin's 250th Test dismissal his best yet? Watch a collection of his classics: http://t.co/dQKVVptqvW #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/Gj2M5VoHTo
- cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) December 28, 2014
06.29 (IST): India have collected 78 runs off 20 overs today, 40 of which have come from Kohli.
06.22 (IST): FOUR! Rahane guides a short ball through the slips to the third man fence. He's on 24 off 14 balls. India 183/3
06.21 (IST): FOUR! It has been a morning of cover drives so far! Rahane hits one off Hazlewood for four to move on to 20 off just 12 balls. India 178/3
06.18 (IST): FOUR! Ajinkya Rahane pushes at a Lyon delivery straight down the ground and times it well enough to beat the diving fielder at mid on. India 173/3
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06.14 (IST): Spin introduced as Nathan Lyon replaces Shane Watson. There's not too much rough for him to exploit. He will have to rely entirely on his line and length which has been very good in the series so far.
06.13 (IST): Matthew Hayden makes an interesting observation about Kohli's game so far.
This is amazing Test Cricket this @MCG @imVkohli has to be careful, he is getting a long way across his crease #LBW
- Matthew Hayden AM (@HaydosTweets) December 28, 2014
06.12 (IST): Short and pulled away! Kohli hits his 5th four of the innings behind square off Hazlewood.India 161/3
06.07 (IST): Kohli, meanwhile, continues to time the ball to perfection. He moves into the 30s with an immaculate cover drive.
06.02 (IST): A lot of credit for that to the young Josh Hazlewood who kept it tight while bowling to Vijay and built the pressure from the other end.
06.00 (IST): OUT! Murali Vijay has been dismissed. His good innings so far has been undone by a loose shot. He goes for 68 after edging a Shane Watson delivery straight to Shaun Marsh at first slip. India 147/3
05.45 (IST): Kohli meanwhile continues to time the ball excellently. He straight drives a full delivery from Shane Watson for a couple of runs. He's of 24 off 34 balls. India 144/2
05.43 (IST): What a shot! After copping a hit on the helmet in the previous over, Vijay latches on to a pitched up delivery from Johnson and creams it through covers for four. India 142/2
05.32 (IST): Struck on the helmet! Johnson follows it up with a ball that hits Vijay on the back of the helmet. Close-in fielder Nathan Lyon seems to have asked Vijay if he was okay, who nods. India 136/2
05.30 (IST): Edged but doesn't carry! A rising ball from Johnson forces an edge out of Vijay but the ball doesn't carry to Haddin. India 136/2
05.26 (IST): Virat Kohli is timing and middling the ball pretty well here. He finds the gap through covers and collects three. India need this man to play another blinder. India 132/2.
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05.22 (IST): Back to Pujara, Aussie Tom Moody reckons his form is a bit of a concern.
Pujara's overseas record is a concern for team India as the number 3 needs to adapt to all. #AUSvIND
- Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) December 27, 2014
05.19 (IST): Virat Kohli is timing the ball well today. There is a familiar positive intent in his batting. India 129/2
05.17 (IST): Shot! Kohli times one to perfection straight down the ground off Mitchell Johnson for a four. India 123/2
05.15 (IST): Cheteshwar Pujara has played 26 Test before the MCG Test. He averages 75.23 and 29.92 at home and away in 13 Tests each.
05.11 (IST): Shot! A cracking cover drive from Virat Kohli off the middle of his bat. India 118/2
05.08 (IST): Haddin, who put down a sitter on Day 2, made up for it very early on Day 3.
Wow... LIVE: http://t.co/LDINCret7f #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/CmrPWX6bVh
- cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) December 27, 2014
05.03 (IST): He likes it or not, Virat Kohli has to walk out early yet again. A lot of eyes will be on him. He needs an Adelaide-like form to rescue India here.
05.03 (IST): Terrible start for India! Pujara has edged the second ball off Harris and Haddin takes an excellent catch. India 108/2
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04.14 (IST): Here's how the Day 3 wicket looks like. Under an hour to go for live action:
A look at the pitch ahead of Day 3 #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/aD0U8Sgeop
- cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) December 27, 2014
SMITH TAKES HONOURS ON DAY 2
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Steve Smith in only his second Test as Australia captain, missed a maiden double Test ton on Day 2 of the third Test vs India, when he was bowled by Umesh Yadav for 192. The hosts, who had resumed Saturday on 259/5, were bowled out for a daunting 530.
Continuing on an overnight score of 72, Smith started the day with a glorious shot through covers off Shami and orchestrated the shift of momentum to his side from the visitors. Smith, standing in as captain for the injured Michael Clarke, raced away to his seventh Test hundred and third in succession. This was also Smith's second hundred as Test skipper.(Read Full Story)
DHONI SETS NEW RECORD
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Indian skipper and wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Saturday set a record for the most number of stumpings in international cricket on day two of the third Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
He overtook Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara when he stumped Mitchell Johnson off the bowling of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, reaching 134 dismissals.(Read Full Story)
ASHWIN HIGH ON CONFIDENCE
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Disappointed they might be after conceding "too many runs" to the Australians, but Indian off-spinner R Ashwin on Saturday said the tourists will pile up their own share on Sunday in the ongoing third Test as the wicket has become flat now.
India had pushed Australia on the backfoot on the opening day by reducing them to 259 for five but let the advantage slip on the second and the hosts ended up with 530 on the board.(Read Full Story)
GAVASKAR SLAMS INDIAN BOWLERS
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A dejected Sunil Gavaskar called India's bowling performance in the ongoing third Test in Melbourne as "hopeless." Australia, finished their first innings at 530 after being 216 for five at one stage. Skipper Steven Smith scored a glorious 192. India were 108 for one at stumps on Day 3 on Saturday.
"India's bowling was hopeless as they never looked like taking wickets. Whatever wickets they got were gifted to them and not earned," Gavaskar told NDTV.(Read Full Story)