The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Sourav Ganguly took to Twitter to congratulate Team India on their hard-fought draw in the third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Chasing 407 and battling several injuries, India's batsmen showed great resolve to defy the Australian bowling attack to keep the series tied at 1-1. Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant played stellar knocks to put the pressure back on the hosts on Day 5 of the heated Test match, but after the two fell, Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari - who was battling a hamstring injury - blocked out the bowlers and saw off a memorable draw.
"Hope all of us realise the importance of pujara,pant and Ashwin in cricket teams..batting at 3 in test cricket against quality bowling is not always hitting through the line ..almost 400 test wickets don't come just like that..well fought india..time to win the series," Ganguly tweeted after the match.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah also congratulated the players on their performances.
"'Cometh the hour, cometh the man, and cometh the team'. Extremely proud of #TeamIndia for putting up a fight on Day 5. Special mention to @RishabhPant17, @Hanumavihari, @cheteshwar1 & @ashwinravi99. Well done, guys! Hello Brisbane," he tweeted.
India came into Day 5 trailing Australia by 309 runs having lost both openers. Captain Ajinkya Rahane also fell early on the final day, and with Ravindra Jadeja battling a thumb injury, India's batting was looking thin and Australia were favourites to take the lead in the series.
But Pant played a whirlwind knock of 97, while Pujara put in the grind to score 77 before Ashwin and Vihari's valiant efforts.
The two teams will now face off in the fourth and final Test at the Gabba in Brisbane.