Opening pair of Murali Vijay (6) and KL Rahul (13*) led a swift movement towards the small target of 106 runs as India reach 19 for no loss at stumps of Day 3 of the series-decider Test against Australia on Monday.
Earlier, Indian bowlers appeared in best shape when they wrapped Australia’s second innings for small total of 137 runs inside of just 54 overs.
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Spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, and pacer Umesh Yadav claimed three wickets each, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar took a single wicket to help India claim an easy target to win at the picturesque HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala.
Australian batting line-up collapsed like dominoes as five of their batsmen were dismissed for a single-digit score.
Middle-order batsman Glenn Maxwell hit highest 45 runs in Australia’s second innings, while fighting hard against the highly-dominating Indians. He scored a six and boundary to excite the spectators.
Off-spinner Ashwin (3/29) took the scalp of Maxwell, tapping him right on front. The 28-year-old batsman reviewed the umpire’s decision, however, failed to overturn the judgment.
Captain Steve Smith, who scored a spectacular 111-run in the first innings, was dismissed for 17 runs in the second innings.
Peter Handscomb managed to contribute just 18 runs, while wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade remained not out for 25 runs in the end.