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.
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.