Australia’s premier batsman Steve Smith found his form back as he scored a brilliant hundred on Friday in the first innings of third Test against India.
His innings of 131 runs took Australia’s total to 338 runs before they were bundled in the second session on Day 2 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Apart from Smith, who unfortunately got run out to bring an end to Australia’s first innings, Marnus Labuschagne made a significant contribution of 91 before falling short of his fifth Test ton. The duo was also a part of more than hundred runs partnership.
Debutant opener Will Pucovski had also scored 62 on the rain-hit first day of the match.
For India, left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers as he returned with figures of 4/62 in his 18 overs.
Pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Navdeep Saini picked two wickets each while Mohammed Siraj scalped one. Ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, however, went wicket-less in the 24 overs he bowled and conceded 74 runs.
The four-match series is currently tied at 1-1 with Australia winning the first Test in Adelaide while India registering a win in the second in Melbourne.
Brief scores: Australia 338 all out (Steve Smith 131, Marnus Labuschagne 91; Ravindra Jajeja 4/62)
With agency inputs