Twitter Reactions: Dogged resistance from tail-enders help India avoid follow-on after KL Rahul, Jadeja fifties

Twitter Reactions: Dogged resistance from tail-enders help India avoid follow-on after KL Rahul, Jadeja fifties
(Photo by PATRICK HAMILTON/AFP via Getty Images)

Australia dominated proceedings on Day 4 of the third Test in Brisbane but India managed to scratch and claw their way into a position from where they should be able to come out with a draw.

India didn’t get off to a great start on Tuesday, December 17, the penultimate day of the Test match, as they lost their captain Rohit Sharma in the seventh over. Having lost half their side for just 74 runs on the board, India needed almost a miracle to avoid the follow-on. Ravindra Jadeja joined KL Rahul in the middle and the duo gave hopes of a fightback by adding 67 runs off 115 balls.

Rahul played a classy knock before being dismissed for 84 as Steve Smith took a stunning one-handed catch off Nathan Lyon’s bowling. Nitish Kumar Reddy joined Jadeja at the crease and the duo added 53 runs off 104 balls. Reddy scored just 16 runs off 61 balls but showed great composure as Jadeja did the heavy lifting in the partnership.

After Reddy’s dismissal, Mohammed Siraj was promoted to No. 9 ahead of Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep. He couldn’t last long and Jadeja also perished for a well-compiled 77 as India needed another 33 runs when the last-wicket pair of Bumrah and Akash got together.

Australia would have been confident of wrapping up the Indian innings in quick time and enforcing the follow-on. However, Bumrah and Akash had other ideas. They kept calm heads and rotated strike to keep the scoreboard ticking. Eventually, Akash’s attempted cut shot went flying over the gully fielder to find the boundary as the tourists avoided the follow-on.

Also Read: Watch: Steve Smith’s one-handed stunner ends KL Rahul’s classy knock in Brisbane

The Bengal speedster celebrated the moment by hitting an enormous six a couple of balls later off Cummins over cow corner. The umpires stopped play due to bad light as India finished at 252/9 in their first innings. A few moments later it was confirmed that no further play would be possible on Day 4. India are 193 runs behind Australia’s first-innings score with only one more day left to play. The heroic partnership between Akash and Bumrah of 39 runs has helped the visitors all but ensure that the match would end in a draw.

Meanwhile, Cummins and Mitchell Starc deserve a special mention as they took four and three wickets, respectively. They had to take an additional workload after Josh Hazlewood had to leave the field after bowling just one over in the first session with a calf strain.

Meanwhile, here’s how the fans reacted to Day 4 of AUS vs IND 3rd Test: