Indore: Travis Head single-handedly took on Indian bowlers and sealed the third test for Australia before lunch on Day 3 in Indore.
After the first-ball wicket of the Australian opener Usman Khawaja, there was nothing to rejoice about for India as Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne stood in the middle to achieve the small target of 76-runs in 18.5 overs defeating India by nine wickets.
Australia on Day 2 started their innings at 156/4, with Peter Handscomb (7*) and Cameron Green (6*) unbeaten. But the duo of Ravichandran Ashwin (3/44) and pacer Umesh Yadav (3/12) brought to the game such a cocktail of spin and pace, that Australia lost the rest of their six wickets within 41 runs, bundling out for 197.
Trailing by 88, Team India had their task cut out, to survive against Australian spinners and build up a formidable total. But in the end, the hosts’ batting lineup was brought down on its knees by Nathan Lyon, who took eight wickets for 64 runs. Matthew Kuhnemann and Mitchell Starc also took a wicket.
India was bundled out for 163 runs and Cheteshwar Pujara (59) was the only one that offered resistance to Australia’s tactics. Hosts walked away from the field with a slender lead of 75 runs, setting a target of 76 runs for Australia.
Brief Scores: India: 109/10 in 33.2 overs in 1st inns (Virat Kohli 22, Shubman Gill 21, Matthew Kuhnemann 5-16), Australia: 197/10 in 76.3 overs in 1st inns (Usman Khawaja 60, Marnus Labuschagne 31, Ravindra Jadeja 4-78, Umesh Yadav 3-12, Ravichandran Ashwin 3-44)
Second Innings: India 163 (Cheteshwar Pujara 59; Nathan Lyon 8-64), Australia: 78/1 in 18.5 overs (Travis Head 49, Marnus Labuschagne 28)