Nathan Lyon led the way with the ball for Australia, taking 8-64, his second-best Test figures, as India were bowled out for 163, setting Australia a target of 76 to seal a famous victory.
Cheteshwar Pujara led the way for India with a masterclass on a spinning pitch, scoring 59 and dragging the team along even as he kept losing partners at the other end. Steve Smith’s moment of brilliance at leg slip ended his defiance, capping off a fantastic day for him as captain.
Cheteshwar Pujara, the only Indian batter to score a half-century in the third Test, describes the Holkar Stadium pitch as a “tough pitch to bat on.”
Cheteshwar Pujara: It is a tough pitch to bat on. It is not easy and you need to trust your defence, you need to make sure to get to the pitch of the ball and try to judge the length early. I know it is not enough but still there is a chance (to win). You need to do that on such pitches, if you keep defending then there’s one ball which will bounce and hit your glove, you need to find the right balance between attack and defence. Whenever I got a loose delivery I tried to put it away. When he (Lyon) bowled round the wicket, his line changed a bit, he was bowling middle and leg-stump line rather than on off-stump, I just wanted to rotate the strike. I wanted to hit it to square leg but because of the slowness of the surface it took the ball to leg slip. It was a brilliant catch by Smith. Bit disappointed, the way things were coming along.. a partnership with Axar, we could have gotten a few more. I am learning few more shots and if there’s a situation or demand then you get few quick runs, I have been working on that and I’m confident that whenever it is needed I can play the (big) shot.
