New Delhi: Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne chased down 76 in the fourth inning to take the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to 2-1. After dismissing Usman Khawaja, Indian spinners could not do much as there were no runs on the board to put pressure on Australia. Travis Head scored a quick 49*, hitting six fours and a maximum. With this not only the Aussies have made a comeback, but also booked their spot in the WTC finals.
It took Australia just 18.5 overs to chase it down and record a comeback in the series. Border-Gavaskar Trophy never fails to surprise cricket fans. India was under-pressure since the first inning, and while they tried to bounce back, the visitors were clinical in winning the game.
The day began well for India as Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Usman Khawaja on the second ball after he came forward to defend and found an edge. KS Bharat, having dropped a couple in the first inning, did not fail to grab it this time. Khawaja seemed confused and reviewed, while the UltraEdge showed a spike.
Trust @ashwinravi99 to do the job! A wicket on 2nd ball of Day 3!⚡️#INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/OO4hGDXwjn
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 3, 2023
From 0/1, Australia marched to a 9-wicket win over India. Ashwin and Jadeja were able to trouble Head and Labuschagne with time-to-time beating them and finding edges that did not carry. There was an improvement in lengths that lacked in the first inning. Indian spinners bowled at good lengths and fuller deliveries to create chances.
After the 10th over, umpires decided to change the ball with some problem with the seam. The changed ball disturbed the grip as Ashwin approached umpire Wilson a couple of times but had to continue.
It was in the 10th over that Head and Labuschagne went for the offense and dealt in boundaries. While Head scored 49* off 53, Labuschagne aided him with 28* off 58. Nathan Lyon was declared the Player of the Match for picking up three wickets in the first inning and eight in the second.
The cricket fraternity has been critical of the Indore pitch and the turn backfired for India this time. Another Test match ended on day 3, probably not good for the game of cricket.
