Brisbane, Dec 16 Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood ran through India's top order yet again and leave the visitors’ in deep trouble on day three of third Test at the Gabba on Monday.
At lunch, taken early due to rain, India are 22/3 in 7.2 overs, with KL Rahul unbeaten on 13, while Rishabh Pant is yet to face a ball.
Previously, Australia’s first innings ended at an imposing 445, with Alex Carey making 70. Jasprit Bumrah claimed his sixth wicket before Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep managed to get a scalp and end Australia’s innings.
India’s innings began with Yashasvi Jaiswal getting a healthy outside edge running for four off Mitchell Starc. But on the very next ball, Jaiswal flicked a half-volley straight to square leg, and was dismissed for four. It’s also the third time in this series that Jaiswal fell to left-arm pacer Starc.
Australia’s bowlers used their tall height to good effect and extract uneven bounce as Josh Hazlewood got a length ball to hit KL Rahul’s left arm. Starc came back to have Shubman Gill driving away from his body on a wide delivery and the outside edge was snapped by Mitchell Marsh leaping to his left at gully.
Virat Kohli never looked comfortable from the word go, being beaten by Hazlewood initially, before gloving down a sharp bouncer from Starc. After Hazlewood was hit for two boundaries by Rahul, the pacer had something to cheer about when he enticed Kohli to drive away from the body against an outside off-stump delivery and nicked behind to Carey, before rain forced lunch to be taken early.
In the morning, after rain forced a five-minute delay in commencement of the proceedings, Carey raised his fifty by sweeping Ravindra Jadeja through backward square leg for a boundary.
Starc had some fun by slog-sweeping and heaving for his boundaries off Jadeja and Bumrah, before nicking behind to Rishabh Pant off the latter. It also gave Bumrah his 50th Test wicket in Australia, becoming just the second India pacer after Kapil Dev to reach the landmark.
Carey got boundaries off Akash Deep on either side of a 15-minute rain interruption, before Siraj castled Nathan Lyon with a full and straight delivery. Carey was the last man to fall for Australia after he pulled to mid-wicket off Akash, as Australia continued to be in box seat of the match.
Brief Scores: Australia 445 in 117.1 overs (Travis Head 152, Steve Smith 101; Jasprit Bumrah 6-76, Mohammed Siraj 2-97) lead India 22/3 in 7.2 overs (KL Rahul 13 not out; Mitchell Starc 2-11) by 423 runs
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