In the third Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023, Australia defeated India by nine wickets at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore.
India won the toss and opted to bat first which was the obvious decision but instead it backfired. The Aussies were looking firm from the first day itself and dismantled Indian batters for just 109 runs courtesy of some amazing bowling performances by Matthew Kuhnemann, Nathon Lyon and co.
Australia, with the bat, looked strong as the team managed to get a decent lead in the first innings. Usman Khawaja (60) scored a decent half-century which helped the Aussies to recover after the first wicket. Later on, Marnus Labuschagne (31) and Steve Smith (26) also took the innings further. Peter Handscomb (19) and Cameron Green (21) also contributed a few runs in the first innings. Overall it was a decent effort which gave Australia a massive boost in confidence.
For team India, only Virat Kohli (22) and Rohit Sharma (21) looked in fine touch with the bat. India also received valuable contributions from Srikar Bharat (17) and Umesh Yadav (17) which aided the home team to surpass the 100-run mark.
In the first innings with the ball for the visitors, Matthew Kuhnemann grabbed a fifer along with Nathon Lyon who scalped three wickets. Todd Murphy also managed to take a wicket.
For India in the first innings with the ball, Ravindra Jadeja got four wickets while three wickets each were taken by Umesh Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin.
While batting in the second innings, the Steve Smith-led side just had 76 runs to win which the team completed quite easily. Although Khawaja lost his wicket early, Head (49) and Labuschagne (28) approached in an attacking manner which looked positive and indeed brought them victory.
For India, Cheteshwar Pujara (59) was the lone warrior as he managed to smash a vital half-century. Shreyas Iyer (26) also looked strong but couldn’t capitalise on it. In the end, the team got bundled for just 163 runs.
While India was looking good with the bat in the second innings, Nathon Lyon had an amazing outing yet again as he managed to take eight wickets. One wicket each was also taken by Mitchell Starc and Kuhnemann.
There was not much to defend on the final day but India were hopeful as Ashwin managed to take the only wicket on the second ball itself.
Nathon Lyon was awarded the Man of the Match for his amazing bowling show. Following this win, Australia managed to avoid a whitewash in India and also secured a place in the final of the World Test Championship.
Scorecard:
India: 109/10, Overs 33.2, Virat Kohli 22, M Kuhnemann 5/16
Australia: 197/10, Overs 76.3, Usman Khawaja 60, Ravindra Jadeja 4/78
India: 163/10, Overs 60.3, Cheteshwar Pujara 59, Nathon Lyon 8/64
Australia: 78/1, Overs 18.5, Travis Head 49, Ravichandran Ashwin 1/44