India vs Australia LIVE Cricket Score, 4th Test Day 3: Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja resume for IND 174/5 vs AUS in Melbourne – The Indian Express

IND vs AUS 4th Test Day 3, Live Score: After losing the plot in the 20 minutes before stumps on day two, India will be desperate for a revival when they resume their reply to Australia’s 474-run first-innings score in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday
After Steve Smith’s 34th Test ton and frustrating lower-order play helped Australia had 163 runs to their overnight total, India’s response got off on a horrendous note as captain Rohit Sharma fell for 3 to Pat Cummins. Though the in-form KL Rahul felt soon after, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli offered semblance of a strong comeback with their 102-run partnership. As Kohli bid his time, Jaiswal’s counter kept Australia at bay on a placid pitch until the visitors stumbled yet again.
A mix-up resulting in Jaiswal’s dismissal proved fatal as India lost Kohli and night-watchman Akash Deep before stumps, leaving India at a precarious 164 for five, 310 behind Australia. In Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja and the two all-rounders, India will believe they have a quick counterpunch ready for Saturday to remain in the contest in Melbourne.
Follow India vs Australia Boxing Day Test Day 3 live score and updates below
India needs a partnership here. One of the things Australia did on their score to 474 is they kept building partnerships throughout the innings and India so far has only one big partnership of 100 runs between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli last evening. The reason the line up which they have picked they picked is to ensure they bat deep with Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar to follow there is still enough batting depth to put on partnerships however, as we have seen last evening batters apply themselves and show that temperament and resistance will be the key to it.
Rishabh Pant steps out of the crease and slams Cummins through long-on region for a boundary. Which is more like him. We have seen in this series earlier on a few occasions where he just went into his groove a bit and let the bowlers dictate terms against him which is unlike how he bats. Trying unorthodox shots and ensuring that bowlers miss their mark where in lies Pant’s strength and we have also seen the moment Pant has played that shot Cummins pulled back his length. This ball is 45 overs and more of this batting is only going to do India a world of good by pulling some momentum back in this innings.
Boland and Cummins have started the day for Australia. It is the right move from the skipper as these bowlers will make the batters play more early here while Mitchell Starc can be threatening he also can be a little wavered early on which might ease the pressure out. And as we have seen yesterday, there is not much on offer on this wicket and this pitch is all about being accurate and chipping away at the batters; Cummins and Boland are masters of it. Like batting, bowling is all about partnerships and building that sustained pressure.
The sun is shining bright in Melbourne conditions are excellent for playing cricket. As we have seen the wicket is still very good for batting but some smart bowling and headless cricket from India is what did the damage. Let’s see how this session unfolds for either side.
Australia have a massive opportunity to take a big first-innings lead in the Boxing Day Test, with the Border-Gavaskar series delicately poised. Pat Cummins and co will be hunting for wickets on Day 3. 
Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir addresses the team huddle.

“It was probably one of the best barbecues I’ve seen, to be honest with you,” Lyon said on ABC Sport.
“It came out of the blue. They were doing it pretty easy out there … pressure does funny things. Silly run-outs are coach killers, aren’t they? It was pretty special.”
Rohit Sharma won’t be the first touring captain to come to Australia and feel the heat.
Misbah-ul-Haq averaged 12 in 2016/17 and never played again for Pakistan.
Jimmy Adams averaged 18 across five agonising matches at the beginning of the 21st century, never to be seen for the West Indies again.
And captaincy became too much for both Andrew Flintoff in 2006/07 and Joe Root in 2017/18 on ill-fated Ashes tours.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan heaped praise on Australian skipper Pat Cummins, who pulled all the right strings in order to get Virat Kohli and Akash Deep back in the sheds.
“I thought Cummins’ captaincy in the last hour was magnificent,” he said on Fox Cricket.
“He had all the bases covered. Australia’s tactics that last hour were magnificent.”
On the other end, India have been disappointing. 
“India’s tactics have been questionable all the way through,” Mark Waugh said.
“To send a nightwatchman in 25 minutes before the end of play … it’s a very negative message to the opposition. I don’t know what is going on tactically.
“They are a little bit off the boil at the moment.”
India will resume in deep trouble at 5-164 and trail the hosts by 310 runs in the first innings following a horror half-hour before stumps on Friday.
After Steve Smith’s 140 carried Australia to a formidable first-innings total of 474, India looked to be cruising after tea as Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal built a 102-run partnership before a moment of madness brought it all undone and left India 5-164 at stumps.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the third day of the fourth Test between Australia and India, played at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne. A triple blow late on day two has put Australia back in total control of the Boxing Day Test. The onus will be on Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja to rescue India. Stay tuned for all the live updates.  
Those 20 minutes: Yashasvi Jaiswal run out, Virat Kohli caught behind, India all but bowled

Stabilising after losing Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul early on, India were desperate to finish the day with no more casualties as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli coursed along admirably before all hell broke loose in the dying moments. A horrendous mix-up and run-out sent Jaiswal packing before Kohli and India let slip another day at the ‘G’ to the menacing Australians. (Read Sriram Veera’s review of a riveting Day 2 at the MCG)

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