The opening session of the third Test between India and Australia in Indore was full of drama, as the hosts lost seven wickets after opting to bat. The Holkar Stadium proved to be a spinner’s paradise, with Matthew Kuhnemann taking a five-wicket haul, while Nathan Lyon (3/35) and Todd Murphy (1/23) also picked up wickets.
Eventually, India were bowled out for 109, before Australia lost an early wicket when they came to bat with Travis Head being dismissed. In the fourth over of the innings, Ravindra Jadeja appeared to have castled Marnus Labuschagne, but the umpire stopped him for a no ball check. It was revealed that Jadeja had overstepped, giving a lifeline to Labuschagne.
Interestingly, this was Jadeja’s second no ball of the innings, as he had earlier overstepped in his first over. Sunil Gavaskar, the former Indian captain who was on-air during the incident, expressed anger at Jadeja for bowling the no ball, while Indian head coach Rahul Dravid shook his head in disbelief.
Prior to the game, it was expected that the pitch would offer plenty of turn, but the ball turned square in the first hour of play, with the odd one keeping low, which came as a surprise. Matthew Hayden described the black soil surface at the Holkar Stadium as a day-three pitch, and it sure behaved like one.
Three batters, including skipper Rohit Sharma (12), Ravindra Jadeja (4), and Shreyas Iyer (0), perished while trying to attack. Rohit had won the toss and opted to bat in Indore. The team made two changes to its XI from the previous game, as KL Rahul made way for young opener Shubman Gill, while Umesh Yadav replaced pacer Mohammed Shami, who was rested for the match.
