Kuhnemann has been dismissed LBW by Ashwin! It was a close call and Kuhnemann decided not to review the decision. The delivery had a nice bit of flight outside off, then drifted in and spun back a bit, beating Kuhnemann’s forward defense and hitting him on the front pad in line with off and middle.
Umpire Nitin Menon had an easy decision to make and gave it out. India have their first wicket of the day. Upon checking the replay, it showed that the ball wasn’t spinning back and was sliding down the leg side with the angle, meaning Kuhnemann could have reviewed the decision and saved himself.
After four days of batting dominance, the match in Ahmedabad is set for an exciting finish. An Australian victory can safely be ruled out at this point. Despite 19 wickets falling over the course of the match so far, the pitch has held up well.
The batters have taken control in Ahmedabad, with Virat Kohli ending his 1205-day drought by scoring his 28th Test century. Other players also made significant contributions, including Axar Patel’s standout 79 as the hosts finished their innings at 571, despite the absence of Shreyas Iyer.
The 91-run lead in the first innings has all but destroyed Australia’s hopes of a series-levelling draw, and they will need to bat out most of the final day to secure a draw. Although they started well by batting out six overs without incident yesterday, the pitch remains favorable for batting and a draw seems likely at this point.
