Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Feb 11: Ravichandran Ashwin bowled superbly to take his 31st five-wicket haul in Test cricket in Nagpur,, giving India a commanding lead over Australia.
On Day 3 of the first Test match, India had a 223-run advantage over Australia. With Australia having a difficult challenge on a turning pitch, Ashwin turned the tide for the home team. Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Matthew Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, and Alex Carey were all dismissed by Ashwin to reach the milestone.
The pitch gave Ashwin a lot of help, and the Australia batters found it easy to play against his disciplined bowling. The four other dismissals were all LBWs because the batsmen had difficulties judging his line and length, with the exception of Warner, who was beautifully caught by Virat Kohli.
India took a commanding 223-run first innings lead over Australia by scoring 400 runs, led by the resolute 84 of Axar Patel and the entertaining 37 of Mohammed Shami.
In the 52-run ninth-wicket stand, which helped India defeat Australia on a pitch that the visiting media said was “doctored,” Axar kept his head down and let Shami bat.
With Ravindra Jadeja (70) and Patel at the crease, India had started the day at 321 for 7. Jadeja did not endure for long as he raised his arms in response to a Murphy delivery that slammed into the stumps from an oblique angle.
The pitch’s characteristics haven’t changed much; it is still a slow-turner that will provide hits for any batter who is willing to work hard.
Lunch was taken when Indian innings ended.
