Starc and Hazlewood Dismiss India’s Top Order as Australia Dominates Day 3 of the Third Test
Australia’s pace duo of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood struck early to leave India in deep trouble on day three of the third Test at the Gabba. By lunch, which was taken early due to rain, India were reeling at 22/3 in just 7.2 overs, with KL Rahul unbeaten on 13, while Rishabh Pant was yet to face a ball.
Earlier, Australia posted a commanding total of 445 in their first innings, with Alex Carey contributing a valuable 70 runs. Jasprit Bumrah claimed his sixth wicket, while Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep also took a wicket each to wrap up the Australian innings.
India’s chase began with Yashasvi Jaiswal getting a healthy outside edge off Mitchell Starc, which ran for four. However, Jaiswal was dismissed on the very next delivery, flicking a half-volley straight to square leg for just four. This marked the third time in the series that Jaiswal fell to the left-arm pacer Starc.
Australia’s pacers utilized their height and extracted uneven bounce, with Hazlewood sending KL Rahul’s left arm into an awkward position with a length ball. Starc then struck again, having Shubman Gill drive away from his body on a wide delivery, with Mitchell Marsh taking a brilliant catch at gully.
Virat Kohli, who never seemed comfortable, was beaten by Hazlewood early on and later gloved a sharp bouncer from Starc. Despite Rahul hitting two boundaries off Hazlewood, the Australian pacer had the last laugh when Kohli edged an outside off-stump delivery to Carey behind the stumps, sending the Indian star back to the pavilion.
In the morning session, rain caused a brief delay before the proceedings resumed. Carey reached his fifty with a sweeping boundary off Ravindra Jadeja. Starc added some fun to the proceedings with a couple of slog-sweeps and heaves for boundaries before being dismissed by Bumrah. This wicket also marked Bumrah’s 50th Test scalp in Australia, making him only the second Indian pacer after Kapil Dev to achieve the milestone.
Carey’s fluent knock was interrupted by another short rain delay, but he quickly resumed with boundaries off Akash Deep. Siraj then removed Nathan Lyon with a full delivery that castled the Australian tailender. Carey was the last Australian wicket to fall after pulling Akash Deep to mid-wicket.
As India’s innings began, Starc and Hazlewood continued their dominance, leaving the visitors with a mountain to climb. With Australia leading by a massive 423 runs, India’s batsmen will need to perform exceptionally to stay in the contest.
Brief Scores:
Australia 445 in 117.1 overs (Travis Head 152, Steve Smith 101; Jasprit Bumrah 6-76, Mohammed Siraj 2-97) leads India 22/3 in 7.2 overs (KL Rahul 13 not out; Mitchell Starc 2-11) by 423 runs.
