3rd Test: Australia beat India by 9 wickets in Indore

In the end, there were no miracles, but plenty of twists and turns, mixed with mind games by players on both sides. With only 76 needed, Australia secured a 9-wicket victory against India at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Friday.

With this victory on Day 3, Australia sealed their World Test Championship final spot. India lead the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series 2-1 with one Test to go in Ahmedabad, which India will need to win to reach the WTC final.

Ravichandran Ashwin bowled the first over of the day and he instantly made an impression by having Usman Khawaja caught behind by Srikar Bharat on the second ball of the day. Khawaja took the review but the replays showed an edge much to the delight of the Indians.

Travis Head (49*) and Marnus Labuschagne (28*) ensured there were no more hiccups and guided Australia to victory.

In the end, India paid the price for preparing a rank turner, eventually, falling-in-one’s-own-trap.

Captain Rohit Sharma, who had said a day before this Test, “what has happened to them (Australia) in this series could happen to us, because of the (turning) pitches”, proved to be prophetic.

Nathan Lyon tore the heart out of the Indian batting line-up earning his second-best Test figures in the process. Lyon took 8/64 in India’s second innings to turn the match on its head on Day 2.

The match was set up for Australia on Day 1 when they skittled out India for 109.