IND VS AUS 3RD TEST @ MCG — RESULT : INDIA WON

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FIRST DAY @MCG: Agarwal, Pujara and Kohli make Australia toil
India 2 for 215 (Pujara 68*, Kohli 47*) v Australia

Definitive judgments should wait for another few days, but the early signs are that there has been no magical solution to the MCG's pitch problem. After the challenges of Adelaide, and especially Perth, this was a more docile affair for the batsmen, and India took advantage, moving to 2 for 215 on the back of a fine debut by Mayank Agarwal, followed up by solid work from Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli.

There was much interest in the toss, with 10 millimeters of grass left on the surface, enough to urge Tim Paine to consider bowling. But the coin fell India's way and Kohli opted to bat while noting the dryness underneath the top layer. The talk soon began as a number of deliveries with the new ball barely carried to Paine, Nathan Lyon was on by the eighth over, there were catchers in front of the wicket within the first hour, and a slip cordon of one inside Josh Hazlewood's first spell.
Australia's slim rewards went to the outstanding Pat Cummins, who transcended the conditions with hostile spells. He gave Hanuma Vihari, promoted to open the innings, a working over, before removing him with a poorly played short delivery, and ended Agarwal's impressive debut innings with another short ball fended down the leg side.
None of Australia's was poor - Mitchell Starc hit 150kph, Hazlewood challenged the outside edge and Mitchell Marsh provided 15 tight overs on his recall - and keeping India to a sedate scoring rate meant they were far from out of the contest. Towards the back end of the day, there was a fiery passage as Starc charged in with the second new ball, having Kohli dropped on 47 when an edge carried low to Paine's right. There are big chances, then there was this. It was a period when Kohli looked as close to being vulnerable as he ever does, and was kept on 47 for 24 balls before the close.

It is one thing being given conditions where batsmen should book in for bed and breakfast, and another to make sure you take advantage of them. There was a sense that India could be vulnerable, having completely changed their opening partnership. But while Vihari was not convincing, by the time he fended to slip, the early sting had already been take out of the day.

Agarwal, a batsman who has certainly bided his time to earn the chance, shaped up excellently in his first outing. He scored the first 17 runs in the innings that came off the bat, although the first boundary of the day came from an outside edge that just evaded Mitchell Marsh at gully. Like Vihari, he was not entirely comfortable against Cummins' short stuff, taking one on the back as he tried to duck, but was confident in his scoring options.

A brace of boundaries early in the afternoon session off Nathan Lyon took him to his half-century, and he later struck the first six of the match by lofting Lyon over long-on. Thoughts were turning towards the prospect of a century on debut when he gloved a short ball from Cummins down the leg side against what became the last ball before tea.

That meant Kohli walked in after the break, greeted by boos (Mitchell Marsh had also been booed by sections of the Melbourne crowd disappointed at Peter Handscomb's omission), and as is so often, he brought greater intent to the innings. He was at a run-a-ball early in his stay before settling into a pace more akin to the day's proceedings and becoming becalmed heading into stumps. Australia's bowlers tried to attack in him outside off, where he can occasionally be vulnerable - Hazlewood found the edge only for it fall well short of slip, and there was the late chance offered against Starc - but Kohli was alert whenever they strayed too straight.

Meanwhile, Pujara was Pujara, refusing to be moved out of his bubble. It wasn't an entirely comfortable innings, however, with the physio twice coming out when he got struck on the gloves. Just six boundaries came during his 200-ball stay, but he remained there to continue Australia's toil on the second day. Five innings into the series, he is already within touching distance of his most successful overseas tour.

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DAY TWO: Pujara, Kohli and Rohit set Australia stiff task

Australia 8 for no loss (Harris 5*, Finch 3*) trail India 7 for 443 dec (Pujara 106, Kohli 82, Agarwal 76, Rohit 63*, Cummins 3-72) by 435 runs

On a day when the bowlers found no real purchase - barring occasional uneven bounce - from the MCG surface, India continued their batting dominance, consolidating their overnight position before declaring just under half an hour from stumps.

India rode on the back of a 170-run third-wicket stand between Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara - the overnight pair batted out the first session - before useful contributions from the middle order took them to 443 for 7. Their bowlers then tested Australia's openers for the last six overs of the day.
Australia collected five wickets on the day, and the manner of a couple of them may have caused furrowed brows among their batsmen. Balls that stayed low accounted for Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, and instances of such misbehaviour are only likely to grow more frequent as the Test match wears on.

Nathan Lyon, so influential in Adelaide and Perth, struggled for a similar impact on a pitch with much less bounce for him to exploit. As on the first day, India's batsmen comfortably negated the offspinner, using their feet to reach the pitch of the ball, and drove him through the covers or midwicket almost every time he went too full. A switch to round the wicket didn't help Lyon either, and it took him nearly 40 overs to earn his first wicket of the game. By the time Lyon struck after tea, trapping Rahane lbw with a ball that kept low, India had already built handsomely on their first-day platform.

Kohli and Pujara began the day crisply, flicking and nudging to the long square boundary for a collection of threes, before settling in to protect their wicket. They weathered Australia's bowlers, adding 62 runs before lunch and ensuring India's second straight wicketless session.

Kohli chose to curtail his game after a few outside edges scuttled past the slips. He had collected his 20th Test half-century in the day's first over, but was troubled by Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins early on. It was an unusually defensive innings but it kept India in control and he walked off at lunch, a smile plastered on his face, having successfully completed the mission India had in mind for the opening session. At the other end, Pujara brought up his 17th Test century, and his second of this series, with a straight drive off Lyon a couple of overs before lunch.
After lunch, Kohli was troubled by a sore back that forced the physio Patrick Farhart onto the field. Kohli appeared to be struggling, getting down on his knees between deliveries. In an eventful over from Starc soon after the physio's appearance, Kohli pulled in front of square for three, then hit another pull for four. By the time the over had ended, however, Kohli had steered an upper-cut right into the hands of third man. It was relief for Australia, a sedate celebration after almost 70 overs of no joy.

Pujara would have liked to build on his 17th Test hundred, but he received a delivery from Cummins that he could do little about. It snaked through low off the surface from just short of a good length, and slid under Pujara's back-foot defence and took out off stump. Cummins didn't celebrate too hard, perhaps aware that the uneven bounce could pose a danger to Australia's batsmen too.
Pujara's dismissal brought Rohit Sharma, who had missed the second Test due to injury, into the middle. He took the back seat early on, as Ajinkya Rahane took control till tea. Rohit looked comfortable in the middle - at one point his control percentage was 96 - but nearly fell against the run of play when he top-edged a sweep off Lyon. Substitute Peter Siddle, however, dropped a simple chance at backward square leg, handing him a reprieve on 16.

Following Rahane's dismissal, Rohit went on to add 76 for the sixth wicket with the No. 7 Rishabh Pant, who also enjoyed a bit of good fortune, with Cummins dropping him at long-on off the luckless Lyon.

With Australia's lead bowlers struggling for incision on the largely docile surface, Mitchell Marsh bowled a long spell of stump-to-stump medium-pace in the afternoon, with Tim Paine standing up to the stumps. Marsh finished as Australia's most economical bowler, conceding only 56 off his 21 overs.
With the day coming to a close, Rohit finally began to hit out. He swatted a length ball to deep midwicket to bring up India's 400, and celebrated his 10th Test fifty, his second in Australia, two overs later. Australia took the third new ball in the 166th over, with Starc and Hazlewood returning for another late spell, but the harder ball only made run-scoring easier for Rohit and Pant. Both creamed fours off one Starc over, before Pant fell for 39, miscuing a leg-side heave. Ravindra Jadeja was out the next over, and at 443 for 7 Kohli declared, having kept Australia on the field for nearly 170 overs.

Aaron Finch and Marcus Harris were left to face six tricky overs before stumps. There were two inside-edges in Ishant Sharma's first over, and from the other end Jasprit Bumrah rattled Harris's helmet with a short ball. The openers managed to survive this period, adding eight runs by stumps.

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DAY THREE :
Jasprit Bumrah, Pat Cummins headline 15-wicket day
India 7 for 443 dec and 5 for 54 (Agarwal 28*, Cummins 4-10) lead Australia 151 (Bumrah 6-33) by 346 runs

After two days of attritional batting, Jasprit Bumrah showed that bowlers had a place on this seemingly flat MCG surface, displaying outstanding mastery of skills in a career-best 6 for 33 to send Australia packing for 151. It was the standout performance on a third day that overturned much of what had been previously said and written about this Test.

For two days, as India went about their seemingly endless first innings, there were cries lamenting a dead surface, a long, meandering draw, and suggestions that the MCG be stripped of Boxing Day-hosting honours. After a 15-wicket Friday, a draw looked highly unlikely.

Just how did it come down to this? Never mind what indications the surface had given over the past two days, with moments of unpredictable bounce, puffs of dust, and gradually widening cracks - this was a twist no one really saw coming. There is no one answer. This was a combination of many factors.

Brilliant as Bumrah and India's bowlers were, Australia were plagued by a dearth of batsmen who could hang in at the crease - for lack of skill or intent. That the gates opened for Australia's procession was down to Aaron Finch and Marcus Harris giving up their wickets. On an unpredictable surface, it was a critical opening for the skillful Bumrah to disarm the batsmen with pace and variety.

It gave India a 292-run first-innings lead - one that wins you Test matches more often than not. Then India - having decided against the follow-on, presumably to avoid the prospect of batting last - came out looking to play their shots, and kept finding the fielders. It meant Pat Cummins, by light years Australia's best player in this match, had better figures in six overs than those after 34 in the first innings. By stumps, India had lost five of their top six, but, most crucially, had a lead touching 350.

All this with the dodgy bounce not even being an entity for much of the day. In fact, only one ball - a back-of-a-length delivery from Mohammed Shami that snuck under the bat of Usman Khawaja - misbehaved during the first hour. By then, Australia had already lost both their openers.

Much as India's bowlers were excellent through the day, Virat Kohli's astute field settings were critical to the team's success in this period. Finch's dismissal to Ishant Sharma's full ball, which he clipped to the swooping Mayank Agarwal at short midwicket, was a replica of his dismissal to Pakistan's Mohammad Abbas in Dubai. It was a sign that India had recognised a weakness - reinforced by Ishant feeding the shot with his lengths and Kohli stationing a catching midwicket in the first place.

Bumrah then sent back Marcus Harris with a short ball marked out by astute match awareness. With memories still fresh of the blow he had dealt to Harris' helmet late on day two, Bumrah played on any lingering tentativeness by banging another in and angling it into the batsman. Cramped for room while hooking compulsively, Harris only offered Ishant Sharma a simple catch at long leg.

The ball was the beginning of an incisive spell from Bumrah that showed how well he had sussed out the surface and each batsman's weakness. His stunning slower ball - having consistently hit speeds upwards of 140 kph until then - that dipped prodigiously on Shaun Marsh, hanging back in his crease, to trap him lbw off the last ball before lunch, was perhaps the ball of the day.

If Marsh had met his end due to lack of pace, Travis Head was done in by too much of it - a ripping inswinger that Head played all around to lose his stumps. The full balls were interspersed among shorter ones, which meant the batsmen were least anticipating them, and the seam position, all through, was terrific, allowing Bumrah to extract any purchase the surface offered.

He reaped the benefit of that seam position when Tim Paine edged a straightening fifth-stump delivery to Rishabh Pant. By the time Nathan Lyon was done in by a 146 kph inswinger - following a bouncer - Bumrah had the most wickets for an India bowler in away series over a year. He now has five-wicket hauls in South Africa, England and Australia, all in his first year in Test cricket.
By the end of the day, India were at the receiving end of a similarly destructive spell from Cummins. After nearly 13 wicketless overs, Hanuma Vihari was bounced out for the second time in the match, fending at one that lifted unexpectedly at him. Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli fell for ducks in identical fashion - flicking Cummins to leg gully - in the same over. Ajinkya Rahane strangled a short ball at his ribs for a catch down the leg side off the first ball of Cummins' next over, which left Rohit Sharma facing the hat-trick ball. He barely survived it, pulling just past a diving leg gully.

The smiles reappeared on the faces of a flagging Australian line-up at long last, and by the end of the day 33,477 fans at the MCG found their voice again. Cummins had 4 for 10. India were 54 for 5. And Nathan Lyon was getting his offbreaks to turn and jump out of the rough. Under regular circumstances, these would be reasons to rejoice for Australia. On this day, it was a stark reminder of the road ahead of the team.

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DAY FOUR : Gritty Cummins makes India wait for victory
Australia 151 and 8 for 258 (Cummins 61*, Jadeja 3-82, Bumrah 2-53) need 141 more to beat India 7 for 443 dec. and 8 for 106 dec. (Agarwal 42, Cummins 6-27)

For the fourth day in a row, Pat Cummins stood as the only considerable obstacle in India's push for a 2-1 lead before the Sydney Test. Australia showed more fight in their second innings, but India's bowling was too much to handle. No team has chased more than 332 at the MCG, and in the absence of any of the forecast rain, the 399 India set was too steep for Australia to do more than delay what still looks a grim defeat. They need 141 to win as India look to take an unassailable lead and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Australia's middle order resisted longer than they had in the first innings, but it was yet another day of getting in only to get out. It was symptomatic of a year in which Australia have made only four individual hundreds, three of which came in the first match of the year. On Saturday, they needed hundreds - from batsmen and from partnerships - but they only managed one half-century stand.

The opening stand didn't last beyond the second over. Aaron Finch survived an lbw shout off Jasprit Bumrah's first ball, only to waft at the next incoming delivery and edge it to Virat Kohli at second slip. Marcus Harris was gutsy without being so for long yet again, having survived a menacing spell against pace only to offer hard hands to be caught at short leg off Ravindra Jadeja.

Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh had ideas to counter Jadeja, using their feet often to hit him into the leg side, with the occasional reverse sweep from Khawaja to trim the deficit before lunch. But India found a way. The plan after lunch had been to attack the stumps with Jadeja and the outside edge with Mohammed Shami bowling around the wicket. Khawaja, in particular, had settled in and was largely staying leg side of the ball and defending close to his body, if he had to play at all. That was until Kohli moved from slip into leg gully at the start of a Shami over, allowing him to bowl straighter. He was rewarded instantly, getting one to straighten from middle to catch Khawaja's back leg in front of off stump.

A similar change in line from Bumrah accounted for Shaun Marsh, his lbw decision much closer than Khawaja's. But ball-tracking indicated the ball would have clipped leg stump and the on-field decision stood. Batting became progressively easier from there in the middle session, with the conditions not aiding reverse-swing as much as they had in the first innings, and so the wickets of Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head would have particularly stung Australia. The former, having biffed Jadeja over long-on, found Kohli at extra cover with an aerial drive. Head - impressive with his feet once again, particularly while hitting through the off side - played another one onto his stumps when he swished away from the body against Ishant Sharma.

Tim Paine and Cummins have both shown the ability to stay organised under pressure, and they did so for a bit, before Jadeja changed his angle to left-arm over and had Paine attempt a cut to be caught behind. Cummins, in contrast, was stubborn throughout his innings in offering the straight bat, barely chasing at deliveries outside off. He waited 41 balls before his first boundary stroke, a sweetly-timed loft over long-off against Jadeja that had most on-air broadcasters convinced he should be in Australia's top six in the fourth Test. He delivered further on those exaltations with more picturesque drives through the off side against the seamers, saving his best until the new ball was taken late in the day. The first, an expansive crash through extra-cover against Bumrah, brought him his fifty. Then, a classy, high-elbow punch wide of mid-off against Ishant.

But neither of those quite drew applause from the MCG crowd like his straight drive against Ishant two balls later. An imperious shot on the up past the bowler, the kind neither team has played since this pitch began opening up on the third day. It was the final stamp of his dominance, and a mild jibe at his mates in the top order, as he took Australia to stumps with Nathan Lyon, who currently has the highest average - 41 - for an Australian batsman in this series.

Earlier, India had begun the day on 5 for 54. Overnight batsmen Mayank Agarwal and Rishabh Pant came out to attack the bowling, but strokemaking wasn't any easier against pace than it had been on Friday. So Agarwal went after Lyon, stepping out and lofting him over his head for two sixes in the same over. But Cummins was on call once again for Australia, pegging him back into the crease until he got one to keep low and had him playing on to off stump. That gave Cummins his fifth, and soon he had Jadeja fending at a bouncer to give him career-best figures. All six of his wickets came with the batsmen on the back foot. Josh Hazlewood, the only other bowler with wickets in the innings, got Pant with a short one in the next over, which prompted India to declare.

The wicket had come after Pant had drilled him over long-on off the previous delivery. It was one of the wicketkeeper's few highlights, as he put down Head twice off consecutive deliveries from Jadeja later in the day. He went on to make amends later, by holding onto Paine, after adding a comedic episode to their banter series.

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FIFTH/FINAL DAY : Bumrah finishes with nine as India retain Border-Gavaskar trophy

India 7 for 443 dec (Pujara 106, Kohli 82, Agarwal 76, Rohit 63*) and 8 for 106 dec (Cummins 6-27) beatAustralia 151 (Bumrah 6-33) and 261 (Cummins 63) by 137 runs

The first session was washed out, Google Trends for 'Melbourne weather' from India went through the roof but in the end, it took them just 27 balls to retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

Jasprit Bumrah claimed his ninth wicket of the match, the first India quick to reach such heights in Australia, when Pat Cummins' fine innings ended with a catch to first slip. Then in the next over, Ishant Sharma found Nathan Lyon's top edge as he hooked and with that, it was all over.

"The credit has to go to our bowlers, especially Jasprit, they have been outstanding," Kohli said after the game. "The way Jasprit bowled in Perth it was almost criminal not to get wickets, but the management told him they would come in bunches."

Australia had managed to take the match into the final day and the first part of Sunday was spent with the teams kicking their heels in the dressing room as showers scudded across the ground. Any early lunch was taken at 12.15pm but during the interval, the skies cleared to allow India to resume their quest.

The new-ball was only five overs old and was in the hands of Ishant and Bumrah, the latter immediately making life uncomfortable with his angle and bounce as he has throughout the match.

Cummins had put Australia's top order to shame with his display, but hopes of a maiden Test hundred - or something even greater - vanished when Bumrah found the outside edge and Cheteshwar Pujara, the man who set this all up for India, grasped a good low catch at first slip.

There was no final-wicket stand to annoy India when Ishant sent down a bouncer to Lyon who hooked and sent the top edge to Rishabh Pant to allow the celebrations to begin.

The Border-Gavaskar trophy has been retained, a wonderful end to 2018 for India, but an even bigger prize awaits in Sydney at the start of the New Year. "Nothing will distract us from winning that last Test," Kohli said, "we've worked really hard for this."

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Post Match Presentation: India win their 150th Test match!
Jasprit Bumrah, The Man of the Match: "To play Test cricket is a great feeling: be it Boxing Day or any other day. I made my India debut in Australia, so great feeling. I always focus on consistency. When you have so many options, you may get confused. Someday you get wickets, someday another mate will, but we don't think about those. Bowled a lot, but I don't mind, because this is why we train. We bowl a lot in Ranji-Trophy cricket, and it pays off. When I made my ODI debut, I always just wanted to play Test cricket."

Virat Kohli: "We are not going to stop here. This has given us more confidence to play more positive cricket in Sydney. We've done well in all three departments, which is why we've retained the trophy. But we want to continue. This is how we played in South Africa too, and we're not ready for the final game. It's a good thing I don't read any comments or opinions (on not enforcing the follow on). I wanted us to bat more, and add some more runs, because batting would be difficult on day four and five. We knew that it would be tough for Australia, but credit to our bowlers, especially Jasprit. The three fast bowlers have broken the record for most wickets by pacers in a calendar year for a team, which is brilliant. I certainly feel proud as a captain when they bowl in partnerships. No one is looking to out-bowl each other. Our first-class cricket is amazing, which is why we won. Credit must go to first-class set-up in India, which challenges our fast bowlers in India, and that helps them abroad. Agarwal showed great character on Boxing Day. And Pujara has always been composed, so we just wanted a big partnership. And the fact that Vihari batted so long in the first innings, it allowed us to bat more confidently. And Rohit's 60-odd as well. (Can you be the first Indian captain to win a Test series?) Honestly I cannot answer that. Nothing can distract us from trying to win that final Test, because we've never been in a position to win a series. Thank you."

Tim Paine: "We made some strides forward in Perth, but this was disappointing. We're playing against some of the best bowlers, and we need to find positives before Sydney. Another huge challenge coming up. We had little discussions about the batting order, but conditions in Sydney will be different, so we'll decide on the best formula. The pitch was a good one, although some said it's a 'bad wicket'. I was glad I didn't win the toss, because I wanted to bowl anyway. Would've looked disastrous. Cummins has been superb all series. The quality was always there, but the Australian public can see his effort. We just need a few more guys to jump in with him. It's been a difficult year, but the silver lining is that we'll have some world-class players available for selection in a few months. And we'll see the benefits of what happened this year over the next few."

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