INDORE- There was no twist in the tale as Australia turned the tables on India with an emphatic nine-wicket win in the third Test on a track that offered wicked turn and variable bounce, confirming their place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final here Friday.
Travis Head (49 not out) and Marnus Labuschagne (28 not out) survived some anxious moments before taking Australia home in 18.5 overs as the match got over in little over two days.
Wins in India are rare for the visiting teams and it is no different for Australia, who recorded their first victory on Indian soil in six years.
For India, it was only their third defeat in the last 10 years and they will need to rework their plans ahead of the final Test, beginning in Ahmedabad from March 9.
The pitches in the series have also come under scathing criticism but, going by Rohit Sharma’s views on the subject, one can expect a raging turner to be dished out at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
India’s batters have been found wanting against the spinning ball and Rohit wants them to raise their game and find a way to score runs.
The hosts managed only 109 and 163 in their two innings here, with the top-order letting the team down again.
”On pitches like these, you have to find a way to score runs and you have to find your own method. We were disappointing with the bat in both the innings,” said Rohit after the loss.
ICC Rates Indore Pitch As ‘Poor’
International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday rated the pitch for the third Test between India and Australia at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore as “poor” under its Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Process.
“ICC Match Referee Chris Broad submitted his report to the ICC expressing the concerns of the match officials and after consulting with captains of both teams. Following the assessment, the venue has received three demerit points,” ICC said in an official statement.
“The pitch, which was very dry, did not provide a balance between bat and ball, favouring spinners from the start. The fifth ball of the match broke through the pitch surface and continued to occasionally break the surface providing little or no seam movement and there was excessive and uneven bounce throughout the match,” the statement quoted Broad as saying.
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