IND vs AUS 3rd Test Day 1 highlights: Labuschagne, Smith keep India at bay
Australia ended Day One at 166/2 in 55 overs that could be bowled because of rain. At Stumps, Labuschagne and Steve Smith remained unbeaten on 67 and 31
 "Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne")
Smith, who had struggled in the first two Tests, came out with a positive intent this time around and scored quite a few boundaries and didn't let the Indian bowlers, particularly Ashwin, dictate terms.
Gritty half centuries from Marnus Labuschagne and debutant opener Will Pucovski on Thursday put Australia ahead on the rain-hit opening day of the third Test against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
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Australia ended Day One at 166/2 in 55 overs that could be bowled because of rain. At Stumps, Labuschagne and Steve Smith remained unbeaten on 67 and 31.
Earlier, after winning the toss, the hosts didn't have a great start as they lost opener David Warner early in the innings. Warner, who is coming back from groin injury after having missed the first two Tests, was caught in slips by Cheteshwar Pujara off the bowling of right-arm Mohammed Siraj in the fourth over. Warner scored five runs of the eight balls he faced.
Australia had reached 21/1 when rain came pouring in the seventh over and players left the field. Umpires called for early Lunch and the play resumed only after a lengthy break in the second session.
Indian bowlers -- Jasprit Bumrah, Siraj and Ravichandran Ashwin -- all bowled on tight lines and lengths and made sure the hosts didn't score freely after the break. However, in the last 45 minutes of the session, the visitors were a bit sloppy in the field as wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant dropped two catches of Pucovski -- one against Ashwin and other against Siraj -- and allowed the debutant to score his maiden half century as Australia reached 93/1 at Tea.
In the final session of the day, Australia lost Pucovski who became the first Test scalp of debutant Navdeep Saini. The 22-year-old got out lbw after scoring 62 runs in the 110 deliveries he faced during the course of his innings.
Smith, who had struggled in the first two Tests, came out with a positive intent this time around and scored quite a few boundaries and didn't let the Indian bowlers, particularly Ashwin, dictate terms.
Along with Labuschagne, the duo added 60 runs for third wicket and laid a solid platform for the hosts to set a huge first-innings total.
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| Batsmen | Dismissals | Runs | Balls | Fours | Sixes |
| Will Pucovski | lbw b Saini | 62 | 110 | 4 | 0 |
| David Warner | c Pujara b Siraj | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Marnus Labuschagne | not out | 67 | 149 | 8 | 0 |
| Steve Smith | not out | 31 | 64 | 5 | 0 |
| Total: 166-2 in 55 overs | |||||
| Bowlers | Overs | Maiden | Runs | Wicket | |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 14 | 3 | 30 | 0 | |
| Mohammed Siraj | 14 | 3 | 46 | 1 | |
| R Ashwin | 17 | 1 | 56 | 0 | |
| Navdeep Saini | 7 | 0 | 32 | 1 | |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
India vs Australia 3rd Test playing 11
India playing 11: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah.Australia playing 11: David Warner, Will Pucovski, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Matthew Wade, Cameron Green, Tim Paine(w/c), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
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ICC World Test Championship
The four-match series between India and Australia is also known as Border-Gavaskar Trophy, currently held by India. The India vs Australia Test series is also a part of ICC World Test Championship (WTC), the final of which will be played in June 2021 at the Lord’s cricket ground in London. The top two teams on ICC WTC points table will qualify for the finals.Check ICC Test championship latest news and points table here
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India vs Australia 3rd Test Day 1: AUS 166-2 at stumps
IND vs AUS live score after 55 Overs: 166-2
Navdeep Saini [6.0-0-31-1] is back into the attack and peppers Smith with short deliveries. Smith ducks under first two while punches the third ball towards cover for a single.
Labuschagne sees off the remaining over.
IND vs AUS live score after 54 Overs: 165-2
Ashwin continues and concedes a single to Steve Smith.
IND vs AUS live score after 53 Overs: 164-2
Jadeja continues and concedes a single each to both the batsmen.
IND vs AUS live score after 52 Overs: 162-2
Ashwin continues and concedes a single to Labuschagne.
IND vs AUS live score after 51 Overs: 161-2
Jadeja continues and bowls a MAIDEN over to Steve Smith.
IND vs AUS live score after 50 Overs: 161-2
Ashwin continues and concedes a single each to both the batsmen.
IND vs AUS live score after 49 Overs: 159-2
Ravindra Jadeja, Left arm orthodox, comes into the attack and bowls a MAIDEN over to Steve Smith.
IND vs AUS live score after 48 Overs: 159-2
Ashwin continues...
Labuschagne dances down the track off the 3rd delivery and chips down the ground for FOUR.
IND vs AUS live score after 47 Overs: 155-2
Siraj continues and concedes a single to Marnus Labuschagne.
IND vs AUS live score after 46 Overs: 154-2
Ashwin continues and concedes a single each to both the batsmen.
IND vs AUS live score after 45 Overs: 152-2
Siraj continues and bowls a MAIDEN over to Marnus Labuschagne.
IND vs AUS live score after 44 Overs: 152-2
Ashwin continues and conceds four runs.
India vs Australia 3rd Test Day 1, session 3: DRINKS BREAK
IND vs AUS live score after 43 Overs: 148-2 | Labuschagne hits FIFTY
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First Published: Jan 07 2021 | 2:14 AM IST
