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Ravindra Jadeja made a doughty unbeaten fifty as India reached 180 for six when rain stopped play during the post-lunch session on the fourth day of the third Test on Tuesday.
Jadeja (52) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (9) were at the crease when skies opened up. India still trail by 265 runs. Earlier, KL Rahul made a gritty 84 off 139 balls before getting dismissed by Nathan Lyon.
At the stroke of Lunch, India managed to put 167/6 on the board, trailing by 278 runs, with Jadeja and Nitish unbeaten with scores of 41(77) and 7(20), respectively.
Rahul came out to bat alongside skipper Rohit Sharma and took the stride with fortune on his side. On the first ball of the day, Rahul gave away a healthy edge straight to Steven Smith, stationed at the second slip.
The moment when the ball connected with the bat, Rahul quickly turned back to see the outcome of his half-hearted shot. Smith got both of his hands into play, but the ball just didn`t stick in them. The relief was clearly visible on Rahul`s face and his body language. With a sigh of relief and a hand on his head, Rahul summed up the emotion every Indian cricket fan experienced at that moment.
With Rahul living an extended life, he punished Australian bowlers with some delicious cover drives. On the other hand, Rohit decided to tread with caution. He avoided engaging in deliveries travelling in the fourth or fifth stump line.
However, in the battle of captains, Rohit wasn`t as lucky as his partner. His resolve finally gave away when he tried to push for a drive. With his feet rooted to the ground, Rohit edged it straight to Alex Carey and returned cheaply with 10(27).
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Even after Rohit`s fall, Rahul upped the ante to keep the pressure away from the Indian team. He gave fans something to cheer about after notching up his 17th Test fifty.
While India lost its skipper, Australia had concerns of their own when Josh Hazlewood was pulled out after a suspected calf injury after the drinks break. Rain came in to make its presence felt for a brief period, offering both teams enough time to figure out their course of action.
With Hazelwood out of action, Rahul decided to make the most of the opportunity, with Ravindra Jadeja playing second fiddle to him. Australian bowlers started to leak runs, with India looking to end the session with 150 on the board.
However, the circle of life came to an end when Rahul tried to chop away the ball off Nathan Lyon. Smith, guilty of dropping one, sprung off the ground like a cat to take a stunning one-handed catch.
As Rahul walked back with 84(13), Nitish Kumar Reddy came in to lead the counterattack. Without wasting any time, Nitish got off the mark with a sublime drive to pick up a boundary.
Jadeja wasn`t intimidated while facing Lyon and pulled out a clean sweep shot to showcase his knack for scoring runs, with India fighting hard to avoid a follow-on. The duo managed to see off the session with their unbeaten 26-run stand.
Brief Score: Australia 445 (Travis Head 152, Steven Smith 151; Jasprit Bumrah 6-76) vs India 167/6 (KL Rahul 84, Ravindra Jadeja 41*; Pat Cummins 2-41).
(With agency inputs)
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