India v CA XI: D'Arcy Short, Max Bryant give a tough time for Indian bowlers on Day 3
Resuming their first innings from 24/0 on Day three, D'Arcy Short and Max Bryant gave an excellent start for Cricket Australia XI at Sydney Cricket Ground. The openers added 114 runs for the first wicket, scoring at six runs per over. Max Bryant scored 62 off 65 balls before Ashwin bowled him in the 19th over. D Arcy Short also scored his 50 in the first hour of the session before Ashwin managed to break the partnership. CA XI added 154 runs in the first session for the loss of two wickets to take their total 178/2 at lunch.
Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav failed to find the rhythm in their opening spell as Short and Bryant scored runs easily in their overs. They scored 50 runs in nine overs and continued to score runs in boundaries. The pair hit 17 boundaries and a six in the first hour to help CA XI go past 100 runs. Shami went for 36 runs in his six overs, and Umesh Yadav had an expensive opening spell of 7-0-46-0.
Virat Kohli brought in Ishant Sharma as the first bowling change. However, the opening batsmen continued to play their shots and kept the scoreboard moving. Ishant Sharma went wicketless in his first spell which went for 24 runs in five overs. Max Bryant welcomed India's premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin with a six in the final ball of his first over. Ashwin came back strong and managed to find the much-needed breakthrough for India in his third over when he bowled Bryant.
The runs didn't flow as quickly after the first wicket fell as the number three batsmen Jake Carder took his time to settle down. Short continued to attack in the other end against a struggling Shami and Umesh Yadav. He also welcomed Ravindra Jadeja with a couple of boundaries in his first over. His excellent innings came to an end when Pant caught him in Shami's over for 74.
On day two, India posted a first innings total of 358 on board. They were in a strong position with 347/5 and looked set for a 400 plus total. However, once Rohit Sharma lost his wicket, the lower order failed as Ashwin, Shami, and Yadav couldn't open their account.