India vs Australia, 1st Test, Day 3: 5 talking points

Before the Australians even stepped onto Indian soil, they were completely written off by most of the critics and former players. In the wake of England’s miseries against India, Australia had named a spinner-heavy squad and were well-prepared to counter the Indian spinners.

But the first impression they created in the warm-up game was different. The team from Down Under did not have a comfortable game against India ‘A’ where Shreyas Iyer scored a double century. 

However, in a spectacular turn-around of events, it was Australia who had India on the mat right from the beginning of the Test match. The first day highlighted Australia’s grit whereas the second day witnessed a poor batting display from the Indian side.

Well, Day 3 of the first Test was expected to be the penultimate day of the first Test match between the two sides but credit to the Australian spinners because the match ended after few minutes of the third session of the play.

Here are the 5 talking points of the third and surprisingly the last day of the first of the four Test matches:

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#5 Steve Smith scores yet another hundred

Smith proved why he is at the top of the rankings in Test matches

Australian skipper Steve Smith was in great form before the commencement of the series. He had four tons to his name in the last five first-class matches. He had a score of 107 from the warm-up game, along with 130 and 165* from the series against Pakistan.

 

The last time Australia toured India, he was an inexperienced middle-order batsman. But this time around, he walked into the series shouldering the responsibility of the Australian middle-order. The right-handed batsman scored a watchful 27 in the first innings.

 

However, after his dismissal, the Aussies’ batting order collapsed and were reduced to 205 for 5. Mitchell Starc’s heroics ensured Australia reached 260. But the second innings was pretty different.

 

They boasted a lead of 155 runs and Smith was in his comfort zone. Smith cracked 11 boundaries en route to his first Test match hundred in India and 18^th Test hundred of his career. The skipper’s century ensured that they set a massive target for India to chase in the fourth innings.

 

 

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