Opening Doorz

By Nadim Memon | Opening Doorz Editorial | March 06, 2017

DAY THREE: India vs Australia
Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

First Innings: India: 189 | Australia: 276 (106 0vers)
Second Innings: India 213/4 (72 overs)
Cheteshwar Pujara 79 (173) | Ajinkya Rahane 40 (105)
India lead by 126 runs

India Bowled Tight
Indian bowlers bowled a tight line and length not allowing any easy runs to the Australian batsmen. Ravichandran Ashwin again failed to take wickets. However, it was and Ravindra Jadeja who got the tail-enders even though he was under-bowled.

Pujara, Rahane Arrest Slide
Cheteshwar Pujara has shown the class that is expected of him. A star player of spin bowling, who has not done well for India recently, Pujara stuck to the wicket playing the ball on merit and along with Ajinkya Rahane put up an effective partnership

Challenging Task Ahead
As I had mentioned in the Match Preview, this wicket is a slow turner. The fourth day’s play will be the same as today. However the Aussie bowlers are expected to exploit the bowling foot mark where the ball (if it lands in the right spot) will jump and spin, making it a challenging task for the batsmen at the crease.

First Session Crucial Tomorrow
If the firm of Pujara and Rahane stick out for the first session of play, India will be in a position to score 200-plus runs tomorrow which will give the home team a chance to bounce back in the series.

(Nadim Memon is a man of the maidans. He is a curator, a sports lover, a cricketer, a footballer and more, importantly a fierce protector of maidans for the younger generation!)