Steve Smith admits they ‘screwed up’ in Delhi as Aussies set sights on drawing series against India
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Australia have set their sights on drawing the Border-Gavaskar series after securing a rare and memorable nine-wicket Test cricket victory in India.
The tourists survived a short but tricky run of 76 to win the third test at Holkar Stadium in Indore, just 75 minutes after day three, to celebrate their second triumph on Indian soil since 2004.
Travis Head (49th) and Marnus Labuschagne (28th) were there at the end to mark an extraordinary turnaround for Australia after the visitors were humiliated in the first two tests in Nagpur and Delhi.
“They’re pretty hard to come by (wins in India),” caretaker captain Steve Smith said.
‘For us to come out on top in this game, particularly after losing the toss and fielding first as well, shows the talent in this group and the confidence we have in ourselves.
We screwed up I guess, in Delhi is one way of putting it.
“We had an opportunity there and we let it slide, but we had a good rest and a good preparation to come here and it was just about having a good state of mind.”
Stand-in captain Smith was all smiles after the Australians claimed victory in the third test in India.
Smith congratulates Marnus Labuschagne after the batsman helped lead the Australians to victory in Indore
Normally a chase under 100 would have been straightforward, but the twisting and sharp rebounds of the field meant Australia started the third day with some apprehension.
India were dismissed for 109 and 163, while Australia’s first innings of 197 ended in a dramatic 6-11 collapse.
Usman Khawaja, who scored more with a gutsy 60 in Australia’s first innings, was dismissed for a second-ball duck after stealing a delivery from Ravichandran Ashwin to wicketkeeper KS Bharat.
Australia were forced to defend for the first 10 overs, but Head and Labuschagne began to play with a sense of freedom after Ashwin became nervous about the state of the ball.
The bowler complained several times to the umpires and continued to express his frustration even after he was switched at the 10 over mark.
Head and Labuschagne then took on the revolving star, breaking several fast boundaries to ease any tension in the Australia dressing room.
Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Matt Kuhnemann celebrate removal of Indian Cheteshwar Pujar
Head’s unbeaten 49 came from just 53 balls, adding evidence that he plays the best he can in Asia batting at the top of the order following his promotion to the opener following the departure of David Warner from tour.
Revolving star Nathan Lyon was named man of the match for his 11-99 run, including a legendary 8-64 spell to blast through India in his second innings.
During the match, Lyon edged past Indian great Anil Kumble to become the leading wicket taker in Border-Gavaskar series history.
The tourists’ win handed India just its third home loss in 45 tests in the last 10 years, with Australia’s victory in Pune in 2017 among them.
Australia’s hopes of winning the series have already been dashed, but it would be a monumental effort if they could end their tour of India 2-2.
The victory also confirmed Australia’s place in the World Test Championships, which will be played at The Oval in London in June.
Smith leaves after being sacked by Ravichandran Ashwin of India during the third day of the second test match.
It always looked likely that Australia would be in the WTC decider, but they might have missed out had they been shut out 4-0 in India and other results had gone against them.
“That’s (the WTC final) still a little bit away, so we’ll play the next game in Ahmedabad, hopefully level the series there and worry about that afterwards,” Smith said.
India remains their likely opponent, with captain Rohit Sharma saying ahead of the third test that the hosts could set up a green field for the fourth match in Ahmedabad if they win in Indore to prepare for the WTC final.
That green top looks like a long shot now, with India determined to bounce back next week and win the series 3-1.