India vs Australia, 3rd Test at Ranchi, , Mar 16 2017 - Ball by Ball Commentary

RESULT
3rd Test, Ranchi, March 16 - 20, 2017, Australia tour of India
451 & 204/6
603/9d

Match drawn

Player Of The Match
202
cheteshwar-pujara
New
AUS 2nd Innings
Full commentary
end of over 1004 runs
AUS: 204/6CRR: 2.04 
Peter Handscomb72 (200b 7x4)
Matthew Wade9 (16b 2x4)
Ravindra Jadeja 44-18-54-4
Ravichandran Ashwin 30-10-71-1

4.55pm That's the end of my favourite Test this India home season. Australia won the biog toss, their under-pressure captain let his bat don the talking, India then kept fighting to stay afloat, and with India pulling ahead, Australia threw everything they had at them to make sure India delay their declaration, and then India were all over Australia before Handscomb and marsh batted them to safety. The pitch played its part: you could get wickets and score runs but only if you bowled or batted really well. It wasn't so flat that you wouldn't need good technique; it wasn't so bowler-friendly that you could just put the ball there and expect wickets. The physical wear showed on both the sides too. Interestingly Kohli complained about the quality of the balls: not hard enough. That is something for the BCCI to take up with SG

Spare a thought for all the players - the likes of O'Keefe, Jadeja, Cummins, Hazlewood, Yadav more so - who will have only four days to recover and then come back to doing this. They are lucky that match will be played up in the hills so weather there should be pleasant. Thanks for joining us for this one

I will end with this from Matt: "Well done to both team. Great bowling from Udav - brilliant fightback innings from smith and maxwell. Beilliant Cummins to get something from nothing - even better innings from pujara. Fantastic innings from Hanscomb - even better from Marsh with rough outside off. Love test cricket. If only the players could give each other the respect they both so clearly deserve. Being on 4th test!"

Time for the presentation now

"It was nervous," says Steven Smith. "A pretty good test. Proud of the way the boys stuck it out. That's what we want to be. Resilient. They played beautifully today. They didn't look like they would get out for a while. It was crucial for us, at such an important time. It was important to score big first-innings run, we left ourselves a bit short there. 450 was not enough to win this match. Maxwell was sensational. That's the way we want him to play. Pat Cummins, in his first game in a very long time, he bowled beautifully. Not too foten you spend 210 overs in the field. It was a long two days. The boys really dug deep. I am really proud. Massive game in Dharamsala, can't wait to get there."

"We got ourselves into a very good position," says Virat Kohli. "Losing the toss here was never easy. Not being able to take the field and watching the opposition get big runs was difficult. But we batted beautifully. KL and M Vijay, but the partnership between Saha and Pujara is the best I have seen. We didn't expect a 150 lead. Yesterday two wickets, we thought we had a good chance, but credit to the two batsmen, they batted really well. Guys want to push the barrier, their physical limits, their mental toughness. Credit to Australia for playing out the draw, but we played ourselves into a position where we could win. When you play only one format, you are always extra determined to make it count. Pujara is very motivated, and he is really good at test battimg. This is the best I have watched him bat. Saha did it in West Indies, he did it in Calcutta as well, and here under pressure, he really stood up. You feel happy for him because he is such a wonderful guy. Always smiling, always happy for whoever achieves anything. I don't think it was the wicket, it was the ball, soft, not doing much. I don't know about the lot of balls. Jadeja is unbelievable. He is gun in the field too. I have never seen anyone bowl so economically for so long ever. Dharamsala, no different from what I have done here. We have given our best here, and as long as we keep doing that, I am sure we will get ourselves into winning positions."

"I think it was much-needed for the team," says Cheteshwar Pujara, the Man of the Match. "When Wriddhi came in, we had a chat we needed a big partnership. I never thought I would play so many balls, but once I was in I knew I had to bat long to reach close to their total. I do get tempted to hit in the air, but you have to look at the bigger picture. There was a situation when we couldn't afford to lose another wicket, so I had to restrict myself. It is natural. I don't think I need any external motivation. They scored 450, to come back, go past that total, and ut them under such pressure, but Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb batted really well. You get fatigued, but I have been working hard on my fitness, careful with my diet, and hoping to recover soon for the big Test coming up.."

4.23pm Three minutes before the Australian declaration, Kohli offers Australia the draw, and they accept it. This has been a great comeback from Australia. The first time a visiting team has batted out a draw after trailing in the first innings in India since 2010-11. And that on a pitch with a lot of rough outside the left-hand batsmen's off stump. Peter Handscomb faced 200 balls, Shaun Marsh 197, and they have pulled out a draw, kept the series alive, paid back the bowlers who busted their guts on day four to delay India's declaration. This is one great escape from the moment India looked like they were getting into lead soon after lunch on the fourth day. They criticised Smith for not bowling part-timers on day four, but he knew they needed to keep India in the middle for as long as they could so they have to bat fewer overs out to save the Test

Remember what Smith told Cricinfo before the start of the series: "Obviously you want to win first and foremost, but a draw's a much better result than a loss. If the game's dead and buried and we can't win, you want to see the fight and the willingness to put your natural game away and do everything you can to stay out there and get a draw."

Back to now. "It was a challenging day," says Shaun Marsh. "To get that result is a fantastic effort from the group. I was trying to stick to my plans. Really happy. You are trying not to think about the rough. Just play the ball."

"Obviously tough conditions," says "Coming with the result we wanted, looking forward to Dharamsala. Always liked playing against spin. Always tried to run down the wicket. Nice to bring those skills here against the best team in the world in their conditions. After three Tests to be 1-1 is great, against such a talented team in their own conditions."

You beauty Aust: "There you go. Safe. Epic. Handsconb confirms hes a star. Came of age. And Marsh defied the pitch, the Indians, the heat and let's face it 95% of the cricket world. This series will be a watershed for this team. They were meant to get hammered 4 nil. But thus far they've win a match, nearly won the next and now the great escape. They've shown a terrific fighting spirit. And now we have a hand on the trophy. India the only one who has ro win. Pressure will be huge given they were meant to be 3 nil up."

99.6
Jadeja to Handscomb, no run

double Cowan for Handscomb as he defends one outside leg

99.5
Jadeja to Handscomb, no run

kicks one away outside leg

99.4
Jadeja to Handscomb, no run

full, outside leg, defended

Over the wicket

99.3
Jadeja to Handscomb, no run

slight turn from short of a length, pushed past cover. Doesn't take the single. Doesn't want cheap runs

99.2
4
Jadeja to Handscomb, FOUR runs

short of a length, outside off, and he has punched it away for four

99.1
Jadeja to Handscomb, no run

on a length, on off, defended off the front foot

India continue. Sixteen minutes left. Australia could declare in six minutes and end this monumental rescue act. Don't forget the backs their bowlers broke to delay India's declaration

end of over 994 runs
AUS: 200/6CRR: 2.02 
Matthew Wade9 (16b 2x4)
Peter Handscomb68 (194b 6x4)
Ravichandran Ashwin 30-10-71-1
Ravindra Jadeja 43-18-50-4
98.6
Ashwin to Wade, no run

on a length, just outside off, and he goes back to defend it

98.5
Ashwin to Wade, no run

full, just outside off, defended to cover

98.4
4
Ashwin to Wade, FOUR runs

full, half-volley, Wade drives it for four. Somebody has to go pick it. That means time spent

98.3
Ashwin to Wade, no run

stays back to defend a length ball

98.2
Ashwin to Wade, no run

length ball, middle and leg, defended again

98.1
Ashwin to Wade, no run

drifting in, defended off the front foot

Eighteen minutes to go, but practically Australia will declare after eight minutes and end it

end of over 98Maiden
AUS: 196/6CRR: 2.00 
Peter Handscomb68 (194b 6x4)
Matthew Wade5 (10b 1x4)
Ravindra Jadeja 43-18-50-4
Ravichandran Ashwin 29-10-67-1
97.6
Jadeja to Handscomb, no run

solid forward defensive to end the over

97.5
Jadeja to Handscomb, no run

flat outside off, punched past point. They are not even running. Telling India how pointless this exercise is, but India want to continue

97.4
Jadeja to Handscomb, no run

smothers the turn on a flighted delivery

Dean: "Looking at the list of longest partnerships for the series, Pujara features in 3 of them. A solid 4th test & possibly looking at MotS honours!"

97.3
Jadeja to Handscomb, no run

flat length ball, defended from the crease

Slip, gully, silly point, silly mid-off

97.2
Jadeja to Handscomb, no run

slow in the air, middle and leg, defended back to him

97.1
Jadeja to Handscomb, no run

flighted outside off, defended solidly

Twenty-one minutes to go, but if Australia declare after 11 minutes, this match will be over

end of over 974 runs
AUS: 196/6CRR: 2.02 
Matthew Wade5 (10b 1x4)
Peter Handscomb68 (188b 6x4)
Ravichandran Ashwin 29-10-67-1
Ravindra Jadeja 42-17-50-4
96.6
Ashwin to Wade, no run

full, on off, solid front-foot defensive

96.5
4
Ashwin to Wade, FOUR runs

carrom ball, into the pads, punched away for four. The lead crosses 40

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