Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane steadied the ship for India after they were set a daunting target of 444 by Australia
Where there is Virat Kohli there is hope. There are not many causes for Indian optimism as they chase a target of 444 but one of them ended the day unbeaten on 44, and for as long as he remains so will their belief. At stumps Mohammed Shami certainly seemed surprisingly relaxed as he smiled and declared: “We will win the match tomorrow.”
They are 164 for 3 overnight, with Kohli batting alongside Ajinkya Rahane, and must still score 280 if they are to win, on a ground where no Test side has ever successfully chased more than 262.
There was some doubt as to whether the ball had been grounded as Green fell to earth. This is the second Test to be played since the International Cricket Council stopped the use of soft signals and without any guidance the TV umpire, Richard Kettleborough, forced an extended delay while he watched the same few camera angles enough times to be absolutely certain that he had no idea what to do. “He could have taken more time,” Shami said. “It’s thefinal, not a normal game.
Gill trudged from the field to a chorus of “Cheat! Cheat! Cheat!” from the stands, and later tweeted a still picture of the ball apparently grounded, along with two magnifying glass emojis and a facepalm. “I knew I caught it straight away,” Green insisted. “I know it looks a bit weird but I knew straight away I caught it. In the heat of the moment I thought it was clean.”India had clearly decided that if a positive result was to prove out of reach they would at least go down swinging.
Gill’s departure did little to change their methods, with Cheteshwar Pujara hitting three boundaries in his first nine balls. After 19 overs they had scored 91 runs, and if victory remained a tiny speck on a distant horizon they were at least charting the right course. Then Australia brought on Nathan Lyon.
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