The Indian side started the Day 3 of the World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2023 on the same disastrous note as they ended Day 2. India lost KS Bharat in the very first over as they resumed their innings on 151/5 and were once again pushed on the back foot by the Australian team.
It was Scott Boland who didn’t let his team wait for too long and gave the Aussies their first breakthrough in the morning session. The Australian pacer dismissed Bharat off a brilliant delivery and claimed his second wicket in the summit clash. Notably, Boland had also bagged the wicket of Shubman Gill on Day 2.
On the second ball of the 39th over, Boland produced a good length delivery to Bharat that nipped back into the right-hander and went straight through his defence to hit the stumps. Bharat seemed clueless about Boland’s delivery and took a moment to walk back to the pavilion. Meanwhile, the 34-year-old bowler was pumped up and roared after the fall of the wicket.
Here’s the video:
Although India lost the wicket of Bharat early on the Day, they made a magnificent comeback into the game and didn’t lose any further wickets till Lunch. The partnership between Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur made sure that India stayed alive in the game. However, Rahane was dismissed on 89 and missed on a well-deserved hundred soon after the break.
It is worth mentioning that Day 3 saw a bit of drama as well, where Shardul was caught Leg Before Wicket (LBW) but was saved due to overstepping by Pat Cummins. Australia went for a Decision Review System (DRS) on the very next ball for caught behind of Shardul, but the call was turned down by the third umpire, and they ended up losing the review.
