• Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane have put on an unbeaten 71-run stand to keep India's hopes alive.

  • India need 280 runs to win the exciting summit clash against Australia.

WTC 2023 Final [Twitter reactions]: Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane keep India alive in massive task against Australia
Australia in control despite Kohli-Rahane stand (Image Source: Twitter)

At the end of Day 4 of the World Test Championship’s summit clash, Australia found themselves in a commanding position against India. They had set India a challenging target of 444 runs to win in just over four sessions and managed to dismiss India’s top three batsmen by the end of the day.

Australia began Day 4 with a lead of 296 runs and had six wickets remaining. In the morning session, India displayed discipline in their bowling and were rewarded early on when Marnus Labuschagne was caught in the cordon off an excellent away-seamer delivered by Umesh Yadav.

Despite this setback, Cameron Green and Alex Carey put up a determined resistance. However, Green’s innings came to an end when he unintentionally played the ball onto his stumps while attempting to defend against Ravindra Jadeja’s delivery. Adding to India’s frustration, Mitchell Starc and Carey accelerated the scoring rate, piling on quick runs. Pat Cummins then made the decisive call to declare the innings, granting Australia a substantial lead of 443 runs.

India made a strong start as openers Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma maintained a rapid scoring rate of nearly 6 runs per over in the first 7 overs before the Tea break. However, Gill’s dismissal created a controversial moment in the Test match. Following his departure, Rohit and Cheteshwar Pujara showcased fluent batting and began rebuilding the innings with a partnership of 51 runs for the second wicket. However, in an unusual turn of events, both batsmen lost their wickets in uncharacteristic ways.

Despite these setbacks, Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli stabilized the innings. They played cautiously for nearly 20 overs, accumulating 71 runs and successfully reaching the Stumps at the end of the day’s play. This left India with a target of 280 runs to chase on the final day of the summit clash in the WTC.

Here is how Twitter reacted:

https://twitter.com/visheshtaaa_j15/status/1667579137589129218

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CATEGORY: ICC World Test Championship Twitter Reactions Virat Kohli

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