happiness ChikwanhaDHARAMSALA. — All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja starred with both bat and ball on the third day of the fourth Test cricket yesterday to put India on course for a series-clinching victory against Australia in Dharamsala.The left-hander top-scored with 63 to help India surpass Australia’s first-innings total of 300 and then snared three wickets with his spin bowling as the visitors crumbled. India’s pacemen did the early damage, with Umesh Yadav picking up two wickets and Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissing the in-form Australian skipper Steve Smith for 17 to leave the Aussies reeling on 31-3 inside 10 overs. A short ball from Kumar hit the bottom edge of Smith’s bat before crashing onto the stumps in spectacular fashion.
Smith ended the four-Test series with 499 runs including three centuries, only the sixth visiting batsman to have scored so many hundreds in a series in India.
The spinners then got down to business on a lively track that offered plenty of bounce, with Ravichandran Ashwin also grabbing three wickets to help his side skittle out Australia for just 137 in the final session.
At stumps the top-ranked home side were 19-0, needing 87 more to win the match and clinch the Border-Gavaskar trophy with a 2-1 series scoreline. With two days of play remaining and all their wickets intact, India appear all set to seal a memorable win, capping weeks of controversies and verbal volleys between the top sides. — AFP.
Online Reporter
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