India vs Australia, 3rd Test: Marsh, Handscomb star as gutsy Australia secure a draw

Australia 204/5 from 100 overs:

ITS A DRAW! Virat Kohli shakes hand with Peter Handscomb to indicate it is a draw. The young Australian, along with Shaun Marsh, has done his team proud to play out a draw. Magnificent cricket from Australia to deny India a series lead. It's over to Dharamsala now; the side that wins the match, wins the series. If there is another draw in the fourth Test, Australia will retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Customary handshake to indicate

Australia 190/6 from 94.4 overs:

WICKET! India seem to have opened the floodgates, as Maxwell edged it off his pads to Vijay at silly point.

Australia 188/5 from 91 overs:

WICKET! Jadeja picks up his fourth wicket of the innings, as Shaun Marsh edges it straight to Murali Vijay at forward short-leg. Is this wicket too little too late, though?

Australia 180/4 from 87 overs:

Shaun Marsh also brings up his gritty half century. The 33-year-old put in a great effort to complete his 190-ball half century, as Australia attempt to salvage the third Test.

Australia 166/4 from 77 overs:

Fifty for Handscomb. A well deserved half-century. Australia have also gone past India's first-innings lead and taken big strides to save the Test. India need wickets in cluster to pull off a win.

Australia 149/4 from 69 overs:

TEA TIME! Australia's session. They did not look lose any wickets as Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb stayed put to deny India a chance to run through Australia's batting line-up. If India want to win this, they ought to strike from the word go in the final session of the day and of the match.

Australia 141/4 from 63 overs:

Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb have been gutsy as India struggle to get wickets following Steve Smith's dismissal in the first session. The two have been decisive in their footwork and have dealt with Indian spinners and pacer with equal ease.

Australia 106/4 from 47 overs:

Marsh and Hanscomb are not giving anything away. Is India missing a trick not going for all-spin attack?

Australia: 83/4 from 36 overs

LUNCH! India go in with the advantage, as the first session of the fifth day comes to a close. Ravindra Jadeja continued his good bowling from overnight, to clean up Aussie skipper Steve Smith off stump. Meanwhile, paceman Ishant Sharma got the first breakthrough of the day, as he trapped Matt Renshaw lbw.

Australia: 63/4 from 29 overs

After a brief period of play, India have managed to make a real dent in the batting order. Just when the fans and critics were begenning to wonder when Kohli will bring Ashwin into the attack, Ishant Sharma struck, trapping Matt Renshaw lbw with a delivery that kept dangerously low.

Soon after, Ravindra Jadeja produced a magical delivery that sneaked through Steve Smith's defence, to floor the Aussie skipper's off stump.

Preview:

With Ravindra Jadeja already having taken two wickets overnight, India will be looking to pick up the remaining eight Australian wickets, before the visitors level the scores at the Jharkhand Cricket Association Stadium, in Ranchi, on Monday.

Both India and Australia have been at par with each other, with the latter winning the first Test in Pune by a mammoth 333-run margin, while the hosts completed a memorable comeback in to clinch the second Test by 75 runs.

The Aussies did get off to a good start in the third Test, putting up a challenging 451 on the board in their first innings.

India however, with the help of stellar knocks from Cheteshwar Pujara (202), Wriddhiman Saha (117), and Murali Vijay (82), put themselves right back in contention, amassing a total of 603 for nine; they lead by 152, when skipper Virat Kohli decided to declare their innings.

Now, the Aussies have been left with the unenviable task of batting through the fifth day of the Test, where the pitch seems to be increasingly favouring the spinners.

India had declared their innings with eight overs to spare on Sunday, hoping to get the wickets of a few tired-Aussie batsmen. That is exactly what happened, when World No. 1 Test bowler Jadeja spun his magic to dismiss opener David Warner and night watchman Nathan Lyon.

Scorecard:

Aus: 451 & 23/2 (Warner 14, Renshaw 7*; Jadeja 2-6)
Ind: 603/9 dec. (Pujara 202, Saha 117; Cummins 4-106)
Australia trail India by 129 runs.