Bengaluru: Having been forced on the back foot, the Indians clawed back into the contest on the third day, winning the first and last sessions even as the Australian outfit choked the hosts after lunch.
In a see-saw contest, Josh Hazlewood stole the limelight for the visitors bagging 3-57, which also included the controversial dismissal of Indian skipper Virat Kohli.
Hazlewood, who has caught everyone’s attention over the last few years for his similarity to Aussie great Glenn McGrath, seamlessly attacked the hosts.
After Steve O’Keefe dismissed local boy KL Rahul’s wicket, the lanky 26-year-old towered over the Indians as they lost wickets in quick succession. Hazlewood, who had made his Test debut during the four-wicket win against India at Brisbane in 2014, felt that game was in balance.
“It feels pretty level at the moment. They fought back really well in that last session. Credit to the two guys out there. They stuck to their plans and fought hard and scratched away for quite a bit of amount of runs. So, I think it’s pretty level,” said Hazlewood.
The highlight of the paceman’s haul will, without doubt, be Kohli’s wicket, which put the skipper is sour mood. Though the Aussies were sure of the dismissal, Kohli’s appeal a review was quick and confident. It once again put the focus on DRS.
“Initially, I just heard a bit of wood, so I sort of pulled out of the appeal. But I saw the guys behind and square of the wicket were pretty confident, and obviously it got given out. After looking at the reviews, you could see the ball just touching the pad before the bat. So it had to stick with the on-field call,” opined Hazelwood.
And the young fast bowler was also content that they were able to break Kohli, who has found it tough to get going in the series, averaging just 10 in four innings so far.
