MELBOURNE: Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant batted 27.5 overs together to stitch a defiant, unbroken stand of 79 runs to keep India afloat in the chase of 340 against Australia on last day of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
At tea, India have reached 112/3 in 54 overs, with Jaiswal batting on 63 off 159 balls, his second fifty of this game coming with a mix of attacking shots and solid defence. Pant, meanwhile, is 28 not out off 93 balls and has shown unbelievable restraint.
The duo’s efforts have meant India are in a serious chance of ending the Melbourne Test with a drawn result, especially with the second new ball 26 overs away. The post-lunch session began with Jaiswal playing back-to-back controlled cut shots to take boundaries off Scott Boland, followed by hitting the same shot for a similar result in the pacer’s next over.
Pant also had a go at Boland by swiping across the line for four, before Jaiswal slashed Mitchell Starc for another boundary. A ball later, Starc’s nip-backer hit Jaiswal on the back pad and Australia went in for a review, only for the umpire’s call to save the batter, as replays showed the ball clipping just top of leg-stump.
With the old ball softening and Australia’s bowlers tiring, Jaiswal and Pant were diligent in seeking runs while trying to be patient at the crease. Jaiswal got his second half-century of the match with a delightful flick off Nathan Lyon, also his seventh four of the innings.
Pant, who was content in defending and leaving deliveries after copping criticism for his first-innings dismissal, flicked Starc through fine leg for four before the duo walked off for tea break after a brilliant session of playing rearguard cricket for India.
Brief Scores: Australia 474 and 234 in 83.4 overs (Marnus Labuschagne 70, Nathan Lyon 41; Jasprit Bumrah 5-57, Mohammed Siraj 3-70) lead India 369 and 112/3 in 54 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 63 not out, Rishabh Pant 28 not out; Pat Cummins 2-19, Mitchell Starc 1-24) by 228 runs