Border Gavaskar Trophy 2022-23, India vs Australia, 2nd Test, Day 3: Ravindra Jadeja & Ravichandran Ashwin help India retain Border Gavaskar Trophy. India lead four-match Test series by 2-0 and continue at 2nd place in WTC 2021-23 Points Table.
Brief Scores: India 262 (Axar 74, Kohli 44, Lyon 5-67) and 118/4 (Pujara 31*, Rohit 31, Lyon 2/49) beat Australia 263 (Khawaja 81, Handscomb 72*, Shami 4-60) & 113 (Head 43, Jadeja 7-42, Ashwin 3/59) by 6 wickets and lead the four-match series 2-0
Player of the Match: Ravindra Jadeja – (26 and 3-68 & 7-42)
Australia’s struggle against the spinners on a turning surface in the sub-continent continued in the 2nd Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. If their performance at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur in the second innings was poor, their no-show on the third day in Delhi was even worse.
Despite gaining a strong hold at the end of Day 2 with a 61-run lead, their poor first session on Day 3 where they lost 9 wickets adding a mere 52 runs, meant that the target to chase for India in the fourth innings was much lower than what was anticipated at the start of the day’s play.
India chased down 115 in some fashion by 6 wickets in under 27 overs and, in the process, retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for a record fourth time since winning it in the 2016-17 home series. India went on to win the next two series in Australia 2-1 each and look poised to win this one as well. It is the first time since the inception of BGT in 1996-97 that either of the side has managed to retain the trophy on this many occasions.
Jadeja & Ashwin continue to dominate
The major talking point has to be the performance of India’s spin twins Ashwin and Jadeja in the morning session. After a disappointing last session on day two where India allowed Australia to score 61-1 at close to a run-a-ball, the bowlers especially the aforementioned duo came back style. The pair took 9-52 in roughly around 20 overs between them in the morning session with Jadeja claiming his second Test seven-wicket haul and his second 10-fer in a match.
Read More: BGT 2023, IND v AUS, 2nd Test, Day 2: After Lyon’s fifer breaks top-order, Axar’s 74 rescues India
Session 1: Ravindra Jadeja packs Australia with career best figures
Starting the third day at 61-1 and a 62-run lead which is a relatively strong position as compared to hosts India, Australia for the second time squandered a golden opportunity to let the game run away from them.
Overnight batter and opener Travis Head who was positive with his intent late last evening, fell in the very first over of the day to Ravichandran Ashwin adding just 4 runs to his overnight score of 39. Marnus Labuschagne had a brief mini-duel with Ashwin and, in the process, the veteran offie accounted for yet another champion batter Steve Smith for the second time in the Test match.
Ravindra Jadeja soon got into the act first by dismissing the number 1 Test batter Labuschagne for a well-made 35 and from then it was a procession of Australian batters getting back to the hut one by one. The number 1 Test all-rounder Jadeja was the wrecker-in-chief as he snapped 7 wickets giving away just 42 runs; Ashwin picked the other 3 wickets.
Australia collapsed from a decent 61-1 to being precariously bowled out for a mere 113 runs gaining a lead of 114 runs in the process.
Chasing 115 to go up 2-0 up in the series, KL Rahul failed for the third time this series as he departed for just 1. Nathan Lyon struck with his very first delivery of the innings to add to his 5-wicket haul in the first essay. India went into lunch at 14/1, needing 101 runs to win the contest.
Read More: BGT 2023, IND v AUS, 2nd Test, Day 1: Ashwin reaches 100-wicket mark against Aus; visitors post 263
Session 2: India’s experienced top-order batters play crucial hand in the 6-wicket win
Skipper Rohit Sharma was at it again as he gave India a blistering start to this session. He took the attack to the opposition, smashing spinners Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann for a maximum each. Unfortunately for him, he departed in the form of a run out after making a more than useful cameo of 31 on what was a challenging third day wicket. Thanks to this knock, India’s target brittled at a great pace and allowed Cheteshwar Pujara to settle down at the crease.
Virat Kohli and Pujara then stabilised the innings as their 30-run stand took India closer to the 115-run target. Both Virat and Shreyas fell while trying to up the ante but the duo of wicketkeeper Srikar Bharat and Pujara ensured there is no further drama in this Test match as a lofted shot over mid-wicket by Pujara gave India a 6-wicket win.
With this win, India increase their PCT to 64.06 in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 points table while Australia still maintaining their lead with a 66.66 PCT despite two losses in this series.
ICC WTC 2021-23 Points table
| Position | Team | PCT(%) | Points | W | L | D | No. of series | Penalty |
| 1 | Australia | 66.67 | 136 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
| 2 | India | 64.06 | 123 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 6 | -5 |
| 3 | Sri Lanka | 53.33 | 64 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | South Africa | 48.72 | 76 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 5 | England | 46.97 | 124 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 6 | -12 |
| 6 | West Indies | 40.91 | 54 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 5 | -2 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 38.1 | 64 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
| 8 | New Zealand | 27.27 | 36 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 11.11 | 16 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
*PCT (%): Percentage, L: Number of matches lost, SER: Number of series played, PTS: Number of points awarded, D: Number of matches drawn, PEN: Number of penalty overs, W: Number of matches won
What to Expect from the 3rd Test
There is a 9-day gap between this Test and the start of the third BGT Test match in Indore for the visitors to reflect upon this forgettable game and ponder upon how they can make a comeback in this series. The series is still not gone, and they can at best try to make the series level 2-2.
India on the other hand will look to inflict a series whitewash on the Aussies and confirm their slot in the WTC 2021 23 Final at The Oval in London.
Read More: Cheteshwar Pujara not ‘The Wall’ but a ‘Road Roller’ who has often blunted the Australian challenge
Statistical Highlights from Day 3 of the 2nd Test between India and Australia
25000 – Virat Kohli became only the 6th batter in international cricket to cross the 25000-run landmark across formats. He did so in his 549th innings which makes him the quickest to reach this milestone.
4 – India retain the BGT for the fourth time in succession. Their streak started during the 2016-17 home series where they won 2-1. Now they can’t lose the series after being 2-0 ahead.
7/42 – This is Jadeja’s best bowling figures in a Test innings eclipsing his previous best of 7/48 against England in Chennai in 2016-17.
10/110 – Second 10-wicket match haul for Jadeja in Test cricket and also his best match figures in red-ball cricket for India beating his 10/154 at Chepauk against England.
31.3 – Overs batted by Australia in the second innings. This is the second-lowest overs they batted against India in which they were bowled out. The lowest overs within which they were bundled out is 30.5 overs in the Mumbai Test on their 2004-05 tour of India.
100- This victory for India was their 100th international victory against Australia.
Read More: Jadeja makes memorable comeback; has best average against Australia since 2013 (minimum 70 wickets)
