India to perform last rites on Aussies

Dharamasala – All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (right) starred with both bat and ball on the third day of the fourth Test yesterday to put India on course for a series-clinching victory against Australia here.

The left-hander top-scored with 63 to help India surpass Australia’s first-innings total of 300 and then took three wickets with his spin 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 into 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.

Day three also had its share of drama when Murali Vijay claimed a catch off Josh Hazlewood near the end of the Australian innings. Replays however showed the ball had spilled onto the grass.

TV cameras then showed Smith fuming in the dressing-room and appearing to mumble angrily at Vijay’s attempt to claim the catch.

Australian batting coach Graeme Hick sought to play down the incident after the day’s play.

“We were watching it on our own little pads and the ball definitely touched the ground,” Hick said. – AFP