India vs Australia, Live Score, Latest Updates, 3rd Test: Kohli drives the ball towards cover, but is intercepted inside the circle that denies him the single that he has been looking for quite some time now. Second consecutive maiden for Starc, and that brings to an end the opening day of the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a day that belonged to the Indian batsmen, with Mayank Agarwal’s stroke-filled 76 being the highlight of the day. The 3rd India vs Australia Test is being telecast on Sony Sports Network. The Australia-India live streaming will take place on sonyliv.com. Click here to know when and where to watch the third Test between Australia and India. Preview: India axed both openers Tuesday while Australia recalled allrounder Mitchell Marsh at the expense of struggling batsman Peter Handscomb for the high-stakes third Test. With the four-Test series tied 1-1, much is riding on the Boxing Day showdown at the Melbourne Cricket Ground where up to 90,000 fans are expected, and India can’t afford another top-order flop. [caption id=“attachment_5725951” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Virat Kohli and Tim Paine, captain of the Indian and Australian teams respectively. AP[/caption] Murali Vijay and KL Rahul scored just 95 runs between them in eight innings across the opening two Tests in Adelaide and Perth, failing to play their part alongside the likes of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara. They have paid the price with debutant Mayank Agarwal expected to open the batting with Hanuma Vihari, who is set to be bumped up the order. Experienced No 6 Rohit Sharma was declared fit and resumes his place in the side after missing the Perth Test. But ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who also missed that game, has failed to recover from an abdominal strain, with left-arm finger-spinner Ravindra Jadeja brought in as part of a four-man attack. Skipper Kohli, who had some testy exchanges in Perth with Australian counterpart Tim Paine, insisted the defeat there was in the past and his team was starting with a new slate in Melbourne. “As a team, whether you’re 2-0 up or 1-0 down, what has happened in the past has no significance to what is going to happen in the next Test,” he said before the team was announced. “So the key is to stay in the moment, stay in the present. We just need to play consistently good cricket and not get too excited or taken aback from situations in the match.” Kohli, who scored a battling century in Perth but was criticised for failing to acknowledge the crowd when he was controversially given out, also said he would not be looking for confrontations with Paine in Melbourne. “Both teams are passionate and desperate to win. Obviously, things happen on the field. But as long as the line isn’t crossed,” he said. “I’m sure Tim and myself understand what happened and we don’t want to do something unnecessary. We want to lead our teams well and play good cricket that the public wants to see.” Relieve pressure Despite winning to level the series in Perth, Australia opted for change by recalling Marsh, whose part-time seamers will help relieve pressure on the home side’s pace attack on a pitch that is not expected to offer as much for the bowlers as Adelaide or Perth. Part of the thinking also revolves around the potentially decisive fourth and final Test in Sydney, with only a three-day recovery period if Melbourne goes the full five-day distance. Handscomb is the fall guy, axed after scoring just 34, 14, 7 and 13 across four innings. “I’m sure Pete would be upset. I think he’s had conversations with the selectors that there’s a few things they would like him to work on and Pete is open to that,” Paine said. He added that he did not believe dropping a player from a winning XI would impact Australia’s momentum. “No I don’t think so, we did it last year during the Ashes as well. The majority of this decision has been based around it’s a long series, we’ve played on a lot of hot days and our bowlers have had a big workload,” he said. “We believe Mitch can come in and do a really good job with the bat and obviously he’ll give great support to our bowlers.” Australia - Marcus Harris, Aaron Finch, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Tim Paine (capt), Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc. With inputs from AFP
Highlights, India vs Australia, 3rd Test, Day 1 in Melbourne, Full Cricket Score: Cheteshwar Pujara, Mayank Agarwal's fifties take visitors to 215/2
India vs Australia Live Score: Kohli drives the ball towards cover, but is intercepted inside the circle that denies him the single that he has been looking for quite some time now. Second consecutive maiden for Starc, and that brings to an end the opening day of the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a day that belonged to the Indian batsmen, with Mayank Agarwal’s stroke-filled 76 being the highlight of the day.
 "Highlights, India vs Australia, 3rd Test, Day 1 in Melbourne, Full Cricket Score: Cheteshwar Pujara, Mayank Agarwal's fifties take visitors to 215/2")
The Melbourne Cricket Ground doesn’t seem to have changed in character from the drawn Ashes encounter last year, and still appears to be a fantastic surface for batsmen, as India’s score at stumps would suggest. The Australian bowlers, with the notable exception of Patrick Cummins, couldn’t quite find their rhythm today, and Nathan Lyon — the leading wicket-taker in the series right now — appeared to have struggled the most. Mayank Agarwal was impressive right from the word go, and has made full use of the opportunity that he might feel has come a little late in his career.
The stage is set for the Indians to post a big first innings total, one that would hopefully translate to a big lead later in the game. Let’s see if they continue to bat with the same positive approach on the second day, or whether the Australians can somehow trigger a collapse.
For now, we bid you goodbye. Do join us tomorrow.
After 89 overs,India 215/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 68 , Virat Kohli (C) 47)
Kohli drives the ball towards cover, but is intercepted inside the circle that denies him the single that he has been looking for quite some time now. Second consecutive maiden for Starc, and that brings to an end the opening day of the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a day that belonged to the Indian batsmen, with Mayank Agarwal’s stroke-filled 76 being the highlight of the day.
After 88 overs,India 215/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 68 , Virat Kohli (C) 47)
Pujara flicks the ball towards square-leg for a double off the second delivery. Pujara gets hit on his shoulder off the penultimate ball, with Hazlewood having a few more words to say after the delivery, although it doesn’t invite anything more than a smile from the monk-like No 3 batsman. Two off the over.
After 87 overs,India 213/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 66 , Virat Kohli (C) 47)
Starc appeals for lbw against Kohli, but is dismissed by the umpire — who labels it “too high”. DROPPED! Kohli nicks the ball while playing outside his body, with the ball popping out of Paine’s glove, much to Starc’s disappointment. The ball takes off after pitching short of length off the next delivery, and hits the long stop fence after a couple of bounces, resulting in baffled expressions all around. Starc fires a 150 kmph yorker at Kohli off the penultimate delivery, with the star batsman bringing his bat down in the nick of time to save his stumps. Dot off the last ball, bringing to an end a very entertaining over from the left-arm seamer.
After 86 overs,India 209/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 66 , Virat Kohli (C) 47)
Pujara collects his sixth boundary at the start of the over, guiding the ball towards third man. Dot ball off each of the remaining deliveries of the over.
After 85 overs,India 205/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 62 , Virat Kohli (C) 47)
Starc continues to generate a plenty of pace and bounce with the new ball, requiring skipper Paine to be extra vigilant behind the stumps. Couple of leg byes collectedof the penultimate delivery, with Starc’s appeal for leg-before being turned down by the umpire. Three off the over. Another five overs left in the day’s play.
After 84 overs,India 202/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 62 , Virat Kohli (C) 47)
Hazlewood shares the new ball with Starc as usual, and gets the ball to move away from the batsman, with Kohli opting to leave most of the balls alone. Maiden over to Hazlewood.
After 83 overs,India 202/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 62 , Virat Kohli (C) 47)
Paine tosses the new ball over to Starc, who appeals for caught-behind against Kohli off the very first ball of his new spell, before being turned down. Kohli runs the ball towards square leg for a double off the penultimate ball to bring up the 200 for India. Bye collected off the last ball of the over.
After 82 overs,India 199/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 62 , Virat Kohli (C) 45)
Pujara shuffles down the pitch, and collects a single through an on-drive off the fourth delivery of the over. Kohli keeps the strike with a single off the last ball.
After 81 overs,India 197/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 61 , Virat Kohli (C) 44)
Kohli drives the ball down the ground with authority off the penultimate delivery, collecting his sixth boundary. Four off the over. Looks like Nathan Lyon will get another over or two from the other end before the hosts bring in the second new ball.
After 80 overs,India 193/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 61 , Virat Kohli (C) 40)
Kohli pushes the ball towards square-leg for a single off the last delivery after five dot balls. End of the 80th over, which means the second new ball will now be available for the hosts to make use of.
After 79 overs,India 192/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 61 , Virat Kohli (C) 39)
Pujara profits from a loose delivery from Cummins at the start of the over, slashing a short, wide ball through backward point for a boundary. Dot off each of the remaining deliveries of the over.
After 78 overs,India 188/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 57 , Virat Kohli (C) 39)
Kohli’s offered width outside off, and he drives it through extra cover to collect his fifth boundary. Four off the over. Meanwhile, Kohli’s strike-rate is nearly twice of Pujara’s.
After 77 overs,India 184/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 57 , Virat Kohli (C) 35)
Pujara gets hit on his back once again off a short delivery from Cummins. Sixth maiden for the right-arm pacer.
After 77 overs,India 184/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 57 , Virat Kohli (C) 35)
Pujara gets hit on his back once again off a short delivery from Cummins. Sixth maiden for the right-arm pacer.
After 76 overs,India 184/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 57 , Virat Kohli (C) 35)
Kohli runs the ball towards square-leg for a single off the third delivery of the over. Pujara skips down the ground, and guides the ball in the same direction, also for a single. Two off the over.
After 75 overs,India 182/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 56 , Virat Kohli (C) 34)
Kohli collects a single at the start of the over after directing the ball towards midwicket. Pujara stays put at the crease as he faces a series of testing deliveries for the remainder of the over.
After 74 overs,India 181/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 56 , Virat Kohli (C) 33)
Kohli collects a single off the second delivery of the over. Pujara steps out of his crease and flicks the ball towards deep midwicket for a double off the third delivery. He runs the ball towards short third man a couple of balls later, once again coming back for a second. Five off the over
After 73 overs,India 176/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 52 , Virat Kohli (C) 32)
Pujara suffers a nasty blow on his finger while fending a short ball from Cummins — who has used that option to deadly effect so far in the day — requiring the physio to do a quick check-up thereafter. Pujara collects a double off a straight drive off the fourth delivery. Two off the over.
After 72 overs,India 174/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 50 , Virat Kohli (C) 32)
Shout for lbw against Kohli, with the Aussies going for the review after the umpire turns it down. Impact’s outside off, and that’s where the whole thing comes to an end, resulting in the hosts losing a review. Maiden over.
After 71 overs,India 174/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 50 , Virat Kohli (C) 32)
Pujara collects a single off the second delivery, one that elicits a cheer from the Indians in the crowd as the No 3 batsman brings up his 21st Test fifty. Kohli collects a single two deliveries later. Two off the over. Meanwhile, the partnership is in excess of 50 between Pujara and Kohli, the latter in the early 30s right now.
After 70 overs,India 172/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 49 , Virat Kohli (C) 31)
Kohli works the ball towards the leg side for a single off the fourth delivery. Pujara cuts the ball through extra cover off the last delivery, and would’ve got a boundary for it on most venues. The vastness of the MCG means he will have to settle for a triple. Four off the over.
After 69 overs,India 168/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 46 , Virat Kohli (C) 30)
Just a single off the over, with Kohli guiding the ball towards point for a quick run, moving to 30 in the process.
After 68 overs,India 167/2 ( Cheteshwar Pujara 46 , Virat Kohli (C) 29)
Nathan Lyon returns to the attack, this time bringing in quite a few fielders inside the circle on the leg side. Two singles collected off the over.
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