Indian pacer Prasidh Krishna kept the team in the hunt for an unlikely win with three wickets. The 28-year-old began by dismissing Sam Konstas for 22 caught by Washington Sundar. The next man to fall was Marnus Labuschagne who was caught by Yashasvi Jaiswal for six runs from 20 balls. The biggest cheer was reserved for home town hero Steve Smith who came out to bat at number four.
Smith began the innings five runs short of reaching the magical mark of 10,000 runs. Prasidh Krishna got the ball to bounce a lot more as Smith fended at the delivery, Yashasvi Jaiswal made good ground and dove in front to complete the catch. Smith had a shocked look on his face as he was out for four runs just one short of the milestone.
It was a crucial wicket for India as well who had seen the Aussie batters come out with aggressive frame of mind. The home team just needs 162 runs to win the game and take the series 3-1 and knock India out of qualification for the WTC finals.
Prasidh Krishna rattles Australian top order
With Jasprit Bumrah not on the field, Virat Kohli was leading the side and the visitors made a horrendous start with the ball. 39 runs came off the first three overs with Konstas in particular using his feet to unsettle the bowlers. With the young batter looking ominous, the Indian bowlers began to falter with their lines and lengths.
Konstas suffered a brainfade as he tried to loft Krishna for a huge shot and only succeeded in giving Sundar a catch. The batter was out after scoring 22 runs from just 17 balls. The arrival of Marnus Labuschagne got India bowling better as they improved with their lengths as well.
The 30-year-old batter tried to guide the ball outside off stump but the ball bounced more than he expected. Labuschagne could just get an edge that flew to Jaiswal who made no mistake as the Indian players celebrated with glee. At lunch Australia were placed 71/3 with Travis Head batting on 5 and Usman Khawaja on 19. The hosts still need 91 runs for a win while the visitors need 7 wickets.