A 170-run stand between century-maker Cheteshwar Pujara and captain Virat Kohli put India in a dominant position in the third Test on Thursday as Australia’s openers survived half a dozen nervy overs before the close.
Dogged Pujara stroked 106 and Kohli 82 before they both fell soon after lunch on what until then had been a lifeless Melbourne pitch.
Rohit Sharma was not out 63 after notching his 10th Test half-century when Kohli called a halt to the innings late in the day at 443 for seven as India go in search of a crucial 2-1 lead in the four-Test series.
That gave the tourists’ attack six overs before stumps to target Australian openers Marcus Harris and Aaron Finch, who battled through to be eight without loss.
“I think we have enough runs on the board. Already today you can see the pitch has started deteriorating and there’s variable bounce on it. I don’t think it’s easy to bat on now,” said Pujara.
“Our bowlers have been bowling well so I would say we have enough runs on the board.”
Despite the ominous task ahead, Finch insisted Australia could still win.
“It’s still game on if we bat really well and then back up and bowl well and put India under a lot of pressure,” he said. “I think that absolutely all three results are still on the table 100 percent — India, Australia and a draw. It’s hard to say after two days with the wicket deteriorating, but we are confident we can bat really big.”
Pujara and Kohli had continued to build their intimidating partnership after coming together when openers Hanuma Vihari and Mayank Agarwal fell on day one.
