Published 12:34 IST, January 8th 2021
Rohit Sharma's comeback ended by Josh Hazlewood's SUPER caught and bowled effort: WATCH
Rohit Sharma looked determined for a big score and was playing carefully but Josh Hazlewood was successful in dismissing him by constant chatter.
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The Indian team got off to a solid start in the first innings of the India vs Australia 3rd Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney. The visitors had a new opening pair in the form of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill who had a tough task ahead of them to tackle the Aussie pacers. Both Rohit and Gill were resolute in their approach as they played meticulously to ensure that India weren't dented early on their innings.
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Josh Hazlewood dismisses Rohit Sharma for 26 after distracting him with constant chatter
The duo soon stitched a 50-run partnership inside 20 overs. Notably, this was the first time that Indian openers lasted 20 overs in a Test match outside Asia since former Indian openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir did it in 2010 (92 innings ago). Both Rohit and Gill were going strong for India, however, Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood grabbed Rohit's wicket against the run of play as the right-hander was dismissed for 26 off 77 balls.
Rohit looked determined for a big score and was playing carefully but Hazlewood was constantly trying to get under the Indian opener's skin to distract him by saying few words. In the end, the Australian pacer was successful in diverting his focus as Rohit got out to a nothing delivery. Hazlewood bowled a full delivery and tempted Rohit to drive who drove it straight back to the bowler where the pacer completed a sharp catch.
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Rohit, who is making his comeback after a long layoff due to an injury he suffered during the Dream11 IPL 2020, didn't have a memorable return. However, the right-hander looked in great touch as he played some glorious shots during his time at the crease which is something which he can take confidence from going forward in the series.
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Meanwhile, with the overnight score of 166/2, Australia started positively on Day 2 with Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne going strong. However, once Labuschagne was dismissed for 91, wickets kept tumbling from one end while Smith held the other end and notched a ton to help the hosts post a competitive score of 337. Ravindra Jadeja was the pick of the Indian bowlers with figures of 4/62.
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India vs Australia live score update
After restricting Australia to 337, India got off to a good start as openers Rohit and Gill posted 70 runs before the former was dismissed. Gill scored a valiant fifty and departed soon after. At the time of publishing this article, India are 88/2 after 38.4 overs with Chetshwar Pujara batting on 3 and skipper Ajnikya Rahane unbeaten on 1. India will hope that the duo carries on and lays a solid foundation for the lower-middle order to come and score big.
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SOURCE: CRICKET.COM.AU TWITTER
12:33 IST, January 8th 2021