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Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane struck fluent centuries as India fought back bravely before a flurry of late wickets allowed a sloppy Australia to take a slight edge on stumps on Day 3 of the third Test, in Melbourne, on Sunday.
- Scorecard
Resuming the day on 108 for one in response to the hosts' first innings score of 530, India lost an early wicket before Kohli (169) and Rahane (147) rallied the hosts with a record 262-run fourth-wicket stand -- the highest for India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for any wicket.
The visitors ended the day on 462 for eight, still trailing by 68 runs.
Check out the images from the third day's play at MCG:
India vice-captain Kohli, who registered his ninth Test ton, mixed the right dose of caution and aggression in his 272-ball stay, his innings laced with 18 boundaries.
Cheteshwar Pujara (25) did not trouble the scorers as the No.3 batsman was out on the second ball of the day as Ryan Harris (2-40) induced an outside edge and the catch was beautifully held by wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, diving in front of first slip.
Opener Murali Vijay (68) did add a few runs to his score and hit a couple of lovely boundaries before he got hit on the back of the helmet by a Mitchell Johnson bouncer. The hit sure did shake him up as he was soon picked by Shane Watson, edging one to first slip as Shaun Marsh made no mistake.
Kohli and Rahane rallied India after the two early wickets in the morning session.
- Kohli-Johnson verbal volleys spice things up on Day 3
The latter was more aggressive of the two batsmen as he raced his half-century from 60 balls, in the 71st over, and two overs later brought up the 100-run partnership.
between them.
There was some drama in the middle when pacer Mitchell Johnson hit Kohli with a return throw. The batsman had an angry go at him and then lost his composure. In the 85th over he edged behind off the same bowler and was dropped by Watson at first slip.
Kohli then top-edged one off Johnson in his next over but wicketkeeper Brad Haddin was unable able to reach the ball on the leg side.
Rahane got his century in just 127 balls, hitting 21 fours in his three-hours ten minute stay in the middle. The Mumbai right-hander was dismissed leg before wicket as he attempted to sweep off-spinner Nathan Lyon, though replays suggested the middle order batsman may have been hard done by.
Kohli brought up his ninth Test hundred -- his 4th in Australia -- from 166 balls, having hit 11 fours. He becomes the first Indian since Sunil Gavaskar in 1977 to score three hundreds in a Test series in Australia.
Kohli's girlfriend, who was present in the stands, enjoyed the right-hander's dominating performance with the bat as he hit the Australian bowlers all around the park at MCG. He stayed solid
and crossed the 150-run mark in his Test career for the first time.
Johnson (1-133), who bled runs through the day, bagged the key wicket of Kohli in the final over of the day. Haddin pulled off another stunning catch to send back the right-hander for 169 as India closed the third day on 462 for eight.