Indian collapse gives Australia 43-run lead

Press Trust of India  |  Perth 

failed to cash in on Virat Kohli's masterful 25th hundred and lost their last last three wickets for 31 runs to be bowled out for 283 before extended their lead in the third Test here Sunday.

At the break, was unbeaten on 7 runs, while was batting on 25 not out. The latter was hit on his finger by (0-2) and walked off in at the of tea, albeit it was unclear if he had retired

Post lunch, India's first innings lasted only another 12.3 overs as the lengthy tail refused to wag for the third time this series.

Ishant Sharma (1) was the first to go, offering a simple return catch to Lyon in the second over after resumption of play.

Rishabh Pant (36) changed gears and tried to attack the bowling, adding 25 runs with Umesh Yadav (4 not out) for the ninth wicket, before holing out off Lyon again.

The off-spinner then proceeded to pick his fifth out of seven Indian wickets to fall on the day as Jasprit Bumrah (4) was caught at slip. In doing so, Lyon equalled Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan with seven five-wicket hauls against in Test

Overall, lost their last six wickets for 60 runs to hand Australia the advantage.

In their second innings, the hosts' opening pair struggled to get going as the Indian pacers used the new ball to good effect.

Harris got a life in the fifth over, when Cheteshwar Pujara dropped him at first slip off Ishant Sharma.

Earlier, the Indian scored 123 runs with the help of 13 fours and a six, the first hundred in since Sachin Tendulkar's effort back in 1992 (114 at WACA Ground).

From overnight 172 for three, India made a torrid start to the day as Ajinkya (51) was caught behind off (2-50) on the fourth ball of the first over. The ball didn't turn as much as he anticipated and only managed to edge it behind.

India had added only one run at that moment, which put an end to the 91-run partnership between and for the fourth wicket.

Hanuma Vihari (20) though was up to the task of batting out the next passage of play, as he put on 50 runs with the for the fifth wicket.

He soaked up pressure at one end, even if not scoring too many runs, while went about his business at the other end as India garnered 42 runs in the first hour of play despite Rahane's early wicket.

In doing so, took India past 200 in the 80th over, and then reached his hundred off 214 balls. It was his sixth Test hundred on Australian soil, and he became the second-quickest batsman in Test history to score 25 Test hundreds (in 127 innings) after Sir Donald Bradman's 68 innings.

This was also his 34th hundred as India across formats, second only to Ricky Ponting's 41 centuries as Australian

The celebrations though were cut short as Australia used the second new ball to good effect with Vihari caught behind off (2-66) in the 86th over.

Pant then joined his in the middle, and played an uncharacteristic innings unlike Adelaide, adding 18 runs for the sixth wicket as India crossed 250 and started closing the gap on Australia's first innings' total of 326.

But Kohli fell before lunch, edging (1-54) to second slip where just got his fingers under the ball. TV replays were not sufficient enough to overturn the on-field umpire's soft signal of dismissal.

The visitors lost another wicket in this short passage as (0), again batting ahead of Ishant, edged Lyon behind first ball.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Sun, December 16 2018. 12:55 IST