Day 3 of the World Test Championship (WTC) Final witnessed an early dismissal for KS Bharat as Scott Boland claimed another crucial wicket at The Oval on Friday. Boland delivered a well-directed length ball that nipped back sharply, completely evading Bharat's defenses and crashing into the stumps. Bharat departed after scoring just 5 runs off 15 deliveries. This dismissal marked Boland's second wicket of the match, highlighting his proficiency in extracting movement from the pitch.
Top order woes
India's formidable top-order struggled against Australia's high-quality pace attack, firmly placing the opponents in control of the World Test Championship final in London on Thursday. Ravindra Jadeja's valiant knock of 48 runs off 51 balls, coupled with Ajinkya Rahane's unbeaten 29 off 71 deliveries, provided a glimmer of hope for the Indian supporters at The Oval. The duo stitched together a resilient partnership of 71 runs off 100 balls before Jadeja fell to Nathan Lyon just moments before the end of play. At stumps, India found themselves reeling at 151 for five in response to Australia's first innings total of 469, trailing by a significant margin of 318 runs.
On the opening day, the Indian bowlers failed to effectively utilize the bouncer, while batsmen such as Shubman Gill (13) and Cheteshwar Pujara (14) committed the grave error of misjudging the line and length on a pitch offering unpredictable bounce. The Australian pace trio comprising Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Scott Boland capitalized on the conditions at The Oval, extracting more from the surface compared to their Indian counterparts.
During the afternoon session, Australia added 142 runs to their overnight total, losing seven wickets in the process before being bowled out. Mohammed Siraj emerged as the standout bowler for India, scalping four wickets as he skillfully wrapped up the Australian tail.
