WTC Final Live Score, India vs Australia Day 3: IND 209/6; Ajinkya Rahane brings up hard-fought fifty

16:20 (IST)

IND vs AUS LIVE

After 51 overs,India 217/6 ( Ajinkya Rahane 64 , Shardul Thakur 22)

Starc responds with a bouncer after getting driven through the covers for a four by Thakur. The all-rounder gets a thick deflection off the handle, but the ball lands safely near gully. Rahane too mishits a pull off Green's bowling in the following over, but it ultimately lands safely and allows him to collect a single.

16:10 (IST)

IND vs AUS LIVE

FOUR! Absolutely gorgeous from Shardul Thakur as he slaps an overpitched ball from Starc through the covers, collecting his second boundary in the process. IND 214/6
 

16:07 (IST)

IND vs AUS LIVE

After 49 overs,India 209/6 ( Ajinkya Rahane 62 , Shardul Thakur 16)

FOUR! FOUR! And now Rahane brings up another milestone with consecutive fours, this time completing the fifty partnership for the seventh wicket with Shardul Thakur. Gets a thick edge over the sliip cordon in the third delivery of Cam Green's first over of Day 3, the ball running away to the vacant third man fence, before driving a length delivery through the covers. India also go past the 200-mark in the process. For now, Rahane and Thakur will be having small targets in mind and the first priority will be to avoid the follow on. Drinks brought out to the field at the end of the 49th.

16:02 (IST)

IND vs AUS LIVE

After 48 overs,India 199/6 ( Ajinkya Rahane 53 , Shardul Thakur 15)

Four leg byes are added to the Indian total after a delivery from Boland takes a deflection off Thakur's pad and runs past the keeper to the fine leg fence. Australia then make their first bowling change of the morning with Mitchell Starc replacing Cummins.

15:51 (IST)

IND vs AUS LIVE

After 46 overs,India 191/6 ( Ajinkya Rahane 52 , Shardul Thakur 12)

FOUR! SIX! What a way for Ajinkya Rahane to bring up a hard-fought half-century in his first Test appearance since the tour of South Africa in early 2022! Gets a thick outside nick that sends the ball scurrying away between gully and third slip, towards the third man fence, before pulling a short ball from Cummins the very next delivery to clear the fine leg fence, reaching the milestone in 92 deliveries!

This is Rahane's 26th half-century in Tests, and one that will have ensured Rahane stays in the radar of selection in the longest format going forward. He'll be setting his sights on the three-figure mark next.

15:45 (IST)

IND vs AUS LIVE

After 44 overs,India 175/6 ( Ajinkya Rahane 39 , Shardul Thakur 9)

DROPPED! Cameron Green drops a sitter at gully after Shardul Thakur gets a thick outside edge off a short-of-length delivery from Pat Cummins that shapes away from the batter. While Rahane continues to remain composed at the centre and is making the most of the odd loose delivery, Thakur is living the dangerous life at the moment.

15:32 (IST)

IND vs AUS LIVE

FOUR! Welcome boundary for Jinx. Opens the face of the bat and decides to play the full delivery from Boland that's well outside off late, guiding it through the gap between backward point and gully. IND 173/6 after 43

15:27 (IST)

IND vs AUS LIVE

After 42 overs,India 167/6 ( Ajinkya Rahane 33 , Shardul Thakur 8)

OUCH! Thakur cops a painful blow on his forearm thanks to the extra bounce generated by Cummins, and he's hobbling around in pain, forcing the Indian physio to rush out to the centre. The Indians will be hoping it's nothing too serious. Cummins continues to bowl a series of testing deliveries to Thakur once he's got a spray and is back in action.

15:20 (IST)

IND vs AUS LIVE

FOUR! First boundary of the innings for Thakur, who pokes at a length ball outside off from Boland with soft hands and gets an outside edge that stays low and flies wide of gully, going all the way to the third man fence. IND 166/6

15:19 (IST)

IND vs AUS LIVE

After 40 overs,India 157/6 ( Ajinkya Rahane 31 , Shardul Thakur 4)

Ajinkya Rahane clips the ball behind square on the leg side, collecting a single off the very first delivery of the third day. The next ball, Boland manages to breach Bharat's defence and castle him, resulting in India losing their sixth wicket. All-rounder Shardul Thakur joins Rahane at the crease, and nearly perishes in the final ball of the 39th, in which he edges a short delivery from Boland towards the slips where Khawaja gets a bit of hand on the ball before it lands safely. Skipper Pat Cummins introduces himself from the other end, and starts off by conceding three.

15:04 (IST)

IND vs AUS LIVE

BOWLED! Top start for Australia, as Scott Boland cleans wicketkeeper-batter Srikar Bharat up in the second delivery of the third day! Boland managed to bring the ball back in and sneak through Bharat's defence just as he was shaping for a block. Gets a deflection off the thigh pad before crashin into off and middle. AUS 152/6

Bharat b Boland 5

15:03 (IST)

IND vs AUS LIVE

Ajinkya Rahane and Srikar Bharat make their way to the centre along with the XI Australians and the two umpires. These two will have to stitch a big partnership for India to have any chance. For Australia, an early wicket or two might just allow them bundle India out before lunch.

Scott Boland has the ball in hand at the start of the day's play.

14:50 (IST)

Nasser Hussain and Dinesh Karthik analyse the Oval pitch ahead of Day 3:

NH: Another perfect day in south east London. We will have no trouble with the weather today. Zero per cent chance of rain. Australia would want the sun beating down and this pitch to deteriorate. There has been uneven bounce.

DK: Because of the cracks that go straight down the line and the cracks that come along horizontally, you will see variable bounce. It hits one of the cracks. It’s going to definitely spin off the pitch. With the sun baking down, it’s going to get drier.

14:43 (IST)

Deep Dasgupta offers the Indian batters some advice ahead of start of play:

“They have been very patient. Bowled in the corridor of uncertainty. Take the pitch out of the equation. Stand outside the crease to get closer to the length and line. That’s what Labuschagne did. Try and play inside the line. That’s what Steve Smith did. Also play extremely late. The other important part is staying positive, which we saw from Ajinkya Rahane’s innings so far. You have to try and get close to the Australian score.”

14:37 (IST)

IND vs AUS Live

Will Australia make India follow-on if it comes to it? Alex Carey is not sure. "I'm not sure. I'm in the camp standing behind the stumps. I haven't bowled a ball in my life, so I'll leave that up to the skipper. But a lot of hard work to do before we even consider that"

14:31 (IST)

Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara dismissals

Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara fell in near-similar styles. Both got off stump deliveries, left it alone and expected it to carry to the keeper. Instead, both clattered into the stumps with Scott Boland and Cameron Green respectively the bowers. It left former India players Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri surprirsed - especially the way Pujara didn't cover his line.

“I think it’s a couple of misjudgements from probably like Shubman Gill, who has been in great form. Losing him was a big blow. Rohit Sharma has been not in the best of touches in the IPL. So, him playing across the line was not that much of a surprise. But again Pujara, not quite covering his stumps and getting out. So these were the dismissals that could have been avoided,” said Gavaskar.

Meanwhile, Ravi Shastri said: “That is leaving it poorly because the front foot has just gone across. It should be going towards the ball; he was looking to play it and then decided whether he should leave it. You see, the way he is leaving it, the off-stump is exposed. The front foot is still middle stump when it’s actually going towards off stump. Watch that front foot. It should be further across and towards the ball. He thought it was outside the off stump. It was an error in judgment."

14:23 (IST)

India vs Australia Day 3 weather

Weather, unfortunately for Ganesh, is not going to help India out. It is expected to be sunny at 18 degrees Celsius with a high of 25 degrees around 4 and 5 PM. There's no chance of rain with a 14% cloud cover. 

14:18 (IST)

IND vs AUS LIVE

Former India bowler Dodda Ganesh doesn't see any way India can win this. In a tweet he said, "Yet again, we have India’s big guns failing at a crucial juncture. Don’t see India coming back in this test. Unless weather gods come to our recuse this test is done and dusted. Happy to be proven wrong though"

Yet again, we have India’s big guns failing at a crucial juncture. Don’t see India coming back in this test. Unless weather gods come to our recuse this test is done and dusted. Happy to be proven wrong though #DoddaMathu #CricketTwitter #INDvAUS— Dodda Ganesh | ದೊಡ್ಡ ಗಣೇಶ್ (@doddaganesha) June 8, 2023

14:16 (IST)

Can India mount a comeback?

Harbhajan Singh doesn't see a way back. “I don’t feel like talking about the WTC Final at all because this contest has largely drifted away from India’s grasp. There was a lot of difference in bowling by the Indians on Day 1 and Day 2. India were able to get wickets quickly and bowl out Australia quickly by pitching the ball up,” he said in a YouTube video.

14:14 (IST)

Where did India go wrong?

Ricky Ponting believes the answer lies in the first hour of play on Wednesday. “I think where they let themselves down was in the first hour yesterday and bowling too short,” Ponting told the ICC.

“With the wicket conditions, the overhead conditions they had and the brand new Dukes ball, they had to bowl fuller and get the ball driven back down the ground.

“They needed to have Australia four or five down at lunch and they only had them two down which was a pretty good result (for Australia).”

14:09 (IST)

India's first objective: Avoid follow-on

Sunil Gavaskar says, "What the Australians have seen in 2001 when Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman had that massive partnership. Sorry I am reminding you of that (to Justin Langer). They batted for almost two days. Then India came back on the last day and dismiss Australia to win. And then went on to win the last Test as well. I do not think Australia will entertain any thoughts of giving a follow on. Because if they do, and India bat well. India have the ability. They made some misjudgments. They made some errors."

"They were out shouldering some deliveries, getting bowled. They could score some runs like it happened at the Eden Gardens. On the last day when the ball is turning, Ravindra Jadeja can create some magic. So, India's first target would be to get past that score of 269 and try and reduce the lead as much as possible.

13:44 (IST)

IND vs AUS Live

Welcome to our live coverage of the World Test Championship final between India and Australia at The Oval. It is Day 3 and it has not been a good 48 hours for the Indian team. After being denied wickets on the opening day as Travis Head and Steve Smith went about merrily, the second day witnessed their batting come under pressure. Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara could not go beyond 15 runs. Ravindra Jadeja provided resistance alongside Ajinkya Rahane before exiting to a Nathan Lyon delivery. It is now on Rahane, KS Bharat and Shardul Thakur to extend this effort.

India will start from 151/5 and trail by 318 runs. That's a massive ask. Play to get underway in a little over an hour from now.