AUS VS IND - 3rd Test, India tour of Australia, 2018-19

Test cricket's hallmark event, the Boxing Day Test at the iconic MCG, has served up a cliffhanger to trump an academy-award winning Hollywood thriller - lowered our expectations on the first two days, not too difficult in this low attention-span era we live in, and then it churned out a showstopping Day 3 as the phoenix resurrected itself from the ashes. India are far from done though; they'd like to take things forward and wrap up a series win in Sydney. The majority of the game is played between deliveries and matches; India can't afford to drop anchor. Nope, not at the brink of history. And Australia, they're playing for pride, the prospect of denying the Indians a moment of glory on their turf. On that note, we'd like to say it's been a pleasure for our live coverage team, consisting of Vineet Anantharaman, Varun Dixit, Pradeep Krishnamurthy, K Nagaraj, and yours truly, Rishi Roy, to bring you Test cricket's marquee event. Until next time, we bid you goodbye, and a Happy New Year (by DLS method), as we head to Sydney for the final encounter. *Curtains Down*

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Here are an overdose of stats for you to consume, courtesy our guy, Deepu Narayanan

** Most wickets for India in Tests:
619 A Kumble
434 Kapil Dev
417 Harbhajan
342 R Ashwin
311 Zaheer Khan
267 ISHANT SHARMA *
266 Bishan Bedi

** Most wins in overseas Tests as captain (India):
11 V Kohli (24)
11 S Ganguly (28)
06 MS Dhoni (30)
05 R Dravid (17)

** Four wins for India outside the sub-continent in 2018 (Johannesburg, Trent Bridge, Adelaide & Melbourne) - the most for them in a calendar year surpassing three in 1968 ( all three in New Zealand).

** Virat Kohli's record when he wins the toss:
Tests: 21
Won: 18
Draw: 3
In nine away Tests he won the toss, India went on to win eight and drew one (vs Ban, Fatullah, 2015).

** Cheteshwar Pujara - the only batsman to score 50+ in all of India's four away wins in 2018:
50 off 179, 1st inngs, Joburg
72 off 208, 2nd inngs, Trent Bridge
123 & 71, Adelaide
106 off 319, MCG

** Fewest % of drawn Tests in a calendar year:
10.42 in 2018 (5/48)
14.81 in 2002 (8/46)
14.89 in 2016 (7/40)
14.89 in 2017 (7/40)
19.51 in 2014 (8/41)

** Most dismissals by a WK in his debut calendar year:
42 Brad Haddin (2008) / Rishabh Pant (2018)
36 Peter Nevill (2015)
35 Kevin Wright (1979)

** Best figures by an Indian pacer in Australia:
9/086 J BUMRAH, MCG, 2018
8/109 Kapil Dev, Adelaide, 1985
8/160 A Agarkar, Adelaide, 2003

Most Test wickets in debut calendar year:
54 T Alderman (1981)
49 C Ambrose (1988)
48 J BUMRAH (2018)
46 S Finn (2010)
44 R Tattersall (1951)
43 Ted McDonald (1921)

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Jasprit Bumrah, Man of the Match: It is a great feeling. Be it the Boxing day, be it the any other day, I always wanted to play Test cricket and I made my debut against South Africa in January this year. I made my (ODI) debut against Australia in 2016, so to play Test cricket here was a big deal for me. I am really happy to contribute to the team's success. My aim is to always focus on consistency. We train very hard and we are used to bowling a lot of overs in Ranji Cricket, so the body is doing well. My focus is on the next Test now. It was always a dream to play Test cricket and I was really happy when I debuted in South Africa. I started learning slowly, in England it was a different experience. Coming to Australia has been a different experience as well. The start has been good, and hopefully, I will keep getting better.

Kohli (2/2): He (Bumrah) was unlucky not to get wickets in Perth. The way he bowled, it was almost criminal that he didn't reap the rewards. The team management calmed him down and wickets for him came in bunches in this Test and he won us the Test match here at the MCG. I certainly feel proud as a captain to watch these guys bowling in partnerships, nobody is trying to outdo another guy, it's all about what the team wants and what the kind of breakthroughs team wants. That's why they are so special. Our first class cricket structure is amazing. The tough conditions with the new ball makes bowlers hard and bowling with the old ball proved to be a difference in this match. Mayank Agarwal was amazing, he showed great character. His composure was excellent. Pujara was brilliant too. No one is looking for a personal milestone. Vihari played out the first 15 overs against the new ball which was pretty helpful too. With Rohit making runs at number 6, it played out extremely well for us. It is all about taking pride in your roles which you're given. We have to play good cricket to be in the position we are in right now. Nothing is to going to distract us from wanting us to winning that last Test match. We have never been in this position and now is the time to express ourselves even more.

Virat Kohli, India captain (1/2): We are not going to stop here. This (win) will give us more confidence and we will play more positively in Sydney. I think we have been really smart in all the departments in the two matches that we have won. That is the reason we have at least retained the trophy but the job is not done yet. It's not finished at all. We want to win the last Test match as well, if an opportunity comes our way. We don't want to be complacent. We are all but ready for the final Test match. It's a good thing that I don't read any comments or what the opinions are. What matters is what we decide inside the dressing room as a team unit. We were pretty clear that we wanted to bat third on this pitch and wanted to get more runs as the pitch was only getting worse. I always felt the pitch had enough for the bowlers and a score around 400 will be extremely tough for Australia to chase down. The credit goes to our fast bowlers, especially Bumrah, he has been brilliant for us. The three seamers have broken a record for the highest number of wickets in a calendar year which is amazing for the pace trio.

Tim Paine, Australia captain: It's a bit disappointing. I thought we took a big stride forward in Perth but with an inexperienced batting line-up, you are bound to have an innings like we did in the first innings. We are going to learn from it. We are probably playing against the best pace attack in the world right now and our top-6 is pretty inexperienced. We should find positives and move forward. The guys are working really hard and we have a huge challenge ahead of us in Sydney. There is always little discussions around the batting order.The conditions will be different in Sydney. The pitch was very good (here at the MCG). After watching the wicket for the first two days, I knew that the pitch will crumble and it will be difficult to bat on. Full credit to India, they won the toss and batted on a pitch we weren't sure about. Pat (Cummins) has been superb all series. We all know that he is a quality player. He has been fantastic for us. He turns up every day and rolls his sleeves up. We want more guys to perform like him. It's been an interesting year, a difficult one for us. The silver lining is, in the next few months, some world-class players will be available to us again. And in the next few years we will see some benefits of what has happened but we are under no illusion that we will have to work extremely hard to draw this series and then Sri Lanka is coming which is not going to be easy either.

All that changed on Day 3, wickets tumbled and as many as 15 batsmen fell, Australia, thanks to a special spell from Bumrah, were rocked, bowled out for 151 - thereby conceding a first-innings lead of 292 runs. Follow-on beckoned, especially with rain forecast on Day 4 and 5. India resisted, were tormented by Pat Cummins, who finished with career-best haul with the ball and would later go on to resist with the bat as well, as a last-ditch effort to delay the inevitable. 399 was the target and Bumrah was in his elements once again, well supported by Ishant and Shami. Day 5 was all about patience after rain washed out the first-session, but India's tryst with destiny wasn't going to be spoiled.

Coming to the performances, it wasn't a one-man show. Mayank Agarwal and Hanuma Vihari, with only 4 caps between them were asked to open, replacing the incumbent pair. They lasted more than what the previous pair could do and having started on a positive start, India never really squandered the advantage. Mayank made 76 on debut, set the platform for Pujara and Kohli, and finally when the shutters were called at 443/7, Rohit had helped himself to a half-century. Still, on what seemed to be a docile track, pundits feared India had batted far too slowly and far too long to force a result.

The stumps are taken out as India retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. They decided against making Australia bat day before yesterday, despite the 292-run lead, took 8 wickets and then opted to take the extra half hour. Cummins and Lyon, though, denied them, then it was rain which kept Kohli and his team chewing nails in the first session. Play did eventually start after lunch and it needed 27 balls for the visitors to complete the formalities. Plenty of support from the crowd and the Indians acknowledge that as they lap around the ground. The team management has joined them and so has Ravi Shastri - the team coach. Kohli's men started 2018 with a harrowing loss in Cape Town and they have finished it with an emphatic victory at the MCG.

Harsha Bhogle: Great win. Memorable. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy stays in India.

Ishant to Lyon, out Caught by Pant!! All-over! India win by 137 runs and will go to Sydney with a 2-1 lead. This is also the 150th Test victory for the men in blue, making them the fifth team to do so. Jubilant scenes at the 'G', the Indian supporters are making merry, Kohli is chuffed to bits and you can't blame him. Coming to the ball, it was banged short and just outside off, was climbing onto Lyon who fancied the pull, gets a top-edge and Pant did the rest. Lyon c Pant b Ishant 7(50)

Ishant to Lyon, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

Ishant to Lyon, no run, back of a length and at the stumps, Lyon rides with the bounce and defends

Ishant to Lyon, no run, on a length and angling back into the right-hander, Lyon was playing from the crease and gets a bottom edge towards the on-side

Bumrah to Hazlewood, no run, on a good length and at the stumps, defended back at the bowler

Bumrah to Hazlewood, no run, the bouncer now, banged in short and at the stumps, Hazlewood ducks under it and lets it go

Milan: "Ishant Sharma hasn't done much in this series. He is surviving in the team because of Bumrah and Shami!"

Bumrah to Hazlewood, no run, the yorker now, very full and at the stumps, Hazlewood makes room and then gets his bat down in time, squeezes it towards the off-side

Bumrah to Hazlewood, no run, short of a length and angling back into the left-hander, Hazlewood has to hurriedly jab his bat down and defend

Josh Hazlewood, left handed bat, comes to the crease