The third Test of the four-match series saw some brilliant performances from both the teams, especially the debutants. If Shikhar Dhawan played a stupendous innings of 187 runs for India and made a match out of the Mohali Test, it was Steve Smith who came up with a fantastic knock in the first innings to help Australia cross the 400 mark. Meanwhile, Murli Vijay started off his innings from where he left in Hyderabad and Peter Siddle’s bowling spell was something that every fan will remember for very long time.

Here we bring before you the hits and flops from the third Test match.

HITS

Shikhar Dhawan: Not many players have score the ton on their debut and Shikhar Dhawan did it it style. Dhawan not only scored a ton but also became the fastest centurion on debut as he reached this mark in just 85 balls and ended with 187 runs against his name. Shikhar played a match-winning knock for India and his timing was his uniqueness. His elegant shots on the on-drive made even Little Master Sunny Gavaskar go gaga over him. Dhawan toyed the Australian bowling on the third day and knocked them off the match. Even Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri said that they have never seen any batsman toying with the Australian bowling for that long and in this way.

Murli Vijay: He has been the most consistent batsman in the Indian batting line-up in this series. He came up with back to back hundreds. His third century against Australians was much better than previous two as he was looking much steady. Dhawan was taking on the Aussie bowlers but he did not got carried away with it and kept his patience. He kept the score board ticking by chipping the singles and doubles in every over. It has been his second innings in a row where he had bated for approximately seven hours or more. He scored 153 runs in 317 balls which made Australian bowlers look helpless. If he continues to bat in this fashion, then may be in Kotla he will get his third century of the series too.

Mitchell Starc: “So close but yet so far”. This has been the case with Mitchell Starc who batted stupendously in the first innings but missed out on his maiden century by just one run. Starc applied himself really well and got Australia to the commanding position on the third day of the match.

His spell with the new ball and back to back wickets of Murli Vijay and MS Dhoni gave Australia some sort of chance to make a comeback in the match. His all-round performance not only earned him praise from his captain but from likes of Ravi Shastri and Sanjay Manjrekar as well. Sadly, he will miss the final Test because of his injury.

Peter Siddle: Peter Siddle bowled his heart out and picked up 5-72 in the first innings. Siddle kept on hitting the deck hard and was looking in no mood to give Indian batsmen any chance. Siddle bowled more than the Xavier Doherty so that pressure should be maintained from both the ends on Indian batsmen. Peter Siddle had looked off-colour till this bowling performance and he looks confident to carry on his good form to Delhi.

Ishant Sharma: Ishant Sharma bowled his heart out in the first innings and gave Indian team the much-needed breakthrough. Wickets of Brad Haddin and Moises Henriques in one over not only put the pressure on Aussies but also gave India a chance to stop them for a low score. Though resistance from Mitchell Starc took them to a comfortable position but he made sure that Starc has to wait for his maiden Test hundred as he got him out on 99.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar: Bhuvneshwar Kumar went for some runs in the first innings but in the second innings he was in the right mode from the very first over. He picked up the wickets of David Warner and Ed Cowan with his out-swingers but the gem of the delivery was yet to come. After the dismissal of Ed Cowan, Steve Smith came to the centre and was knocked over by the Kumar. This ball was probably the best ball bowled by any bowler in this series. Kumar picked up three wickets in the second innings.

Steven Smith: Steven Smith did some exceptional batting on his Test debut and displayed some marvellous footwork which is not much expected from the Aussie batsmen. The way he took the charge on Indian bowlers was something that Aussie batting was missing throughout the series. His water-tight defence earned him lot of praises from the former Australian captain Alan Border. He scored 92 runs and missed out a well-deserved hundred.

FLOPS

Michael Clarke: Michael Clarke had suffered some pain in lower-back while fielding but that has not been the main reason for his failure. His application has gone wrong somewhere and Indian Captain MS Dhoni has used his brains quite well as he has always brought Ravindra Jadeja in to the bowling who hasn't let him down so far in the series and has scalped Calrke five times in this series.

Questions have been started raising on his captaincy and leadership skills and the way he had been selecting the team in every match has also come under a scanner. Clarke’s failure with the bat has added woes to the Australian dressing room.

Moises Henriques: Most promising batsmen in the first Test for Australia has been ineffective in the Hyderabad and Mohali Test. He has been selected to do his job of a all-rounder but he has failed to do so. He has picked up just two wickets in this series so far. His batting skills are not looking good as well. He is under lots of pressure with such under-par performance.

Sachin Tendulkar: The Master has not looked in impressive touch this season and with these failures, again questions would start surfacing about his retirement. Tendulkar took a good start in the first innings but he lost his wicket to Steve smith just before the Lunch and on final day he got run-out. There has always been a pressure on him because of his fans. He has played almost three Test series on home soil but has yet to come up with a century.

Chetashwar Pujara: Pujara was unlucky in the first innings when he ball hit the bat first and then the pad but he was adjudged leg before wicket by the umpire. But in the second innings he simply threw his wicket. He misjudged the length of the Nathan Lyon’s delivery and was trapped in front of the middle stumps. Pujara has set his standards so high by playing some brilliant knocks over the period of past six months that giving away his wicket cheaply is unacceptable.

Nathan Lyon: Nathan Lyon would have never expected that Indian wickets will not be of any help for him. He has not been very accurate with his line and length and that’s why he is not among the wickets. He was supposed to be the Australian trump-card but not only he failed to live up to the expectations, but has also failed to to stop the flow of runs. Indian openers sent him on leather hunt and put him under tremendous pressure from the beginning of the innings. Lyon picked just two wickets in the third Test.

By Amit Chopra
Indian Sports News Network