Steve Smith led India’s fightback on the fourth day of the Brisbane Test at the Gabba after dismissing KL Rahul on his overnight score of 33 with a one-handed blinder at slip to deny the Indian opener a century.
Rahul’s dismissal of Pat Cummins on the first ball of the day marked a dramatic start on Tuesday, but he was relieved when he saw Smith leave a sitter at second slip.
Rahul’s attempt to cut off-spinner Nathan Lyon off while rocking back on a length delivery cost Australia 51 runs, and he received a heavy outside edge that appeared to go past Smith’s outstretched right arm before it stuck in his palm.
KL Rahul misses out on a well-deserved century
After he caught Rahul in the stunner, Smith experienced a moment of redemption; however, the India batter, who was on his way to reaching a well-deserved century, experienced a moment of despair. Rahul lost out on what would have been a tough ton as he was dropped on 84 off 139 balls. The Indian opener batted exceptionally well against the Australian pacers and was solid in his defense and technique as he churned out important runs under pressure.
On the morning of Day 4, Rahul lost his batting partner Rohit Sharma, but he and Ravindra Jadeja came together to share a 67-run partnership for the sixth wicket, saving India from trouble. Despite the partnership, India was able to score 167/6 at lunch and get closer to the follow-on mark of 246 runs. Nitish Reddy (7) and Jadeja (41) are out in the middle for the visitors, who need 79 runs to escape the follow-on after falling behind Australia by 278 runs in their first innings.
Australia reached 445 in the first innings, including hundreds from Travis Head (152) and Smith (101); India began the day at a vulnerable 51 for 4. After the captain Rohit Sharma (10) fell early in the day, edging Cummins to wicketkeeper Alex Carey, it quickly became 74 for 5.
Play was interrupted for some time in the first session on Tuesday due to cloudy weather and rain.
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