India piled up more misery on the Australians in the morning session on Day 3 of the Nagpur Test with the bat.
After Rohit Sharma’s century on Day 2, the two left-handers, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel, registered their respective half-centuries and extended India’s lead to 223 runs, India bowled out for 400.
Jadeja scored 70 while Axar scored 84. However, tailender Mohammed Shami also made a significant contribution of 37 runs and was involved in a partnership of 52 (86) with Axar. Shami was the dominant one in his stand with Axar.
Mohammed Shami goes past Virat Kohli’s sixes tally in Test cricket
Mohammed Shami was impressive with the bat in Nagpur. He often looked solid and composed in his defensive shots and also took the bowlers on regularly, hitting 2 fours and 3 sixes; all his 3 sixes came against Todd Murphy, the off-spinner who was Australia’s best bowler in the game.
His third six in Nagpur led Mohammed Shami past legendary Indian batsman Virat Kohli in the sixes tally in Test cricket.
While Kohli has plundered all the big runs in his career – 8131 runs in 105 Tests – the Indian talisman has hit only 24 sixes in his Test career. Now, Mohammed Shami, the tailender who likes to slog the spinners, has hit 25 sixes in his Test career. That’s quite a bragging right that Shami has gained over Kohli.
A bigger worry for Virat Kohli, though, is his form in Test cricket.
The 34-year-old managed only 12 runs in Nagpur, though his dismissal for unlucky as he got strangled down the leg-side off Todd Murphy and Alex Carey took a terrific juggling catch.
This doesn’t mask Kohli’s disappointing returns in Test cricket: since the start of 2021, Kohli averages a mediocre 27 in 18 Test matches with only 5 half-centuries in 31 innings. His last Test hundred came in November 2019.
Australia 5 down for only 42, Ashwin takes 4
Meanwhile, Australia are heading toward a big defeat, could be an innings defeat, as they have lost half their side for only 52 runs in the second innings, and at the time of writing, still trail by 171 runs. R Ashwin has spun a web over the Aussies and has taken 4 of the 5 wickets to fall.
