Twitter Reactions: Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur's priceless partnership shifts momentum towards India in Brisbane Test

It was an entertaining day at The Gabba in the ongoing fourth Test between Australia and India. Down and out for the umpteenth time in this series, the visitors once again showed extreme resilience and fight to make a comeback. This time, it was the duo of Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar who literally stunned Australia with their partnership for the seventh wicket which helped India reach 336 in the first innings.

The duo got together when the team was struggling at 186/6 in the second session and clearly, Australia were on top eyeing a huge lead. But Thakur and Sundar had other ideas with the latter getting off the mark in Test cricket with a six off Pat Cummins and a crisp drive through mid-on in the same over. Both of them then kept the bowlers, who were steaming in, at bay and churned out some crucial runs.

Australia were least expecting the resistance and were visibly frustrated with the way both were batting. Shardul was the aggressor in the final session smacking Mitchell Starc with disdain and also hitting a six off Nathan Lyon to get to his fifty. Meanwhile, Sundar impressed with his exemplary hitting with his no-look maximum over mid-on off Lyon stunning the Gabba crowd.

The Aussie bowlers were flustered and in the process, were taken apart from quick runs. The 123-run partnership was finally broken by none other than Pat Cummins castling Thakur but not before scoring 67 runs. Sundar, at the other end, also mustered 62 runs on debut before getting out. The tail wagged for some time as well with Mohammed Siraj entertaining the crowd with his batting before India were bundled out for 336 runs.

Earlier in the day, the overnight pair of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane looked positive running quick singles with the latter also getting lucky on a couple of occasions. But it was Pujara who got a snorter from Josh Hazlewood who would end up picking a five-wicket haul while Rahane played a loose shot late in the first session to throw away his wicket.

Rishabh Pant and Mayank Agarwal were also guilty of giving away a good start as India were reeling in the 30 mins of the post-lunch session. However, little did anyone know what was going to follow!

Australia openers play out a tricky period

With the momentum with India, Australia had to play out a tricky period of 20 minutes in the second innings. Their openers David Warner and Marcus Harris didn’t make much fuss about it as the former played his shots smashing Siraj for three boundaries in a single over. The hosts ended the day on 21/0 extending their lead to 54 runs.

The series decider is nicely set up now with Australia expected to do all the running to regain the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Also, with the rain around on the last two days, their approach on the fourth morning will be interesting to see. India, on the other hand, have fought gamely throughout the tour and they will be keen on picking wickets early on to keep a lid on the run-scoring.

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