Australia cruised to a nine-wicket win <\/a>in Indore on a pitch that offered vicious spin and low bounce, with Nathan Lyon wreaking havoc in India’s second innings.
“My time is done. It’s Pat’s team now,” said the 33-year-old.<\/p>\n
1<\/span>\/13<\/p>\n Show Captions<\/p>\n <p>Read more on TOI Sports<\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne held their nerve on a viciously turning Indore pitch to guide Australia to a nine-wicket victory. <br \/><\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>Indore Test win is only Australia’s second Test victory in India since 2004.<br \/><\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>After Australia were thrashed in the first two Tests inside three days, the series now stands at 2-1 to the hosts with one match remaining.<br \/><\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>Labuschagne finished on 28 not out and Head on 49, having lost opener Usman Khawaja to only the second ball of the day.<br \/><\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>The dogged victory secured Australia a berth in the ICC World Test Championship final in June at The Oval. <br \/><\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>India will be sure of their place in the final if they win the fourth Test in Ahmedabad.<br \/><\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>In a low-scoring and frenetic encounter, Australia skittled India for 109 on day one with spinner Matthew Kuhnemann claiming five wickets.<br \/><\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>In reply Australia made a solid start before collapsing to 197 all out before lunch on day two, their last six wickets tumbling for just 11 runs.<br \/><\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>Eight wickets for spinner Nathan Lyon saw India bundled out for 163 in their second innings, setting up a victory target of 76.<br \/><\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>Chasing 76, Australia lost Usman Khawaja early. Khawaja edged R Ashwin to keeper Srikar Bharat for a duck.<br \/><\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>After 45 minutes, Labuschagne and Head changed gears. Head launched Ashwin for a six over mid-on and the next over drilled Ravindra Jadeja down the ground for a four as the shackles came off.<br \/><\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <p>Labuschagne too got in the act, hitting Jadeja for a four and dismissing a short Ashwin delivery on a half-volley for four more to bring a rare Australia win in India in view.<br \/><\/p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Smith, who was stripped of the captaincy and handed a year-long ban over a 2018 ball-tampering incident, said he still relishes making the big calls.<\/p>\n “Look, India is a part of the world I love captaining,” Smith said.<\/p>\n “It’s a game of chess, every ball means something. It’s good to just move people and trying to make the batter do something different and just play games with them. 1<\/span>\/11<\/p>\n Show Captions<\/p>\nAustralia crush India in 3rd Test, qualify for WTC final<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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“It’s probably my favourite place in the world to captain.”
Australia are trailing the four-match series 1-2. They lost the opening Test by an innings and 132 runs in Nagpur and then suffered a six-wicket loss in Delhi.<\/p>\n3rd Test: How Nathan Lyon tore the heart out of Indian batting line-up<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n