India pulled off one of the great test cricket escapes, clinging on for a draw on the final day of the third test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
While their eventual finishing score looks routine – finishing five wickets down – it belies the incredible resistance shown by the Indian batsmen to keep the series tied at 1-1.
With three genuine tail-enders and an injured Ravindra Jadeja the only batsmen left, Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari put together an epic unbeaten 258-ball partnership – scoring only 62 runs – to set up a series-deciding showdown in Brisbane.
Ashwin, who was given out but successfully overturned the caught-behind decision, was hit on the body by a short ball and survived a dropped catch but finished unbeaten on 39 from 128 balls. Vihari, struggling with a hamstring strain and unable to move freely, faced 161 balls for his unbeaten 23, getting a late reprieve when he edged Mitchell Starc and Australia captain Tim Paine put down a catch behind the stumps.
Having resumed the day at 98-2 chasing 407 to win, Australia looked set to cruise to victory when spinner Nathan Lyon removed stand-in India captain Ajinkya Rahane (four) in the second over.
