Tea Australia 451 and 149 for 4 (Marsh 38*, Handscomb 44*, Jadeja 3-22) trail India 603 for 9 dec by three runs
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Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb put together a wicketless session © Associated Press
Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb held their nerve admirably to give Australia a chance of forcing a draw with India and retaining parity in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy battle at tea on the final day of the third Test in Ranchi.
Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja defeated Matt Renshaw and Steven Smith within the space of four balls in the morning session to leave the tourists in deep trouble. But Marsh and Handscomb refused to panic, combining for a calm and sensible stand of 86 that prevented India from taking a single wicket in the afternoon session while reducing their lead to just three runs.
Though the surface is still offering lavish turn to the spinners and the occasional instance of variable bounce for the pacemen, Marsh and Handscomb found the going easier as they got established and the SG ball softened. The second new ball, available 11 overs into the final session, looms as India’s last hope.
Full report to follow…
Daniel Brettig is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @danbrettig
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo