Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood’s further participation in the ongoing third Test is in doubt after going off the field with calf soreness in the first session on Day 4. Hazlewood arrived late on the field at the start of play and appeared to struggle when he began his spell, rarely exceeding 131 kmph. His first delivery was a wide long hop, which KL Rahul cut away with ease. During the drinks break following that over, Hazlewood engaged in an extended discussion with Pat Cummins, Steven Smith, and physio Nick Jones before leaving the field.
Cricket Australia confirmed Hazlewood’s injury and said the pacer will undergo scans to assess the severity of the injury.
“Josh Hazlewood reported calf awareness in this morning’s warm-up. He will be taken for scans to assess the injury,” a CA spokesperson said.
Coming into the third Test, Australia made only one change in their playing 11 with Hazlewood replacing Scott Boland. Hazlewood missed the second Test in Adelaide Oval due to side strain.
In Hazlewood’s likely absence for the remainder of the match, Cummins will rely on Mitchell Marsh, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne for pace bowling options.
At lunch, India were 167/6 in 49 overs after KL Rahul struck 84, completing his second half-century of the series. He was the only Indian batter who looked prepared for Australian pacers despite being repeatedly tested on the outside off-stump line. His front-foot defense and art of leaving the ball frustrated Australian pacers in the opening session.
However, Rahul made an error in shot selection and played Nathan Lyon’s front-foot ball on the back-foot to only find Steve Smith, who dropped Rahul on 33, at slip.
The opening session of the day was a shared contest between the two sides. Australia bagged two crucial wickets of Rohit Sharma (10) and Rahul (84) while India added 116 runs to the scoreboard in the extended opening session, which saw 32 overs being bowled despite a brief rain interruption.
For India, Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy are unbeaten at 41 and 7, respectively. India still need 79 runs to avoid follow-on and trail Australia by 278 runs.
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