India had the very best begin to the fourth day of the World Test Championship last towards Australia as Umesh Yadav scalped the essential wicket of Marnus Labuschagne within the third over of the day. Umesh let loose a giant shout after the dismissal and the rationale was apparent as Australia went 5 down. Their lead had ballooned to 296 on the finish of Day 3 and for India to have any probability of successful, they should prohibit their result in as little as doable. The good size supply round off-stump kicked up and the ensuing bounce took Labuschagne’s edge and went flying to the primary slip, the place Cheteshwar Pujara was stationed.

Watch: Umesh’s Wild Reaction Sums Up India’s Mood As He Scalps Labuschagne

All-rounder Shardul Thakur, who stepped up for India on Friday scoring a valiant 51 beneath stress, was optimistic that 450 runs could be chased down within the ongoing ICC World Test Championship (WTC) last towards Australia at The Oval. The first half of Day 3, noticed spectacular contributions from Ajinkya Rahane (89) and Shardul Thakur (51) to assist India attain a complete of 296 of their first innings, avoiding the follow-on after lunch on day three however handing Australia a 173-run lead going into their second dig.

Thakur scored three half-centuries in three innings at The Oval earlier than leaving for a energetic 51.

The all-rounder’s century places him in unique firm as considered one of solely three gamers within the recreation’s historical past to report three successive 50-plus scores on the south London venue.

“Well, cricket is a funny game. You can never say what is the right total and this one-off game, especially ICC finals, you never know, I mean, who can handle the pressure better out there, one good partnership when you can even chase down 450 or maybe more than that,” Shardul Thakur mentioned in a post-match press convention.

“Last year England chased 400 here and they did not lose too many wickets. So that’s a positive sign for us. Whatever they put up on the board, it’s too early to make any predictions. We see a lot of times in Test cricket that game changes within an hour. So yes, we like to be optimistic tomorrow going on the field. And yeah, we’ll take it on from there,” Shardul added.

With ANI inputs

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