Australia stand-in captain Steve Smith pulled off a catch of the series contender when his one handed grab at slips ended Cheteshwar Pujara’s stay at the crease in the 3rd Test at Indore on Thursday.
The catch proved to be the turning point of the match as Pujara, who was batting at 59, slowly and steadily waged a lone battle to rebuild the Indian innings after the rest of the top order had crumbled.
In the 57th over, Nathan Lyon’s 3rd ball had spun inside and Pujara tried to play a drive but did not get as much bat to it as he would have liked. Smith, who was situated at the leg slip dived low and took an absolute stunning catch with his outstretched hand.
Could this be a match-turning catch by @stevesmith49 to dismiss @cheteshwar1 for a determined 59 #INDvAUS #classic pic.twitter.com/RFHO4lEdWV
— simon hughes (@theanalyst) March 2, 2023
Lyon would go on to grab eight wickets with the hosts staring at a big defeat as Steve Smith’s side has been set a target of just 76 runs to win the Test and secure a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. The spinner spun a web around India batters, returning figures of 23.3-1-64-8.
Pujara batted resolutely but fell after making 59 runs. The veteran batter’s departure, with Smith taking the blinder of a catch, virtually ended India’s resistance.
Umesh Yadav lasted just two balls, caught by Cameron Green in the deep for a duck as India’s batting went down without a whimper. India are leading the series 2-0 having won in Nagpur and New Delhi.