Australia clinched an emphatic nine-wicket victory over India in the third Test at Holkar Stadium on Friday, thanks to unbeaten knocks from Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne. The win also secured Australia's spot in the World Test Championship final, scheduled to be held at The Oval in London from June 7-11.
Starting the day's play requiring 76 runs to win on a challenging pitch, Australia lost opener Usman Khawaja for a two-ball duck. However, Head and Labuschagne kept their composure and chased down the target in just 18.5 overs to seal a 2-1 lead in the four-match series.
The Indian bowlers tried their best to make a comeback, with Ravichandran Ashwin posing a few tough questions to the Australian batsmen. Ashwin even took a DRS against Labuschagne, which resulted in India burning a review.
However, Head broke the shackles in the 11th over, hitting Ashwin for a four and a six to put Australia in control. Labuschagne followed suit, hitting Ravindra Jadeja for a couple of boundaries.
Ashwin was taken apart in the 15th over, with Head and Labuschagne hitting him for four boundaries. Umesh Yadav was brought into the attack as a last resort, but the Australian duo was relentless, hitting him for two more boundaries.
Head finished the game in style, hitting Ashwin for a four down the ground, while Labuschagne danced down the pitch to loft the ball over mid-on for a boundary.
The win marks Australia's first Test victory in India since their triumph in Pune back in 2017. Meanwhile, India will need to bounce back in the final match of the series to avoid a series defeat.
Brief scores: Australia 197 and 78/1 in 18.5 overs (Travis Head 49 not out, Marnus Labuschagne 28 not out; Ravichandran Ashwin 1-44) beat India 109 and 163 by nine wickets