Stumps on Day 4 in the WTC 2023 Final. An exciting day of cricket with Australia extending their lead up to 443 with important contributions from Alex Carey (66) and Mitchell Starc (41) and sets a target of 444 for India. India start with intent, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill take the Aussie bowling on but after Gill's dismissal to a controversial catch by Cameron Green, he goes a touch over aggressive and loses his wicket only to be followed by Pujara. Since then, Virat Kohli (44) and Ajinkya Rahane (20) have stitched a 71-run partnership and they looked really compact till now. Long way to go but India made it clear they will go for the win. They still need a massive 280 runs and Australia still well ahead.
Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane look to consolidate without slowing down on the run rate. They have not allowed the Aussie bowlers to settle and constantly played their shots. Long way to go but India keep chipping in.
Out! Double blow for India and it almost throws them out of the game. Rohit Sharma plays a shot one too many times and tries to sweep Nathan Lyon, gets trapped in front. Cheteshwar Pujara follows him by miscuing a ramp shot to Alex Carey off Pat Cummins.
India step on the accelerator immediately after Tea as both batters look to bat aggressively hitting a few boundaries. Rohit Sharma raced to 37 runs while Cheteshwar Pujara also looked to score quickly since he has come on, currently batting at 19 runs. They have hit 10 boundaries till now together within only 15 overs.
Out! Cameron Green pulls off another stunning one hander to give Australia their first breakthrough. India were off to a cracking start during the chase in the fourth innings. They have raced to 40 runs without any loss in just 7 overs and just when looked to show intent, Scott Boland had Shubman Gill nick one to the cordons and Green made no mistake grabbing it.
Out! That's it for Australia. Pat Cummins has had enough, and he calls Alex Carey with him back into the dressing room after getting dismissed by Mohammed Shami trying to play an attacking shot. India need to chase down 444 runs with three and a half season in hand.
Out! Mitchell Starc dismissed but it seems to be too little too late now. He has played a hand of very important 41 runs and extended Australia's lead to beyond 430. Tries to up the ante and edges one from Mohammed Shami straight in to the hands of slip.
Australia's lead crosses 400! Things look bleak for India now as Alex Carey gets his fifty and Mitchell Starc also looks set and both will now look to play their shots and score as quickly as possible giving themselves enough time to dismiss India in the final innings.
It's lunch on Day 4 of the WTC 2023 Final. Mixed output for both teams as Australia has lost two wickets but ended up with 78 crucial runs with taking the game further and further away from India. The Australian lead is now of 374 runs. India struck early by removing the dangerous Marnus Labuschagne and then towards the end of the session dismissed Cameron Green too. The ball is turning for Ravindra Jadeja from the roughs and Australia looked troubled against him.
Out! Much needed breakthrough for India. Cameron Green and Alex Carey were taking the game further away from India. Just then Ravindra Jadeja struck again, confusing Green and forcing him to leave one that turned big, hit Green's gloves and trickled to the stumps, dislodging the bails. Australia lead by 340 runs now. Cameron Green b Ravindra Jadeja 25 (95). Watch Cameron Green's Wicket Here.
Australia hold the upper hand over India going into the fourth day of the World Test Championship 2023. The Pat Cummins-led side have had control over the match for a good part now and would fancy themselves to tighten their grip more on this contest with a 296-run lead at the close of play on Day 3. India, meanwhile, have bowled better in the third innings and would hope to take six wickets as early as possible in an attempt to wrap up the innings. Shardul Thakur, one out of the two half-centurions for India in their first innings, exuded confidence when he said that his team would be confident of chasing down 450 or even more than that. But for that to happen, there has to be a much better batting show, especially from the top order of the Indian team. India vs Australia ICC WTC 2023 Final Day 4 Live Streaming Online on DD Sports, Star Sports & Disney+ Hotstar: Get Free Live Telecast of IND vs AUS Test Match on TV.
Rohit Sharma and co were staring down the barrel on Day 3, having been reduced to 152/6 at one stage with KS Bharat departing. However, a spirited fightback from Ajinkya Rahane (89) and Shardul Thakur (51) at least ensured that India went a bit closer to the massive Australian total than they were and that seemed to spark new life into their effort. The bowlers bowled with much more intensity which saw four of Australia’s batters go back into the hut. However, with Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green at the crease, Australia would back themselves to get off to a good start on Day 4 and then carry on from there.
There’s also a rain threat looming large over the day’s play, with Accuweather forecasting a yellow alert with thunderstorms. Fans would be relieved to know that should play not happen either today or on Day 5 (tomorrow) due to rain, there’s a reserve day which can be used to determine the winner.