India ground out a memorable draw in the third Test in Sydney after a thrilling final day’s play went down to the wire on Monday, with Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin enduring over three hours of pressure from the Australian bowlers to take the series to a decider in Brisbane.  

Before their heroics, however, Rishabh Pant (97 from 118) and Cheteshwar Pujara (77 from 205) stitched together a 148-run partnership to give the visitors hopes of an improbable win at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) as the draw was eventually called at 334/5 from 131 overs.

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India started the day at 98/2 and chasing a target of 407, lost skipper Ajinkya Rahane (4) very early in the proceedings to Nathan Lyon as the hosts seemed set for the victory. 

However, Pant, who scored his first five runs from 33 deliveries, led an incredible counter-attack and was unfortunate to see his innings end just three runs short of a much-deserved century. Seeking to complete his ton with a boundary, the young southpaw slashed a Lyon delivery to Pat Cummins at backward point to depart to a standing ovation. 

Meanwhile, Pujara, who surpassed the 6,000 Test runs-mark in his innings, was clean bowled by Hazlewood jaffer, misjudging a length delivery that straightened off the turf and crashed into the top of his off stump. 

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Their dismissals brought Vihari, who was nursing a hamstring injury, and Ashwin to the crease, with their blockade lasting 256 deliveries, scoring 62 runs in the process, as they played out an innings to make Rahul Dravid proud on his 48th birthday. 

With Jadeja’s participation uncertain, it was down to the duo to see out the draw for India as their dismissal would have exposed India’s tail. 

And with a little help from Australian skipper Tim Paine, who dropped both the batsmen, and Pant, once each, the Vihari and Ashwin absorbed everything that the hosts had in their locker to survive the entire evening session. 

The series is level at 1-1 going into the final Test in Brisbane and despite having a growing injury list, it will be Team India with their confidence high as they look to record an unprecedented back-to-back series wins in Australia.