Australia vs India: Fifth Men’s Cricket Test, Day 3 – Live | Australian cricket team

The Jane McGrath banner is furled and carried off the field. The flag bearers wait near the boundary line, next to the representatives of the respective teams. For India, just Washington Sundar, waiting for Ravindra Jadeja to join him. Their task is to collect as many points as they can eliminate on this field. Thirty meters around the boundary, the Australian XI mass and run onto the field once the umpires have stepped over the rope.

Various formalities take place on the field with a singer I cannot immediately identify, banners unfurled by volunteers, and now the pink carpet walk takes place with the Australian team and the Indian team coming down to present their caps signed to Glenn McGrath. . These will be auctioned at a later date. Indian companies could get much higher bids if they manage to score a win here.

It’s Pink Day in Sydney! Bright sunshine too, in blessed contrast to some of those days over the years. The crowd wore their brief, pink outfits from wall to wall in the Members’ and Ladies’ stands. We haven’t yet filled all the bays at the Brewongle, Churchill, Trumper, O’Reilly and Bradman stands, but they are on their way.

Massive queues for the tram this morning in front of the central station. Sunday morning. Balanced game. People are mobilizing.

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It was a very sugary day yesterday, so all I could do after the game was try to summarize a bit of what happened.

Very well, friends. The game continues, and the game is almost over, if things continue at the rate they are going. We’ve seen 26 wickets fall in the first two days: a combination of one pitch doing enough, fast bowlers using it well and many batters not knowing how to handle it. The number of unforced errors was high on both sides. Initially, Beau Webster’s 105 deliveries constituted the longest innings ever. Nathan Lyon and Ravindra Jadeja bowled nine overs between them, and that was the only spin in 156 overs bowled.

So now we have India 145 ahead, with Jadeja and Washington to take over, three fast bowlers who could draw number 11 between them to follow, and then an Australian chase of whatever these five batters can add. So yes, maybe the current pair picks up and beats all day, but it’s more likely that it ends quickly.

Today is also Jane McGrath Day at the SCG for the McGrath Foundation to raise money for breast cancer care, so the floor will be the usual pink. Should we start?