Highlights: Mayank Agarwal and Rishabh Pant have managed to see the day through as India end day at 54/5 and they have acquired a healthy lead of 346 runs in the match. The bowlers were the real star of the day as earlier, Jasprit Bumrah scalped a six wicket haul to help India dismissed the hosts for 151 and then, Pat Cummins scalped four Indian wickets in quick succession. (Full scorecard)

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12:30 hrs IST Stumps! Mayank Agarwal and Rishabh Pant have managed to see the day through as India end day at 54/5 and they have acquired a healthy lead of 346 runs in the match. The bowlers were the real stars of the day as earlier, Jasprit Bumrah scalped a six wicket haul to help India dismiss the hosts for 151 and then, Pat Cummins scalped four Indian wickets in quick succession to peg back the visitors in the second innings.





12:23 hrs IST Pant almost fell for it Tim Paine was talking to Rishabh Pant from behind the stumps and the ploy almost worked as Pant came down the track to hit the ball over the bowler’s head for a six. But didn’t fight good contact and the ball landed few metres ahead of the long off fielder.





12:20 hrs IST Injury break Hazlewood drops the ball short to Agarwal and takes a vicious bounce off the track and hits the batsman in the finger. The physio is out in the middle as he checks on Agarwal who seems fine to continue.





12:16 hrs IST Stat attack Fourth consecutive times Rohit Sharma has been out caught. He scored 68 in the match which is his fifth highest in away matches, second highest in Australia. First wicket for Hazlewood in this innings, second in the match





12:09 hrs IST Rohit Sharma departs Josh Hazlewood joins in the party now as he gets rid of Rohit Sharma. The right hander pokes at a delivery outside the off stump and gives away an easy catch to Shaun Marsh in the slip. India have lost their fifth wicket now.





11:59 hrs IST Edge but four Pat Cummins is breathing fire at the moment and this time he produces and edge off the bat of Mayank Agarwal but the ball goes for a boundary in between two fielder in the slip region.





11:54 hrs IST Stat attack Pujara’s 6th duck in Tests, 3rd in this year alone (all three in different away countries) 8th duck for Virat Kohli in Tests, his second duck in this year First single digit score for Rahane (1) in 8 innings.





11:47 hrs IST India need a partnership With Mayank Agarwal holding the innings from one end, he need Rohit Sharma to do so from the other as India look to stitch a partnership after the madness of previous few minutes.





11:40 hrs IST Rahane is the next to depart Pat Cummins now gets rid of Ajinkya Rahane as India have lost their fourth wicket now. He has simply wrecked the India top-order and picked up all the wickets so far. Rohit Sharma comes out to bat now and he successfully plays the hat-trick delivery.





11:35 hrs IST Virat Kohli departs as well Pat Cummins is on fire as he now gets rid of Virat Kohli for a duck. The Indian skipper is dismissed in the same fashion as Pujara as he too flicks the ball into the hands of the fielder at leg slip. India have lost their third wicket now.





11:30 hrs IST Pujara heads back into the hut Sensational stuff from Australia this that they have now picked up two wickets in quick succession to put the pressure on the visitors. Pujara hits a Cummins delivery into the hands of the fielder at leg slip. Cummins picks his second wicket of the innings as Kohli comes out to bat now.





11:27 hrs IST Stat attack All 6 dismissals for Vihari in Tests have been caught, out of these 5 have been against fast bowlers. Back to back dismissals against Pat Cummins for the India opener. Barring his debut innings in which Vihari scored 56, he has failed to score anything above 28 in the 5 innings





11:22 hrs IST India lose first wicket Pat Cummins has broken the partnership as he removes Hanuma Vihari to pick the first wicket of the innings. Cummins drops the ball short and it takes a leading edge off the handle of the ball and Khawaja takes a simple catch in the slip cordon. Cheteshwar Pujara comes out to bat now.





11:19 hrs IST Hosts on the back-foot Indian batsmen have done well to keep the Aussie bowlers at bay who are still searching for their first wicket in the second innings. Vihari and Agarwal are negating whatever is being thrown at them.





11:12 hrs IST Bowling change Pat Cummins has been introduced into the attack now as Australia look to break this opening partnership. Meanwhile, the play was stopped for a few seconds as a bird was walking on the pitch. A rather funny incident at the MCG.





11:06 hrs IST Openers wearing out Aussie pacers We are into the 10th over now and India have scored just 23 runs so far. Agarwal and Vihari are simply defending the delivery and hitting the occasional boundary to keep the scoreboard ticking.





10:57 hrs IST Aus players looking deflated The Australian players are looking dejected in the field and there is no energy whatsoever. The bowlers are trying their best the mood in the camp doesn’t seem good. India should take advantage of this situation.





10:49 hrs IST Another boundary for Agarwal Mayank Agarwal is in good nick and he once again shows that as he plays a beautiful shot off the bowling of Starc. The left arm pacer bowls on the pads of Agarwal and he flicks the ball for a boundary towards fine leg for a boundary. Indian openers are look good in the first few overs of the innings.





10:43 hrs IST India’s lead cross 300 Hanuma and Mayank will look to add as many runs as possible in this final session of the day. They have already taken a 300-run lead in the match with two more days to go after today, one would feel that it will be difficult for India to lose the match from here.





10:36 hrs IST Boundaries to begin proceedings Both Vihari and Agarwal have hit one boundary each so far in the first two overs of the innings. Vihari cut a Starc delivery past the slip fielder for the four in the second over and then, Agarwal drove the ball through the covers for the same result. India off to a decent start in the second innings.





10:27 hrs IST India openers out in the middle Mayank Agarwal and Hanuma Vihari are back in the middle and they will look to extend India’s lead in the match. India are already 292 runs away in the match and will look to simply bat the hosts out of the match. Mitchel Starc will bowl the first over of the innings.





10:19 hrs IST Australia all-out Jasprit Bumrah has scalped his sixth wicket of the day as Australia has been dismissed for 151. Jos Hazlewood is the last Australian wicket to fall as he is castled by the India pacer. Meanwhile, India has not opted to enforce the follow-on





10:15 hrs IST Bumrah picks his fifth Jasprit Bumrah scalps another one and this time Nathan Lyon is trapped LBW by the star India pacer. A full delivery and it crashes into the batsman’s front foot. With that, Bumrah has completed his five wicket haul.





10:12 hrs IST Aus need 97 more to avoid follow on Australia are still some distance away in order to avoid the follow-on. The hosts need to reach 244 in order to sent India to bat again in the match. Even if India dismiss Australia under 244, it will be their decision if they want to enforce the follow-on or not.





10:08 hrs IST Bumrah strikes again Jasprit Bumrah has done the trick once more for the visitors as he gets rid of Aussie skipper Tim Paine. Wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant takes a good low catch after Paine poked at a delivery outside the off stum. Australia are eight down now.





10:00 hrs IST Final session begins Indian bowlers will now look to finish off the tail soon in order to enforce the follow-on. The visitors have bowled well ever so well so far, and will look to end the innings soon in the third session.





9:42 hrs IST India’s session 56 runs in 30 overs, 3 wickets. India were disciplined and have been rewarded. The ball is reversing and Jadeja is locked in at one end wheeling away. Visitors in compete control, how will Australia’s tail respond?





9:33 hrs IST Cummins castled Shami was getting great inward shape and then gets one ball to straighten after pitching. The ball misses the forward prod of Cummins and knocks over the stumps. Brilliant ball, Australia 7 down





9:29 hrs IST Review lost That was very hopeful from Kohli, the ball is missing the stumps on height. Paine survives and India lose their review. Shami is getting good late movement





9:22 hrs IST Looking secured Paine and Cummins are ticking the strike over and are looking far more relaxed than when the session began. The ball is soft, Indians searching for their next wicket





9:13 hrs IST Obdurate Paine In Tests this year, Tim Paine has faced 91.5 balls per dismissal. Only two wicketkeeper-batsmen this century (Sanagakkara 2001, Bairstow 2016) have finished a calendar year with a better dismissal rate than that. #AusvInd — Patrick Noone (@PatrickNoone08) December 28, 2018





9:10 hrs IST India’s problems with the tail As has been the case all through this year, the Indian bowlers are struggling to get rid of the tail. Cummins and Paine are not the tail by any means, but both the batsmen are looking rather assured





8:56 hrs IST Cummins looks assured Feel so sorry for Australia's bowlers. If you slog for two days straight, your batsmen should at least give you a day off. Pat Cummins was padded up as nightwatchman, then batting by lunch. — Geoff Lemon Sport (@GeoffLemonSport) December 28, 2018





8:49 hrs IST Vihari in Well, first ball goes on with the arm, gets the outside edge of Pat Cummins, but Rishabh Pant has dropped the catch. Oh dear!





8:38 hrs IST Is this the challenge for India? The lower order is in, one area where the Indian bowlers have struggled in the recent past. The ball is reversing and Jadeja is getting the ball to keep up and down. How will Cummins and co fare on this surface?





8:29 hrs IST Jadeja has been all over M Marsh M Marsh facing Jadeja in Tests:

Balls 66

Runs 5

Wkts 3

Avg 1.66

SR 7.57 — Andrew Samson (@AWSStats) December 28, 2018





8:21 hrs IST Jadeja strikes That was full, Marsh wanted to flick it away, but the ball kisses the bat and the ball goes to Rahane at first slip. Australia on the mat





8:12 hrs IST Ball is reversing now The surface is scuffed up and hence, the ball is reversing either ways. This is extremely difficult if you are the batsmen and this is where Mitchell Marsh and Tim Paine have to be at their sharpest





8:04 hrs IST What a spell by Bumrah The ball is reversing and Bumrah is pitching it right up. He then goes back to the short-pitched stuff and almost got Mitchell Marsh there. He is on song at the moment





8:00 hrs IST Australia in tatters Australia might have to go back to Sheffield Shield cricket to search for top order batsmen. This is the easiest time ever to break into the Aussie side as a batsman. — Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) December 28, 2018





7:56 hrs IST Bumrah on the charge What a seed. Bumrah breathing fire. Full, fast and he smashes the stumps of Travis Head. Australia on the mat. Tim Paine walks out for a Mumbai Indians auction?





7:44 hrs IST Jadeja resumes Mitchell Marsh looks to play straight. Australia have a mountain to climb, India right on top. Interesting to see how Kohli attacks now





7:06 hrs IST You beauty, Bumrah Brilliant from Bumrah, comes up with the slower ball right on the final ball and traps Marsh who was completely deceived by the change of pace. India right on top, Australia on the mat





6:52 hrs IST Marsh looking good Shaun Marsh has been very confident with his footwork against spin. Travis Head is moving well against the seamers and the duo has looked convincing in this passage of play so far





6:28 hrs IST Yup, time to dig deep India bowling well like they have all series, putting the Aussies under pressure. Dig deep lads #AUSvsIND — Mitchell Johnson (@MitchJohnson398) December 28, 2018





6:25 hrs IST Very, very good from Shami Fast and accurate from the man. he is aiming for the stumps and then varying it up with nasty bumpers. Really challenging phase for the hosts right now





6:14 hrs IST Jadeja strikes The pitch, that rough, and R Jadeja. Hits the mark, gets it to turn, Khawaja jabs and is caught at short leg by Mayank Agarwal. Boy, this is going to be tough for the left-handers with the rough staring them in the face. India bossing proceedings right now





6:08 hrs IST Khawaja on the move The left-hander will play his strokes and he will look to put the pressure back on the bowlers. He has started positively. Marsh is yet to get off the mark





5:59 hrs IST Good start by Shami With his pace and skiddy nature, Shami can be a real handful on this surface and he has made a good start to his day’s work. He needs to be more consistent to extract assistance from this pitch





5:42 hrs IST Bumrah strikes Great bowling, but not very smart from Harris. Banged the ball in short, Harris wanted to go for the pull, does not control it and finds Ishant at fine leg. Great start to the day for the Indians





5:39 hrs IST Khawaja holds the key The left-hander is one of the key components of this Aussie batting order and he needs to step up and score big against this Indian attack





5:26 hrs IST What a catch, Mayank Good captaincy, great execution. Full and angled in, Finch clips is uppishly and Mayank dives low to his left and snaffles an absolute blinder. India get cracking early





5:17 hrs IST Kohli wants his bowlers to target the stumps The pitch has variable bounce and hence, Kohli is asking his bowlers to target the pads and the stumps. He has the field for the aforementioned demand. Ishant searching for the right line and length at the moment





5:07 hrs IST No visible swing Ishant got the ball to move last evening, but there is no swing as of now. Kohli needs to identify this early and be smart with his bowling changes. India need to make this new ball count





5:01 hrs IST India in their huddle Kohli firing some last-minute instructions and off they go. The batsmen are ready to resume. The forecast is great for today. Ishant will start proceedings





4:51 hrs IST Finch sounds confident Australian opener Aaron Finch on Thursday said that the MCG pitch is deteriorating quicker than anticipated and all three results are possible in the third Test despite a slow Indian first innings that finished at 443 for seven.





4:43 hrs IST Bumrah will hold the key "Having in the back of mind that Bumrah has a got this fast bouncer that has hit you a couple it times, it does have a bit of a psychological blow." @mhussey393 on the battle between Harris and Bumrah



Live blog: https://t.co/lOztKps6Mz #AusvInd pic.twitter.com/hq6klGRz6R — Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) December 27, 2018





4:19 hrs IST Good morning, India A welcome sight for India fans! Virat Kohli out on the field warming up



Live blog: https://t.co/lOztKps6Mz #AusvInd pic.twitter.com/qdtRNd62ky — Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) December 27, 2018





4:13 hrs IST Ponting not convinced with Pujara “If India go on and win the game, it’ll be a great innings (but) if they haven’t got time to bowl Australia out twice, it could be what actually costs them the game,” Ponting told cricket.com.au. “I think it’s always hard for India to push the run rate along when Pujara’s there.”



