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Arya: The visitors started the day at with the score reading 96/2, still needing in excess of 300 to win the match. India would have hoped Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane to carry on in the opening session but that wasn't to be as Rahane was dismissed by the "GOAT" Nathan Lyon in the 2nd over of the day and quite immediately India were in the backfoot. India went with a change in tactics as Rishabh Pant was promoted up the order and he totally changed the complexion of the match during his unbelievable partnership with Cheteshwar Pujara.

Arya: After scoring just 5 in his first 30 deliveries, Pant totally changed his gear and started smashing Nathan Lyon all around the park. The southpaw's counter-attacking approach took Australia by surprise and the runs kept ticking over for the hosts. Pant blazed his way to a historic knock of 97 of 118 deliveries which were laced with 12 fours and 3 sixes and shared a 148 runs stand with Pujara. His attacking approach finally brought about his downfall when he ended up slicing a tossed up delivery from Lyon straight to the point fielder

Arya: Pujara started off well after the Aussies took the 2nd new ball as he smashed 3 consecutive fours of Pat Cummins but he was castled pretty soon by Josh Hazlewood with a pearler of a delivery. Hanuma Vihari suffered a hamstring injury and from there on, India had to change their approach and played for the draw as he wasn't able to run the singles and doubles. But what transpired in the next 3 and a half hours was something quite special. Both Ashwin and Vihari defied all the odds and kept blocking everything which came their way but on merit. They were stoic in their approach and kept batting and batting and batting.

Arya: The Aussies would have definitely backed themselves to get a wicket in the final session which could have opened the floodgates but that never happened. Ashwin was classy in his defensive approach especially against Lyon while Vihari played out the fast bowlers with authority. Time and again, Ashwin was peppered with the short stuff by the Aussie quicks but despite surviving a few close shaves, Ashwin grew in confidence and India managed to bat out the final session without losing a wicket. Tim Paine was the main culprit as far as the hosts were concerned as he dropped 3 catches which eventually played a huge part in the outcome of the game.

Steve Smith is adjudged the Player of the Match for his brilliant century in the 1st innings. This is what he had to say in the presentation ceremony, "India fought really hard. Our bowlers kept coming and coming, did their hardest today. On day three or four, we felt that a few kept low, few that bounced a bit more. But there was not much of it today. They fought really hard. Always means a lot when you score a hundred for your country. To be able to do that here on my home ground is pretty special. Doesn't mean a lot now as we didn't win the game. (We'll) move on now to Brisbane, we have a very good record there. Looking forward to playing there in a few days time. Wanted to be a little bit more aggressive at times, went up and down through the gears throughout my innings, absorbed the pressure when needed to. Not too much else, just watched the ball hard and concentrated well. Nice to spend some time."`

Ajinkya Rahane heaped praises on Ashwin and Vihari for their brilliant show, this is what he said at the post-match presentation- "Our talk coming this morning was to show character and fight till the end. Not to think about the result. Really happy with the way we fought especially today but also throughout the game, even in the first innings when Australia were 200 for 2 and getting them all out for 338 was really good. There are few areas we can improve on but special mention to Vihari and Ashwin. The way they batted in the end and showed character was really good to see. Credit to him (Pant). We made that strategy but in the end it is all about the player executing the plan."

Tim Paine says this is a hard pill to swallow and also took the blame on himself for the loss. This is what he said- " I thought we created enough chances to win the game, this one's a tough one to swallow. Our bowlers were superb, Lyon bowled well. Just that we (especially me) didn't hold onto our catches. Looking forward to Brisbane. We didn't play our best in the last two games, but we were somewhat good with the bat in this Test. There were a few positives for us, our bowlers created plenty of chances. Today was a whole-hearted effort from the boys, just that things didn't go our way. I think having two young kids (Pucovski and Green) playing Test cricket, it's a great thing as they were sensational. I thought Green was fantastic yesterday."

Ravichandran Ashwin was also up for an interview after the match. This is what he said- "The atmosphere in the dressing room is electric. In Test cricket we don't get a lot of draws, it was a really exciting last session. I just went to Pujara and told him, you sold me down the river me in both the innings. Cummins was bowling in a different league altogether. There was a bit of double bounce, so it was difficult against Cummins. I think facing Bumrah in the nets is not easy. We have bowlers who can bowl in the 150s. I have been batting well in the nets, so it was great to spend some time in the middle. Chasing 400 in Sydney was never going to be easy, as the ball was going up and down. That knock by Pant set us up. After Pujara and Pant's wicket and with Vihari injured, it was going to be difficult to go for the win. Touring Australia is never easy so Vihari can be proud of himself. It was a knock equal to scoring a hundred. I was just telling the batting coach during the lunch break that I have never left the SCG without a fifty, this is a venue where I have done well with the bat and today's innings is right up there."

So that is all for the Test match folks. What a historic draw for India and we go to Brisbane with the series still squared 1-1. Like always we enjoyed every bit in the commentary box during the Test match. So till the next time tata from me, Arya Sekhar Chakraborty and my co-commentators Akshay Bhide and Sourya Chowdhury

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