Australia entered day three needing a paltry 76 runs for victory. For context, no team in Test history – almost 150 years worth – had successfully defended as low a score.
But this loomed as no easy task. Not on this wickedly, spin-turning dustbowl, where the home curator had produced a seemingly favorable surface for India that ultimately backfired.
Having seen their team endure a slew of horrendous collapses during this tough series, Australian fans were pensive at what was supposed to be the midpoint of the third Test.
This target was akin to around 200 runs on a more balanced surface. No one was particularly confident with India having been almost unbeatable at home over the past decade.
Australia’s anxiety intensified when in-form opener Usman Khawaja was dismissed on the second delivery to star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin who…