India vs Australia 3rd Test, Day 1: As it Happened...

Australia finish Day 1 on 259/5 against India. Smith 72* and Haddin 23* are on the crease. Shami was the pick of the bowlers taking 2/55.

That's all for today. Tune in tomorrow for the second day of the Test match.

Australia 1st innings:

OVERS 90// RUNS 259// WICKETS 5

Australia see off eight overs of the new ball. A mixed day rather for both teams and Smith has been the rockstar for the Auusies and looks well set to get another ton tomorrow. Haddin meanwhile, is in there and his stay will be crucial for the hosts.

OVERS 88// RUNS 255// WICKETS 5

Sharma and Yadav have got wicketless so far with the second new ball. Aussies have been watchful and four runs have come from the last four overs including two maidens. Can India get a wicket? Smith has been the player of the day.

OVERS 84// RUNS 251// WICKETS 5

Yadav gets the ball and apart from having a LBW shout it ends in an ordinary over. Smith and Haddin getting vital twos on both sides of the wicket. India need a breakthrough here.

OVERS 83// RUNS 246// WICKETS 5

Ashwin bowls a maiden as Smith defends to see out his over. New ball is taken meanwhile, and the responsibility has been given to Ishant Sharma. Good second ball from Sharma outside off as Haddin goes to follow it and misses his bat. He then knicks one towards slip region that falls short and Rahane does well to save four runs. Haddin then upper cuts Ishant over gully for a four a bit to short that. 

OVERS 81// RUNS 242// WICKETS 5

Crucial session this with 10 overs to go and the new ball isn't taken yet. Smith has looked classy and brilliant so far and is batting on 65 runs. Haddin meanwhile, smacked a six off Ashwin to start his proceedings. Vijay continues and Haddin picks up three after cutting a short ball. India need to get to the tail today.

OVERS 71// RUNS 216// WICKETS 5

Smith whips Sharma past mid wicket for a boundary. Good shot that! Burns then sees off an Ashwin over as he gets a maiden. Yadav comes in for Sharma and the move works as the pacer gets Burns who tried to pull a short one and manages to knick one to Dhoni. 

OVERS 68// RUNS 209// WICKETS 4

Ishant comes in and Burns gets a boundary through the vacant gully region. Smith then runs four runs after cutting Ashwin for past point. He is the danger man here. 

OVERS 66// RUNS 200// WICKETS 4

Ashwin gives away seven runs in the first over after tea. Shami then gets Marsh who hits a lose shot to knick it out to Dhoni. Lucky break there. Joe Burns comes in and the debutant will hope to get some runs. Ashwin and Shami give 11 runs from the next three overs before Smith whacks the latter for a four through fine leg. Burns then gets on to the attack and comes down the track to hit Ashwin for a four through mid-on. 

SE Marsh c Dhoni b Mohammed Shami 32

OVERS 59// RUNS 174// WICKETS 3

Yadav and Vijay bowl without success as Aussie duo see of their predictable bowling. Eight runs come from the two overs. Shami comes in to the attack and concedes a boundary through fine leg. Ashwin replaces Vijay and Smith gets three runs clipping a shot past square leg off his pads. Shami then gives away another boundary as Marsh hits a top shot past gully. Aussies are finding their feet once again. 

OVERS 54// RUNS 155// WICKETS 3

Yadav starts off with conceding a boundary to Marsh who hit a sublime shot through mid-off. Ashwin bowls well before Smith runs four runs off the last ball off a crisp shot past point. Yadav then concedes two runs as Vijay is brought on to the attack and he rolls in a first decent over. Partnership 40 runs between the two batsman.

OVERS 50// RUNS 142// WICKETS 3

Smith and Marsh are slowly building on a partnership. Ashwin has been the pick of the bowlers and has bowled a very good length. Sharma has looked decent. The batting duo are finding their feet and getting the odd runs. Six runs come from Ashwin's over. The Indian pacers are still relying on the bouncer and short ball one or twice a over which looks unnecessary. They will want another wicket here and Smith will be the perfect one.

New Delhi: Trailing 2-0 in the four-match series, the MS Dhoni-led Indian team would be desperate to make a comeback against Australia in the third Test being played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

India were in a commanding position at one stage in the second Test, but a stupendous knock from Mitchell Johnson put the hosts in the driving seat and as a result of the whirlwhind 88-run knock from the left-hander, Australia won the match by 4 wickets.

Steve Smith, Australia's new skipper, proved in the last Test why he deserved the honour even as a 25-year-old. The right-hander slammed his second century of the series and was involved in a crucial 148-run partnership for the seventh wicket in the second innings with Johnson, which took the match away from the visitors.

Apart from Smith, David Warner too has been sublime with the bat while their bowlers have made the job extremely difficult for the Indian batsmen. While Nathan Lyon picked ten wickets in the first innings, debutante Josh Hazlewood ended up with impressive figures of 68-5 at the Gabba. After a poor start to the series as per his own standards, Johnson dismantled the Indian batting line-up in the second innings of the last Test with a four-wicket haul.

For India, the form of Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay has been the highlight so far. While Kohli slammed consecutive tons in both innings on his Test captaincy debut, Vijay slammed his first ton of the series in the 2 nd Test, after missing out on what would have been a brilliant ton in the first Test, by just one run.

The likes of Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma have looked impressive in patches, but consistency is something they have struggled with throughout the series. Dhoni would want his bowlers to put a better show at the MCG.

There were also reports of unrest in the Indian dressing room following a verbal spat between Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan, which triggered a huge controversy. The Indian skipper however settled the issue by saying nothing of that sort happened.