On Monday, the Indians left no stones unturned, as they are on the driver's seat against Australia at stumps on Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Australia currently has a two-run lead in the second innings, besides six wickets down, as India looks on course for a win. Meanwhile, here are the records that were scripted today.
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Smith and Lyon script a unique feat: Australian spinner Nathan Lyon was the best performer with the ball, having claimed 372. Meanwhile, along with Steve Smith, they became the fourth-best fielder-bowler combination to inflict most dismissals in Tests for Australia, on 39 occasions. The record for the same lies with Mark Taylor and Shane Warne, having done so on 51 instances.
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Rahane and Ashwin script a similar one: Based on the above record, Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and skipper Ajinkya Rahane have become the third-best fielder-bowler combination to inflict most dismissals in Tests for India, on 27 occasions. The record for the same lies with Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble, having done so on 55 instances.
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Smith records anunwanted one: Smith has been in a woeful form in the series so far, having yet to enter the double figures in an innings. He was dismissed for duck and eight in this Test, as it was his second-lowest aggregate in a Test, while his lowest happens to be two and one against England in 2013.
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Lyon accounts a special one: Lyon has undoubtedly been Australia's prime spinner in the longest format. Meanwhile, with his three-wicket haul in the first innings, he has now become the side's four-highest wicket-taker at home, in the format. He has claimed 195 wickets, while the record for the same is with Warne (319).
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Unique feat of running the captain out: In an interesting observation, Rahane, who was run out for 112, became part of a rare feat of the captain of a side getting run out in successive Tests. Virat Kohli, too, was run out in the previous Test. The last instance of the same happened in 2004 when Rahul Dravid was run out in a Test against Pakistan, followed by Sourav Ganguly in the next two, against Pakistan and Australia.
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Match summary: Winning the toss, Australia elected to bat and was bundled out for 195, courtesy Jasprit Bumrah's 456. India scored 326 and earned a 131-run lead, thanks to Ajinkya Rahane's 112 and Ravindra Jadeja's 57. In the second innings, Australia has already lost six wickets, with every bowler contributing to dismissals, as the host leads marginally, by two runs.Brief scores: Australia 195 and 1336 (Wade 40; Jadeja 225) leads India 326 (Rahane 112, Jadeja 57; Lyon 372, Starc 378) by two runs.
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