Sydney: Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin’s score helped India to pull off a draw in the third Test match against Australia on Day 5 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Monday.
Vihari (23 not out off 161) and Ashwin (39 not out off 128), who got together in the 89th over of India’s second innings, pulled Australia by batting for more than 42 overs.
India ended up with 334 for five in 131 overs.
Trailing by 309 runs at the beginning of Day 5, India lost Ajinkya Rahane early on to a Nathan Lyon delivery.
Then Cheteshwar Pujara (77 off 205) and Rishabh Pant (97 off 118) kept the fight going for India with a 148-run stand after losing skipper Ajinkya Rahane (4) early.
Vihari and Ashwin kept the Australians at bay with a marathon match-saving effort. The duo batted for 42.4 overs.
Vihari remained unbeaten after scoring 23 runs off 161 balls, while veteran spinner Ashwin with an unbeaten 39-run knock of 128 balls took India to a memorable draw.
The series now remains tied at 1-1.
