Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood’s involvement in the ongoing third Test is uncertain after he was forced off the field due to calf soreness during the first session on Day 4. Hazlewood arrived late to the field at the start of play and struggled during his opening spell, with his pace rarely exceeding 131 km/h. His first delivery was a wide long hop, which KL Rahul easily cut away. During the drinks break, Hazlewood had an extended conversation with Pat Cummins, Steven Smith, and physio Nick Jones before leaving the field. Cricket Australia confirmed the injury and stated that Hazlewood would undergo scans to assess its severity.
“Josh Hazlewood reported calf awareness during this morning’s warm-up. He will be taken for scans to assess the injury,” a CA spokesperson said.
Australia made just one change to their playing XI for the third Test, with Hazlewood replacing Scott Boland. Hazlewood had missed the second Test due to a side strain.
With Hazlewood likely sidelined for the remainder of the match, Cummins will have to rely on Mitchell Marsh, Travis Head, and Marnus Labuschagne for pace bowling options.
At lunch, India were 167/6 in 49 overs, with KL Rahul scoring 84—his second half-century of the series. He was the only Indian batter to consistently handle the Australian pacers, even though he was repeatedly tested on the outside off-stump line. His solid front-foot defense and the ability to leave the ball frustrated the Australian bowlers in the opening session.
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However, Rahul made a misjudgment in shot selection when he played Nathan Lyon’s front-foot delivery on the back foot, only for Steve Smith to drop him at slip when Rahul was on 33.
The opening session was closely contested, with Australia claiming the crucial wickets of Rohit Sharma (10) and Rahul (84), while India added 116 runs in the extended first session, which saw 32 overs bowled despite a brief rain interruption.
For India, Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy remain unbeaten at 41 and 7, respectively. India still need 79 more runs to avoid the follow-on and trail Australia by 278 runs.
