Rain pauses play as Jadeja’s fifty takes India to 180 for six

Ravindra Jadeja made a doughty unbeaten fifty as India reached 180 for six when rain stopped play during the postlunch session on the fourth day of the third Test on TuesdayJadeja 52 and Nitish Kumar Reddy 9 were at the crease when skies opened up India still trail by 265 runs Earlier KL Rahul made a gritty 84 off 139 balls before getting dismissed by Nathan LyonAt the stroke of Lunch India managed to put 1676 on the board trailing by 278 runs with Jadeja and Nitish unbeaten with scores of 4177 and 720 respectivelyRahul came out to bat alongside skipper Rohit Sharma and took the stride with fortune on his side On the first ball of the day Rahul gave away a healthy edge straight to Steven Smith stationed at the second slipThe moment when the ball connected with the bat Rahul quickly turned back to see the outcome of his halfhearted shot Smith got both of his hands into play but the ball just didnt stick in them The relief was clearly visible on Rahuls face and his body language With a sigh of relief and a hand on his head Rahul summed up the emotion every Indian cricket fan experienced at that momentWith Rahul living an extended life he punished Australian bowlers with some delicious cover drives On the other hand Rohit decided to tread with caution He avoided engaging in deliveries travelling in the fourth or fifth stump lineHowever in the battle of captains Rohit wasnt as lucky as his partner His resolve finally gave away when he tried to push for a drive With his feet rooted to the ground Rohit edged it straight to Alex Carey and returned cheaply with 1027Also ReadKL and the GabbaEven after Rohits fall Rahul upped the ante to keep the pressure away from the Indian team He gave fans something to cheer about after notching up his 17th Test fiftyWhile India lost its skipper Australia had concerns of their own when Josh Hazlewood was pulled out after a suspected calf injury after the drinks break Rain came in to make its presence felt for a brief period offering both teams enough time to figure out their course of actionWith Hazelwood out of action Rahul decided to make the most of the opportunity with Ravindra Jadeja playing second fiddle to him Australian bowlers started to leak runs with India looking to end the session with 150 on the boardHowever the circle of life came to an end when Rahul tried to chop away the ball off Nathan Lyon Smith guilty of dropping one sprung off the ground like a cat to take a stunning onehanded catchAs Rahul walked back with 8413 Nitish Kumar Reddy came in to lead the counterattack Without wasting any time Nitish got off the mark with a sublime drive to pick up a boundaryJadeja wasnt intimidated while facing Lyon and pulled out a clean sweep shot to showcase his knack for scoring runs with India fighting hard to avoid a followon The duo managed to see off the session with their unbeaten 26run standBrief Score Australia 445 Travis Head 152 Steven Smith 151 Jasprit Bumrah 676 vs India 1676 KL Rahul 84 Ravindra Jadeja 41 Pat Cummins 241With agency inputs