All eyes will be on Kohli, who looked purposeful and confident during his two-and-a-half-hour stay at the crease on the third day. There was no celebration after completing his 29th Test half-century.
The tempo of his partnership with Ravindra Jadeja (16 batting, 54 balls) will set the tone for the next few days. Meanwhile, batter Shubman Gill demonstrated his immense talent with a stylish century, but India’s batting unit failed to fully press home the advantage, finishing the third day at 289 for three against Australia.
Gill batted for nearly six hours and scored a chanceless 128 off 235 balls, including a lofted six off Nathan Lyon, to justify his selection in the playing XI ahead of KL Rahul, but India only scored 256 runs in 90 overs.
Australia’s first innings total of 480 is still 191 runs ahead of the hosts. India leads the series 2-1 and needs to win the series 3-1 to qualify for the World Test Championship final.
If India loses this match and Sri Lanka wins its current series against New Zealand 2-0, the island nation will qualify for the World Tennis Championship final against Australia.
If India draws and Sri Lanka fails to win 2-0, the WTC final at the Oval will be between India and Australia in June.
