IND vs AUS: Watch - Steve Smith takes one-handed stunner to get rid of Cheteshwar Pujara

Steve Smith, Australia's stand-in captain, on Thursday took a stunning one-handed stunner to help his team get rid of Cheteshwar Pujara who was standing rock solid on the crease.

Pujara forged partnerships with as many as seven India batters to help the hosts set a 75-run target for Australia on a raging rank turner in Indore. The 35-year-old brought his fifty off 108 balls and kept on holding one end to hold the fort for India.

Pujara's eighth wicket partnership for 15 runs off 50 balls with Axar Patel had just started to create panic in the Australian camp when Smith took an extraordinary catch to get rid of the right-hander.

On the third ball of the 57th over, a Nathan Lyon delivery drifted towards leg after pitching on the middle. Pujara played it fine thinking the ball will race to the boundary ropes, however, Smith dived low to his right and plucked a one-hander blinder to stun each and every person at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore.

Steve Smith's sensational catch

Steve Farking Smith pic.twitter.com/2Su4atEcft

— AJ Mithen (@AJMithen) March 2, 2023

Smith is captaining the Australian side in the absence of regular captain Pat Cummins who is back in Australia to attend his ailing mother.

India added eight more runs after the Saurashtra star's departure as India were bundled out for 163 in the second innings. Veteran off-spinner Lyon picked an eight-wicket haul to ensure his team doesn't have to chase more than 76 runs in the fourth innings.

Hosts India won the first two Test matches in Nagpur and Delhi respectively and are leading the 4-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy by a 2-0 margin. The last match is scheduled to be played in Ahmedabad from March 9. Rohit Sharma's men need to win either of the last two Test matches to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 final which will be played from June 7 in London.