India Vs Australia 3rd Test: Player of the Match, Award Winners, Post-Match Comments & Presentation Ceremony

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Australia bounced back after two defeats in a row to defeat India by 9 wickets in the third Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore.

After Nathan Lyon did his magic with the ball to bundle out India for 163 in the second innings, unbeaten Marnus Labuschagne (28*) and Travis Head (49*) helped the visitors home on day 3 of the Indore Test. The series is 2-1 now with one more match to go.

Opting to bat first, India posted a paltry total of 109 in the first innings. Australia then took a lead of just 88 by scoring 197 in their first innings, giving the hosts a way back in the match, but Team India folded for 163 in their second innings, setting a target of just 76.

The Indian batters collapsed in both innings of the Test, falling to left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann (5 for 16) in the first and off-spinner Lyon (8 for 64) in the second on a rank turner in Indore.

Cheteshwar Punjara was the lone Indian batter that scored a fifty, while Usman Khawaja also scored a fifty during the match that lasted for two days and a session on day 3.

Here is a look at the award winners and comments from post-match presentation of India vs Australia 3rd Test:

India vs Australia 3rd Test Ambuja Strongest Performer of the Match (Rs 1 Lakh)

Cheteshwar Pujara (India) gets the award for hitting the longest six of the match.

India vs Australia 3rd Test Dream11 Gamechanger of the Match (Rs 1 Lakh)

Usman Khawaja (Australia) for his 60-run knock in the first innings and the catch to dismiss Shreyas Iyer in the Indian second innings.

India vs Australia 3rd Test Player of the Match (Rs 1 Lakh):

Nathan Lyon (Australia) for his match figures of 11 for 99 (3 for 35 & 8 for 64).

India vs Australia 3rd Test Post-match Comments

Travis Head (Australia) on the result: "I just tried to take it one step a time. We have seen it throughout the series that with the ball, anything can happen. It's just nice to contribute. Make sure to go out and execute in the first innings.

"In the lead up to the test series, we had to make sure to be clear in our plans. We had to make some changes, but I think we've done a fantastic job to come back after being under pressure in the first two games.

"We knew it wasn't going to be clean sailing. There were going to be times when India were going to be on top, times when we could get the runs. It was important that we just kept a calm head. There was no message coming from the top."

On Lyon, Head said: "Unbelievable. He does what he does. He has the most wickets in the subcontinent for an Australian bowler. Long may he continue."

Losing captain, Rohit Sharma said: "When you lose a Test match, there's a lot of things that didn't go our way. To start with, we didn't bat well in the first innings. We understand how important it is to put runs on the board in the first innings.

"And obviously when they got a 80-90 run lead, we needed to put in a big performance with the bat but we couldn't do that, taking just a 75-run lead.

On the WTC final, Rohit said: "Honestly, we haven't thought about it yet. We just finished this Test now so we need to regroup and try. We need to understand that we need to improve as a team.

On playing on Indore wicket and Lyon, Rohit added: "When you are playing on challenging pitches you have to bowl. We allowed their bowlers to bowl in one spot. Not to take any credit away from their bowlers, Nathan Lyon especially.

"We had to try and be brave, which I think we were not. We can take a lot of credit as well, how we batted in the first two games. One odd game can happen where things don't come together, but even then you need players to come together and chip in.

"We wanted a few guys to stand up but it didn't happen. We were slightly behind and we did not apply ourselves the way we would have liked to."

Winning captain, Steve Smith said: "I think obviously that first day, losing the toss and having to bowl first. But our bowlers did really well, specially Kuhnemann. All our bowlers contributed.

"With the bat, Usman was really good in the first innings. We had some good partnerships. India bowled really well in the back end, we had a bit of a collapse. We had to toil hard yesterday, Pujji played a good knock, but all our bowlers did really well. It was a complete performance in the end.

On Pat Cummins and captaincy, Smith added: "We are thinking of Patty back home, our thoughts are with him. But I really enjoyed this week. I like captaining in this part of the world. I think I understand a lot of the intricacies. It's a place where I really enjoy and I think I did a reasonable job this week."

On Ahmedabad Test, Smith said: "The approach will be much the same. We have to see how the conditions are like. It's good to be in the WTC final but it's just about playing good cricket. Hopefully we can finish the series well."

Player of the match, Lyon said: "It's been a pretty remarkable series. But to come out here and put out a good team performance it was pretty special. I don't have all the skills and all the tricks in the trade but the one thing I have is the belief in my stock ball.

"And I think if you have that, you can get success. I don't think I've mastered it. I've been lucky enough to challenge against some of the best players to play the game, the likes of Virat and Pujji and the rest of the guys. I just like challenging myself."

What's Next?

India will retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy as they lead the series 2-1, but Australia sealed their spot in the WTC Final. India will also look to join them by avoiding defeat in the fourth Test, which starts from March 9. Australia, however, will take a lot of confidence heading into Ahmedabad for the final match of the series.