Virat Kohli ended his long wait for a Test century in style as India moved into an 88-run lead over Australia in the fourth and final Test.
India have already retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after winning the first two Tests, but following defeat in the third, need a win to be sure of a place in June's ICC Test Championship final against Australia at Lord's.
A draw or a defeat would leave the door open for Sri Lanka to take their place with a 2-0 series win over New Zealand. Sri Lanka need nine wickets to win the first Test on Monday's final day.
Defeat for India is very unlikely after Kohli scored his first hundred in the longest format since November 2019, his stunning 186 and Axar Patel's 79 lifting the hosts to 571 all out, with Australia reaching the close 3-0 to start their second innings.
With one day's play remaining, a draw will be the expected outcome, but the match will now be remembered for Kohli masterfully ending his drought.
He resumed on 59 with India on 289-3 and was scarcely troubled as Australia laboured on a slow pitch, allowing Kohli to bring up Test century 28 with a clipped single through square, bringing only a reserved celebration from the former captain but a rapturous reception from the raucous Ahmedabad crowd.
Commentator and former India coach Ravi Shastri proclaimed "a 600-kilo gorilla is off his back" and Kohli certainly played with freedom thereafter, reaching 150 with successive boundaries as he smacked a glorious cover drive and then threaded another four through midwicket.
His support was not as obdurate as Kohli but provided ample help in moving the scoreboard, Srikar Bahrat hitting two fours and three sixes in his 44 and Axar letting loose with five fours and four maximums.
Kohli eventually holed out at deep midwicket to bring the India innings to a close. His drought over, India will hope they have done enough to give him the opportunity to produce a similar display in London with the championship on the line.
Kohli ends 1,205-day drought
Not since scoring 136 against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens nearly three and a half years ago had Kohli reached three figures.
That is a remarkable amount of time for a player of Kohli's quality, which shone through as he scored his 75th international century, reaching that figure in 552 innings. Fellow India great Sachin Tendulkar took 566 to achieve the same feat.
Gavaskar mark equalled
Kohli's hundred was his eighth against Australia in Test cricket, moving him level with Sunil Gavaskar for the second most by an India batter. Tendulkar (11) still holds the record for centuries versus Australia in red-ball cricket for India.
Pooran's blistering 61 not enough as Shai Hope's Capitals edge LSG by 19 runs to keep slim play-off hopes alive
Delhi Capitals defeated Lucknow Super Giants to boost their hopes of making the Indian Premier League play-offs.
The Capitals claimed a 19-run victory on Tuesday, with Abishek Porel (58) and Tristan Stubbs (57 not out) starring.
Their efforts propelled Delhi to 208-4 from their 20 overs, with Shai Hope (38) and Rishabh Pant (33) chipping in with useful contributions as LSG's bowling attack struggled badly. Hope faced 27 balls and had three fours and two sixes in his knock.
Nicholas Pooran top-scored with a 27-ball 61 in Lucknow's chase, while Arshad Khan plundered an unbeaten 58, yet it was not enough, with the Super Giants only able to reach 189-9 in response. Pooran's knock included six fours and four maximums, while Khan had three fours and five sixes in his 33-ball knock.
Shai Hope found his range after a quiet start.
Ishant Sharma, with 3-34, was the pick of the Capitals' bowlers, as they must now wait and see if Chennai Super Kings or Sunrisers Hyderabad slip up enough to send Delhi into the top four.
LSG are down in seventh, and they must beat Mumbai Indians heavily in their last match to stand any chance of making the play-offs.
Data Debrief: Ishant hits double figures... again
Introduced as the impact player, Ishant fulfilled his duty with three swift wickets inside his first three overs, with Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul and Deepak Hood all taken out.
Ishant has now taken 10 wickets this season, and is onto 93 across his entire IPL career. It is the sixth season Ishant has reached double figures for wickets, and his second in a row.
Afridi lauds 'world class' Babar and Rizwan as Pakistan win Ireland series
Shaheen Afridi lauded Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan as "world class" after the pair guided Pakistan to a T20I series victory over Ireland on Tuesday.
Babar's side were defeated in the first meeting with Ireland last week but responded with two convincing chases to secure a 2-1 triumph.
Ireland captain Lorcan Tucker's 73 helped his side to set a target of 179 in the winner-takes-all-decider, but Pakistan had little trouble in easing to a six-wicket victory with 18 balls to spare.
Rizwan, who managed an unbeaten 75 in the second meeting, crafted a well-made 56, while Babar carried Pakistan to within touching distance after his 42-ball 75.
Big-hitter Azam Khan blasted 18 off just six deliveries to see the visitors over the line, though Afridi was quick to credit the work of the two experienced Pakistan campaigners.
"For us, before the World Cup, it's important to have these games to ready ourselves and there are a few areas to improve," said Afridi, who impressed with 3-14 in the first innings.
"They're both world-class players [Babar and Rizwan]; they know how to play their role and they have done really well on this pitch."
Babar bludgeoned four of his five sixes off Ben White's bowling in the 14th over, while sharing 139 runs with the in-form Rizwan for the second wicket.
"We had good communication in the middle because we have played a lot of cricket together; we were trying to play on our strengths and the aim was to match with the run rate," Babar added.
"Lots of positives for us to take and we were able to execute our plans.
"We have a big tournament coming up and this is good practice; we are now looking forward to the England series."
Mark Adair was the only Ireland bowler to impress with his economical 3-28, though Tucker was still satisfied with his side's efforts.
"It was brilliant and a great privilege to captain," Tucker said at the post-match presentation. "It would have been nice to start with a win.
"We set up a platform nicely but unfortunately, we couldn't finish well. We gave everyone a go with the ball. Credit to the lads, they bowled well in tough conditions.
"Maybe it was a bit disappointing with the result but we had positives from the series."
IPL: KKR ensured top-two spot after washout
The first abandoned game of the Indian Premier League ensures Kolkata Knight Riders will finish in the top two and Gujarat Titans’ elimination from playoff contention.
A combination of lightning and rain meant there was not even a toss, with the intense storm ripping banners from the stands, which later wrapped around the floodlights.
KKR had all but ensured a place in the top two due to their dominating net run-rate, but a 19th point of the season confirmed it, leaving them with one game to try and clinch top spot for the first time.
The Titans needed to win their final two games to give themselves any hope of reaching the playoffs, though it would have proven tough for the side with the lowest net run-rate in the league.
It is the first time GT have failed to make the playoffs since they joined the competition before the 2022 season.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
