The third Test was played at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, starting on 7 January 2021. Australian captain Tim Paine won the toss and elected to bat first. Australia posted a first-innings total of 338, including a Steve Smith century and fifties from Marnus Labuschagne and debutant Will Pucovski. Despite stubborn fifties from Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara, India in reply were bowled out for 244, giving Australia a lead of 94 runs. In the second innings, Cameron Green top-scored for Australia as they declared on 6/312 after 87 overs, giving India a target of 407 runs to win. The match was eventually drawn after India ended their innings at 5/334, with Rishabh Pant top-scoring at 97 runs followed by Cheteshwar Pujara with 77 runs. Steve Smith was named the Man of the Match.