Australia v India 2014/15 - 1st Test, Day 3: Skipper Virat Kohli leads from the front with 7th Test hundred
Adelaide, Dec 11 - A ton from Virat Kohli (115), his seventh in Test cricket, and three 50s from Cheteshwar Pujara (73), Ajinkya Rahane (62) and Murali Vijay (53) helped India coast to 369 for five at the end of the third day of the first Test at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday. Australia earlier declared their first innings at the overnight score of 517 for seven.
India’s stand-in skipper Kohli rose to the challenge and gave a perfect reply to Australia, who decided to make full use of the early morning conditions by having a crack at the young Indian batting line-up. Rohit Sharma (batting 33) and Wriddhiman Saha (batting 1) were at the crease at the close of the third day's play. The visitors are still trailing by 148 runs in their first innings.
Apart from Kohli, several Indian batsmen did not make the most of their good starts and after scoring fifties, they failed to notch up a big score.
Kohli first shared an 81-run partnership for the second wicket with Pujara before stitching together another crucial 101-run stand with Rahane. Rohit Sharma too supported the Delhi batsman well, and the duo forged a 74-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
After opener Vijay's wicket, Kohli was welcomed with a high-rising bouncer by left-arm pacer Johnson. The ball hit Kohli on his head and it rattled both the batsman and the opposition, who are coming off a grief-stricken two weeks after the death of teammate Phillip Hughes.
However, an aggressive Kohli, unflustered by the bouncer, took the attack to the opposition and came out with a classy knock. Relying on his quick feet movement, he collected runs all around the park on his way to his first hundred in his maiden match as captain. His knock - laced with 12 boundaries - ended when he top-edged a Johnson bouncer to Ryan Harris at deep fine leg at the fag end of the day.
Earlier, the Indian openers started cautiously. They showed a lot of patience and didn't score in the first two overs bowled by pacers Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris.
Left-handed batsman Shikhar Dhawan started the calculated onslaught in the third over, spanking left-arm pacer Johnson for three boundaries through the leg side and followed it up with another cracking cut in his next over.
Vijay was watchful and defended solidly against the testing line and length persisted by right-arm pacer Harris. He took 19 deliveries to score his first run before a punch through mid-off fetched him three.
Harris was the better of the two bowlers with Johnson's ploy of bowling a fuller length not working.
However, Dhawan lost his wicket, dragging a Harris delivery on to his stumps as he tried to drive the ball on the up.
Pujara took time to settle down to the pace and bounce of the wicket.
Once in his groove, he scored regular boundaries through the leg side as Johnson and Peter Siddle erred on the fuller length.
The bowlers, with their plan of dismissing him either by ripping through his defence or leg-before wicket, pitched the ball full on most occasions, and he made full use of it.
Trusting his wristwork, he earned most of his runs with drives towards covers, flicks towards mid-wicket and slices towards point.
Vijay, on the other hand, shifted gears in the 17th over with two consecutive fours.
He made good use of his feet when spinner Nathon Lyon came on to bowl, milking him for a six over mid-on and a four with a backfoot punch through extra cover. He followed it up by dancing down the track and hitting the ball over the offie's head.
Vijay and Pujara shared a 81-run partnership for the second wicket before Australia skipper Michael Clarke brought in Johnson and the bowler delivered by taking the wicket of Vijay, who guided a full delivery that shaped away from him to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.
Australia
Chris Rogers c Dhawan b Ishant 9
David Warner c I. Sharma b K. Sharma 145
Shane Watson c Dhawan b Aaron 14
Michael Clarke c Pujara b K.Sharma 128
Steven Smith not out 162
Mitchell Marsh c Kohli b Aaron 41
Nathan Lyon b Mohammed Shami 3
Brad Haddin c Saha b Mohammed Shami 0
Mitchell Johnson not out 0
Extras (lb 4, w 9, nb 2) 15
Total (for seven wickets, declared in 120 overs) 517
Fall of wickets: 1-50 (Rogers, 7.5 overs), 2-88 (Watson, 18.3), 2-206 (Clarke, retired not out, 43.2), 3-258 (Warner, 56.2), 4-345 (Marsh, 84.2), 5-352 (Lyon, 87.3), 6-354 (Haddin, 89.2), 7-517 (Clarke, 119.2).
Bowling
Mohammed Shami 24-2-120-2
Varun Aaron 23-1-136-2
Ishant Sharma 27-5-85-1
Karn Sharma 33-1-143-2
Murali Vijay 13-3-29-0
India
Murali Vijay c Haddin b Johnson 53
Shikhar Dhawan b Harris 25
Cheteshwar Pujara b Lyon 73
Virat Kohli c Harris b Johnson 115
Ajinkya Rahane c Watson b Lyon 62
Rohit Sharma batting 33
Wriddhiman Saha batting 1
Extras (lb 4, w 1, nb 2) 7
Total (for five wickets in 97 overs) 369
Fall of wickets: 1-30 (Dhawan, 7.4 overs), 2-111 (Vijay, 30.1), 3-192 (Pujara, 49.3), 4-293 (Rahane, 75.2), 5-367 (Kohli, 94.1)
Bowling
Mitchell Johnson 18-5-90-2
Ryan Harris 17-5-49-1
Nathon Lyon 30-3-103-2
Peter Siddle 13-2-62-0
Mitchell Marsh 11-4-29-0
Shane Watson 5-1-13-0
Steven Smith 3-019-0
Match Details
Umpires: Marais Erasmus (South Africa) and Ian Gould (England)
Test debut: Karn Sharma (India)
TV umpire: Mick Martell
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand)
Reserve umpire: Geoff Joshua