Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel extended India’s lead to 144 runs after Rohit Sharma scored a century as the hosts ended day two of the opening Test against Australia at 321 for seven here on Friday.
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Despite wickets tumbling at regular intervals at the other end, Rohit (120 off 212 balls) batted with composure to bring up a hard-fought century, his ninth in the format.
However, the Indian skipper became his Australian counterpart’s first victim as a Pat Cummins delivery sent Rohit’s off stump cartwheeling.
All-rounders Jadeja (66 not out) and Axar (52 not out) then combined forces, scoring unbeaten fifties, to put India in a strong position.
Off-spinner Todd Murphy (5/82) continued to impress in his debut game as he picked up four wickets on Friday, including the scalps of Virat Kohli (12) and Cheteshwar Pujara (7).
Scoreboard
Australia 1st Innings: 177 all out
India 1st Innings: (Overnight 77/1) Rohit Sharma b Cummins 120 KL Rahul c and b T Murphy 20 Ravichandran Ashwin lbw b T Murphy 23 Cheteshwar Pujara c Boland b T Murphy 7 Virat Kohli c Alex Carey b T Murphy 12 Suryakumar Yadav b Lyon 8 Ravindra Jadeja not out 66 Srikar Bharat lbw b Murphy 8 Axar Patel not out 52
Extras: (LB-2, NB-3) 5
Total: (For 7 wickets in 114 overs) 321
Fall of wickets: 1-76, 2-118, 3-135, 4-151, 5-168, 6-229, 7-240
Bowling: Pat Cummins 18-2-74-1, Scott Boland 17-4-34-0, Nathan Lyon 37-10-98-1, Todd Murphy 36-9-82-5, Marnus Labuschagne 5-0-24-0, Matt Renshaw 1-0-7-0.
