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Australia’s bowlers must lift if they are to take advantage of the first-innings total of 430 bankrolled so brilliantly by Mike Hussey in today’s first Test in Bangalore.
Hussey’s 146 took the tourists to a strong total from the uncertainty of 5-259 when Shane Watson was bowled inside the first half hour of play on day two.
But openers Virender Sehwag (43no) and Gautam Gambhir (20no) took charge to guide India to 0-68 when rain brought stumps 9.5 overs before the scheduled close in Bangalore.
Brett Lee (0-12) will not be pleased with a first over that saw him waste the only discernable swing of the innings by spraying his first four deliveries to Gambhir down the legside.
Stuart Clark was more accurate, but Mitchell Johnson (0-23 in 4.1 overs) was expensive.
Indian paceman Ishant Sharma (4-77) earlier showed the range of his skills by using variations as well as speed, but Brad Haddin (33) and Brett Lee (27) proved willing allies for Hussey as he marched to a ninth Test century.
In doing so, Hussey took his Test average to 70.6 in his 26th Test, and felt confident he had put Australia in good position on a wicket that will deteriorate.
“I think it’ll definitely be harder to bat on as the Test match wears on. It’s already very, very dry, a lot of cracks in it and you never really feel ‘in’ on it,” he said.
“You feel like there’s just enough variable bounce there to keep all the bowlers interested, particularly our fast bowlers.”
Every Test century by Hussey so far has contributed to an Australian victory.
His achievements covered for the failures of allrounders Shane Watson (two) and debutant Cameron White (six), who both fell cheaply to the excellent Sharma.
Zaheer Khan (5-91) produced a sharp stint with the old ball to wrap up the tail, claiming 3-1 in 11 balls after tea.
A pitch that had been harmless, if a little slow, on day one began to play some alarming tricks on the second morning.
Watson, playing his fourth Test and first since November 2005, was beaten for pace and lost his off bail.
Going to lunch on 92, Hussey reached his century with a fortunate inside edge past the stumps from the bowling of Sharma, but it was a rare moment of uncertainty.
Otherwise he was completely at ease in is first Test innings in India, much more so than Haddin, who after a lengthy struggle bunted a Sharma slower ball to short cover, or White, who fell in near identical fashion to the same bowler.
Lee, however, was able to stick it out, even unfurling a pair of handsome cover drives off the bowling of Virender Sehwag, and together with Hussey he kept Australia in firm occupation up to the break.
After resuming, Lee and Johnson were both bowled between bat and pad by Zaheer deliveries that shaped back into them, and Hussey lost his middle stump when he inside-edged an attempted drive while looking for the boundary that would have taken him to 150.
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