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Centuries from Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara gave India the command of the second Test match against Australia at Hyderabad at the end of the second day.
We’ll bring you the live coverage of the action throughout the third day from 3pm AEDT on Monday.
If Australia had doubts over the magnitude of their task in India, the seventh day of this series dispelled all of it.
On what was termed a difficult pitch at Hyderabad where Australia scraped through to only 237, India amassed 1/311 by close of play on the second day.
Australia’s only success of the day came early in play when Virender Sehwag’s poor run showed no signs of abating as he edged Peter Siddle to the keeper. A very tough chance aside, India never looked like losing another wicket through the day and extended their lead to 74 at stumps.
It was the Vijay and Pujara show who exhibited great restraint in the first session. Partly it was to do with the tough nature of the track but it could also have been down to a tactical master-move against a team down to three frontline bowlers, one steady all-rounder and a part-time bowling option.
Once James Pattinson and Siddle were safely negotiated Australia were down to Moises Henriques and Xavier Doherty to try and grab a few wickets but it was a brand of bowling that India had no difficulty in handling.
Glenn Maxwell, who was included in the side at the expense of a quick bowler sent down 10 overs and went for 55 runs – a return that added to his captain’s creased brows.
Pujara was the aggressor with Vijay quite satisfied to play second fiddle to his Saurashtra teammate. Known for his propensity to bat long and hard after getting a start, Pujara overcame a knee injury and intermittently hobbled and smashed his way to an unbeaten 162.
A second Test double-century beckons for the new Indian number three.
Vijay was a surprise selection for the first Test and some expected him to be dropped after a poor show in that game. He was afforded another chance in this game and this century would now have sealed his berth for the rest of this series. Of course he also has the chance to carry on from where he left off on the second day.
The second new ball isn’t too old but given how quickly it gets roughed up, the bowlers could very quickly be looking at reverse swing to find them a breakthrough. And if that does not happen early enough Australia might have to endure another long day in the field with India looking to top the 600-run mark if possible.
Australia’s best case scenario is to restrict the Indian lead to up to 150 and then bat extremely themselves out of the hole in the second innings. For the momentum to shift though they will need some inspirational figures on the field apart from their captain, something that has rarely happened this series.
Live coverage of the game begins from 3 pm AEDT on Monday and you can add your opinion in the comments section below.
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