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.
Prateek Sharma
Guest
At last some one spelled the name.
Prateek Sharma
Guest
You meant Pujara and Viijay?
Nudge
Guest
Lol. Pakistani
Matt
Guest
Oh, a Queenslander. To be fair we're not used to losing constantly unlike some others, for instance 7 years in a row.
Red Kev
Guest
Your belief or otherwise is immaterial child. You are probably uninformed enough and naive enough to see positives in the selection of a slogging hack for test matches, or to think it sensible for a gutless wonder of a bleach blonde captain to hide in the last recognised batting spot behind the cannon fodder of his top order.
Richard
Guest
What utter rubbish! Clarke has a flawless technique against all types of bowling and he is at the top of his game. The problem is he is proving to be soft in the brain in India so far. He needs to take control of his team. I really doubt his capacity and his judgement.
Richard
Guest
Australian cricket is at a really worrying point right now. We could lose our mojo if we keep this up! I don't doubt we will turn it around, eventually, but it has to come from Clarke at the moment. If he is not up to it then who is next?. We could be facing a very long extended period of soul searching by my reckoning... Start training your sons in the school of hard knocks would be my advice
Sandy
Guest
I think he's a troll...no, seriously. If not, he really needs to open a window and get some fresh air.
Amith
Guest
Agree yes Khawaja msut be bought in, I will reserve judgement on Cowan depending on how he goes tmr.
Rob na Champassak
Roar Guru
I haven't addressed the point? I've repeatedly stated that Clarke would not be able to bat in the top-order because it requires a finesse in defensive technique that he does not possess. He lofts his shots and plays his defensive strokes too loosely early in his innings. There's an excellent chance that the pace bowlers with the new ball would dismiss him for a single-digit score before he'd faced an over of spin. You can't lead from the front when you've been dismissed. The only real solution is for the other batsmen to work harder and shore up their techniques. It would help a great deal if Khawaja was installed at 3. HE'S a natural first-drop if ever I saw one. Hughes should go down the order, and Watson should just go.
pope paul v11
Guest
Just saw the FOW. I reckon the Indians lost the plot a bit by failing to bat Australia out of the game totally but there was some pretty good bowling and catching including two excellent second efforts. The Big Show actually did show a bit of that net form Arthur was talking about. Still take a miracle from here but the margin is considerably less than what it may have been.. What it did show was two spinner good, one spinner bad.
Richard
Guest
I'm not spinning anything I'm calling it how I see it in naked reality. If you want to delude yourself thats fine. The fact you choose to spin the UN- Australian phrase is your issue, you haven't addressed the point. He is the leader of a weak team in these conditions, he is the strong and experienced man. He should be leading from the front, but he isn't!
Rob na Champassak
Roar Guru
"un-Australian"? Spin it however you like, but if you're going to use that word, I am not going to take you seriously. Not when we are talking about cricket. It's a cop out and you know it. You should be ashamed.
Nudge
Guest
Happy with your point rob but have a look at the last 100 points he's made.all negative bagging the crap out of anything australian cricket. Unaustralian I call it
Richard
Guest
I'm saying he is the best batsman at three in India right now in these conditions. Even blind freddy should be able to see that. He has the technique, he has the maturity, he is the captain, he is the best bat in the world, he is great against spin, he has the experience. The others are clearly faltering. Then why for F.... sake isn't putting himself in the breach. It's totally un- Australian, thats all I have to say.
Rob na Champassak
Roar Guru
Nudge, he's not Australian, he's a Queenslander ;) But you have to admit, on one or two issues he has a point. It doesn't do to be too negative, but we can't brush off every criticism.
Richard
Guest
Clarke is the best batsman in the world at the moment by all reckoning. And yet he comes out at five in a green and failing batting order that is being wasted on foreign soil. The guy has serious head issues! I'm not righting him off yet, but he is close to the edge.
Rob na Champassak
Roar Guru
If it is sensible evaluation, then how do you come to the conclusion that elevating Clarke would strengthen the line-up? What evidence is there that he would perform if he batted further up the order? I don't necessarily think that it would hurt to try, but I think that a bad outcome is just as likely as a good one. Clarke has never looked like a top-order batsman to me, and I think that if we elevated him that his results would prove that he isn't.
Rob na Champassak
Roar Guru
No, that's not true. If the best batsman had always to bat at 3, then logically nobody could entrench themselves into that position, because every time they had a form slump they would be dropped down the order for a better batsman. Do you think the West Indies have a better bat than Shivnarine Chanderpaul? What about England? Is Jonathan Trott REALLY their best batsman? The number three should always be a batsman with an excellent defensive technique, and the temperament and patience to build an innings and score more aggressively later in the dig. You could argue that Hughes is not that batsman (and I would wholeheartedly agree!) but I say to you that Clarke is not that batsman either. He is lax in his defence - especially early in his innings. He's a great bat, but an elevation would ruin him.
Richard
Guest
Right now I would axe Hughes or at least drop him down the order. He is a waste of space at the moment. Bring in Khawaja at 4 move Clarke to 3