Chennai: Captain Michael Clarke led from the front with a sparkling unbeaten century under pressure as Australia recovered from a precarious position to post a respectable 316 for seven on the opening day of the first cricket Test against India here on Friday.
Clarke brought up his 23rd Test century off the second last ball of the day hitting left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja towards long-off to remain unbeaten on 103 on a day whih saw an engrossing battle between the bat and the ball.
Clarke negated all the good work done by off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (6-88), who took all but one among seven wickets that fell on the day at the Chepauk.
Clarke was well-complemented by debutant Moises Henriques (68) as the pair added 147 runs for the sixth wicket after Ashwin’s terrific post-lunch spell saw the visitors being reduced to 153 for five.
The Tamil Nadu offie finally broke the partnership by dismissing the impressive Henriques, trapping him LBW much to the relief of his team mates.
Ashwin, who took his sixth five-wicket haul in Tests, ended with fantastic figures of six for 88 in 30 overs but should consider himself unlucky being robbed off Clarke’s wicket due to the absence of the Decision Review System.
The Australian captain was batting on 39 when he offered a simple bat-pad catch to Cheteshwar Pujara at forward short-leg but umpire Kumar Dharmasena turned down the appeal.
The television replays clearly indicated that the ball had hit Clarke’s bat before flying off to the close-in fielder. The rival skipper took advantage of the situation and did not look back as he took his team to a position of safety with other Indian bowlers looking pedestrian.
A lot was expected of Harbhajan Singh playing his 100th Test match but the experienced off-spinner went off the boil after the first few overs giving away 71 runs in 19 overs.
Debutant Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s performance also left a lot to be desired. With a pace of about 130 kmph, he could hardly pose much problems for Clarke and Henriques.
David Warner showed decisive footwork during the first couple of hours as he attacked the spinners Harbhajan and Ashwin. Ed Cowan also looked confident although both the openers got a reprieve in the first hour.
Cowan charged down the track and Dhoni missed a stumping chance while Warner’s catch was dropped by Virender Sehwag at the first slip. The bowler on both occasions was Ashwin.
However, the home boy had the last laugh against left-hander Cowan (29), who confidently charged down the track to loft Ashwin. The ball turned and bounced as Dhoni whipped the bails off in a flash.
Warner continued to attack as he reached his 50 off 77 balls in the company of Shane Watson (28).
Both Watson and Warner were LBW trying to play skidding balls and were caught on the back foot.
A lot of credit should also be given to Henriques, who showed maturity playing second fiddle to Clarke. He faced 132 deliveries and hit five boundaries.
Clarke batted with a lot of authority. His footwork was assured and he decided to wait for the loose deliveries hitting as many as 11 fours and a six.
A total above 350 could prove to be challenging for the Indians as the ball is getting roughed up quickly on a bone dry surface. (PTI)
