Australia vs India 1st Test Day 3 Highlights: Virat Kohli Century Propels Visitors to 369/5 at Stumps
Virat Kohli became the third Indian to score a century on captaincy debut. Follow the highlights here.
Virat Kohli's seventh Test century coupled with contributions from Cheteshwar Pujara (73), Ajinkya Rahane (62), Murali Vijay (53) helped India post 369/5 at close of play. Catch all the highlights of Day 3 here: ( Scorecard | Highlights)
13.05 (IST): Stumps! India finish on 369/5 vs Australia (517/7 decl.), trail by 148 runs on Day 3. An excellent century by Kohli propelled India on the flat Adelaide wicket. Vital contributions from Pujara (73), Rahane (62), Vijay (53) paved the way for India's dominance during the day. For the hosts, Nathan Lyon (2/103) and Mitchell Johnson (2/90) were the pick of the bowlers. With Rohit Sharma (33) and Wriddhiman Saha (1) in the middle, it will be interesting to see India's approach on Day 4. Aussies will walk off knowing they did well to remove Kohli at the end and still have a chance of earning a good first innings lead. Day 4, on Friday, promises to be a belter.
12.53 (IST): OUT! Virat Kohli's excellent innings comes to an end! He is removed by Mitchell Johnson. Johnson bowled a short ball and Kohli went for a pull but failed to clear Ryan Harris in the deep. They check for a foot no-ball but it's fine. Kohli walks back for 115 and a huge round of ovation. India 367/5
12.32 (IST): 90 overs are gone and India have 360/4 on the board. The visitors have put behind themselves all the talk of their ineptitude on foreign soil and tormented the Australian bowlers. The flat wicket has helped but Kohli's century has been special. So have contributions from Pujara and Rahane. Eight overs remains in the day.
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12.25 (IST): This is how Kohli celebrated his century.
Here's how @imVkohli celebrated his seventh Test ton http://t.co/NGcPbIvait #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/mNw3y22DEb
- cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) December 11, 2014
12.10 (IST): Century for Virat Kohli! What a knock from the skipper after having been hit by a nasty bouncer in the first ball he faced! He takes off his helmet and points to his badge. India 331/4
11.49 (IST): FOUR! Mitchell Johnson comes back with the new ball and Kohli creams it through covers for four. India 310/4
11.42 (IST): 300 comes up for India! It comes in good time off 79 overs. Kohli (77) and Rohit Sharma (4) in the middle.
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11.28 (IST): OUT! Rahane (62) is gone, caught by Watson at first slip off Lyon. The unexpected bounce made it an unplayable delivery. India 293/4 vs Australia (517/7)
11.11 (IST): Michael Clarke brings on part-time leg-spinner Steve Smith.
11.09 (IST): Fifty for Rahane! His 5th in Tests. There are shades of his recent century at Lord's against England. He would surely want to make this good start count and get a ton. India 264/3 vs Australia (517/7)
10.56 (IST): Rahane is looking to pull and hook every short ball bowled at him. Siddle is looking to test him with deliveries that are short and angled into his body. They have short fine leg in place too. Good contest, this.
10.54 (IST): Rahane is growing in confidence here. With his skipper for company, he moves on to 43 off just 54 balls. India 253/3 vs Australia (517/7)
10.38 (IST): A calm and composed knock from Virat Kohli here, much-needed for his side. What a way to try and erase the scars of his horror show in England. After scores of 1, 8, 25, 0, 39, 28, 0, 7, 6, 20 in England, this innings comes as a relief to his fans.
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10.30 (IST): FIFTY for Virat Kohli! It's his 10th in Tests. India 225/3 vs Australia (517/7)
10.15 (IST): End of second session! India take tea at 223/3 with Kohli (48*) and Rahane (19*) in the middle.
10.02 (IST): Mitchell Johnson returns and bowls a testing over to Rahane, beating him outside the off-stump on several occasions. There is even a big appeal for caught behind but rightly turned down by the umpire. India 211/3 vs Australia (517/7)
09.48 (IST): 200 comes up for India!
09.33 (IST): Pujara was in two minds and had danced down the track in the previous delivery, only to defend it awkwardly. His half-hearted forward defence led to his wicket as the ball sneaked through, hit him on the leg and rolled onto the stumps. A bit unfortunate going by how well he was playing until that point. All credit to Lyon who has done extremely well after having been taken to the cleaners by Vijay in the first session.
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09.25 (IST): OUT! Cheteshwar Pujara (73) is gone! He is bowled by Nathan Lyon. India 192/3 vs Australia (517/7)
09.14 (IST): FOUR! Kohli executes another classical cover drive, off Watson. India 184/2 vs Australia (517/7)
09.02 (IST): Kohli and Pujara are starting to look very comfortable in the middle. They're building a solid platform for a big partnership. Australia need a wicket at the earliest.
08.59 (IST): Harris offers room outside the off-stump and Pujara cuts it behind point for four. What a shot from a man in form. India 171/2 vs Australia (517/7)
08.46 (IST): That fifty has done a world of good to Pujara's confidence. He hits Harris through covers for four and brings up the 50-run stand between him and Kohli for the third wicket. India 161/2 vs Australia (517/7)
08.39 (IST): FIFTY for Pujara, 150 for India! Cheteshwar Pujara brings up his 6th Test fifty. India 150/2 vs Australia (517/7)
08.33 (IST): With Kohli (17) and Pujara (47) looking good on an excellent batting track, Anil Kumble's analysis is spot-on. India really need to win this second session to avoid the horrors of the England tour.
Batting 100 overs for India is the key. Good start by the top order. Keep it going! Brilliant batting conditions can only help. #AUSvIND
- Anil Kumble (@anilkumble1074) December 11, 2014
08.18 (IST): Virat Kohli kick-starts second session with a glorious drive through covers for four. India 123/2 vs Australia (517/7)
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07.39 (IST): End of 1st session! India take lunch at 119/2 in reply to Australia's 517/7 decl. Murali Vijay looked solid for his 53 before he was dismissed by Johnson just before lunch. Pujara, batting on 34, has also settled in well with skipper Kohli for company.
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07.28 (IST): Welcome to Australia, Virat Kohli! A short delivery first up from Johnson that Kohli looks to duck from. The ball strikes him in the front part of the helmet. Nice gesture from the Aussies as they rally around to check if he's ok. Clarke followed it up by patting Johnson on the back. What a moment!
Captain Michael Clarke was quick to get around and support Mitch as well after the bouncer to Kohli #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/fHY8hExuEI
- cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) December 11, 2014
07.20 (IST): OUT! Murali Vijay is gone! He stays on the back foot and edges a Johnson delivery to Haddin behind the stumps. He falls for 53. India 111/2 vs Australia (517/7)
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07.14 (IST): FIFTY for Murali Vijay! He gets his seventh in Tests. India 109/1 vs Australia (517/7)
06.54 (IST): 100 up for India! It has come in just 24 overs. Vijay (49) and Pujara (24) have added 70 runs for the second wicket.
06.44 (IST): The wicket is looking more and more excellent to bat on. This India's best chance for a good start to the series. They've started well, going at just over 4 runs an over. They need to maintain the momentum in the next 9 overs before lunch.
06.39 (IST): Vijay takes on Lyon! He dances down the track and lifts Lyon over the long on fence for a six. He follows it up with a shot in the same area and gets a four. India 82/1 vs Australia (517/7)
06.28 (IST): Lyon comes back into the attack. He returns with a maiden to Pujara. India 71/1 vs Australia (517/7)
06.26 (IST): Siddle bowls on the pads and Murali Vijay flicks it to the mid-wicket fence. India 71/1 vs Australia (517/7)
06.19 (IST): Clarke is mixing it around here. He makes another bowling change as 23-year-old Mitchell Marsh comes into the attack.India 63/1 vs Australia (517/7)
06.09 (IST): Back-to-back FOURS! Johnson pitches the ball up and invites Pujara to drive, who obliges and dispatches the ball through covers on both occasions. India 59/1 vs Australia (517/7)
06.02 (IST): Barring Dhawan's wicket, this has been a decent start for India in the first hour of play. The challenge remains to build a big stand here.
05.56 (IST): Mitchell Johnson comes back into the attack with three slips and a gully in place. It will be a test of technique for Vijay. He needs to be wary of the delivery that could lure him to play a drive and induce an edge. Patience is the name of the game for India here.
05.55 (IST): Siddle bowls a far better 2nd over. Earns a maiden as Pujara is happy to defend. India 43/1 vs Australia (517/7)
05.48 (IST): Pujara has not scored a half-century in 15 innings since his knock at Durban in 2013. He'd hope to get some time in the middle and add to his confidence here.
05.45 (IST): Not the best start for SIddle. He drifts down the leg too often and the over is finished with a flick behind square for a four by Pujara. India 41/1 vs Australia (517/7)
05.41 (IST): Another bowling change! Peter Siddle comes into the attack. The 'Lyon experiment' lasted for just one over.
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05.38 (IST): OUT! Shikhar Dhawan has played on! He departs for a run-a-ball 25 as Ryan Harris strikes. India 30/1 vs Australia (517/7)
05.31 (IST): Short and cut away! Lyon bowls a half-tracker and Dhawan pulls it to the mid-wicket fence. India 29/0 vs Australia (517/7)
05.30 (IST): Early bowling change! Michael Clarke brings on his off-spinner Nathan Lyon into the attack to replace Johnson. Just a gentle reminder that India gave 'part-timer' Moeen Ali 19 wickets in five Tests.
05.24 (IST): Johnson's almost perfect over is ruined by a short and wide delivery in the fifth ball. Dhawan's eyes light right away and he cuts it behind point. India 19/0 vs Australia (517/7)
05.21 (IST): On a wicket which is not doing much for the pacers, Harris could be a far bigger threat with his naggingly consistent line and length than Johnson with his pace and bounce.
05.18 (IST): Ryan Harris continues to bowl at Vijay and bowls a maiden. India 15/0 vs Australia (517/7)
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 05.13 (IST): That boundary must have given Dhawan a lot of confidence. He drives a full delivery to the straight boundary. Johnson offers another one on the pads, and this time Dhawan flicks it to the mid-wicket fence. India 15/0 vs Australia (517/7)
05.12 (IST): FOUR! Johnson follows it up with a full delivery that was drifting onto Dhawan's pads and the left-handed opener flicked it to the square leg fence. First boundary for India.
05.10 (IST): Close! A delivery from Johnson jags back into Dhawan, who plays at it half-heartedly. An inside edge carries to Haddin but the 'keeper can't hold on to the ball. Early reprieve for Dhawan.
05.08 (IST): Ryan Harris starts the proceedings from the other end. Shikhar Dhawan gets off the mark off the first ball but Harris follows it up with five dots. India 1/0 vs Australia (517/7)
05.07 (IST): A maiden over to start with for Johnson but not too many signs of his menacing self. Vijay won't complain. India 0/0 vs Australia (517/7)
05.02 (IST): Mitchell Johnson starts the proceedings for the hosts. Murali Vijay faces him.
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04.58 (IST): Australia have declared overnight! They finish on 517/7 with Steve Smith remaining unbeaten on 162. Vijay and Dhawan will shortly walk out to kick-start the Indian innings.
04.32 (IST): The Indian team have had a few knock downs in the nets. Gearing up for an early declaration then?
Rohit, Kohli and Dhawan batting in the nets for India #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/NXtG6DfyFe
- cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) December 10, 2014
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Australia are likely to make India take the field again before a declaration to tire out their batsmen on the third day. The centuries by Clarke and Smith, together with Warner's ton on Tuesday, left the hosts on 517 for seven and in command against a bedraggled Indian attack.
While Ishant Sharma feels present pace attack is the best the Indian team will possess in the near future, Clarke made his surprise return to the crease at the outset. Despite batting in discomfort, he provided dependable support for Smith after the clatter of three wickets in the last five overs on day one.
Clarke showed 'unbelievable courage' and was out late in the day for 128 off 163 balls with 18 fours, and he put on 163 runs for the seventh wicket with Smith. Smith enhanced his growing stature in the Australia set-up with his highest Test score, his fifth Test hundred and his fourth in his last 15 Test innings.
India's fielding deteriorated late in the day with Smith dropped three times and a mis-stumping by Wriddhiman Saha, while Clarke was also put down before he was caught by Cheteshwar Pujara.