India vs Australia - Second day's highlights

Cheteshwar Pujara (162 not out off 251 balls) has posted his fourth century in Tests - two against England and one each against New Zealand and Australia.

Pujara's career-best is 206 not out off 389 balls against England at Ahmedabad in November 2012.

Pujara has recorded back to back hundreds at Uppal, Hyderabad - 159 vs New Zeealand in August 2012 and 162 not out vs Australia in March 2013.  He is the first batsman to manage two hundreds at this venue.

Pujara's impressive strike rate of 64.54 is his highest when he has registered a three-figure innings.

Pujara's aggregate of 321 at an average of 321.00 in two Tests (two innings) is the highest by any batsman at Uppal - next only to Brendon McCullum's tally of 293 (ave.73.25) in four innings.

Pujara's unbeaten innings is the second highest at this venue behind Brendon McCullum's 225 for New Zealand in November 2010.

Murali Vijay (129 not out) has recorded his second hundred in Tests - his first was also against Australia - 139 at Bangalore in October 2010.

Interestingly, the two hundreds scored by Vijay are the only ones by an Indian opener India against Australia in Tests.

With just one hundred, Vijay has improved his batting average from 28.40 to 34.27 - his aggregate being 754 runs in 14 Tests.

Virender Sehwag has recorded another failure.  Since posting 117 against England at Ahmedabad in November 2012, he is without a fifty in his last nine innings - the highest being 49 in the 2012-13 Kolkata Test against England.  (In fact, his innings of 117 is his only fifty-plus in his last 13 outings).

Sehwag has averaged just 15.88 in his last ten Test innings against Australia - his aggregate being 158, including a fifty.  

Sehwag has registered his first failure at Uppal, Hyderabad - his first three innings at this venue being 96 & 54 not out in November 2010 and 47 in August 2012 - all three against New Zealand.  Overall, he is averaging 67.66 at this venue - 203 in four innings.

Murali Vijay has averaged 19.08 away from home as against his home average of 52.50.

Pujara and Vijay were involved in a stand of 294 (unbroken), India's highest second wicket stand against Australia, surpassing the 224 between Mohinder Amarnath and Sunil Gavaskar at Sydney in January 1986.

The aforesaid partnership is India's third highest for the second wicket in Tests, next only to the 344 (unbroken) between Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar against West Indies at Kolkata in December 1978 and 314 between Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir against England at Mohali in December 2008.

The 294-run unbroken partnership is the highest for any wicket at Uppal, eclipsing the 160 between Gambhir and Sehwag against New Zealand in November 2010.

The above stand is India's sixth highest for any wicket against Australia in Tests - the highest being 376 between Dravid and Laxman for the fifth wicket at Kolkata in March 2001.

Rajesh Kumar