Making merry: Green furthered the Australian dominance with the bat serving to himself to a strokeful century.
| Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI
Usman Khawaja (180, 422b, 21×4) braved the sweltering circumstances and batted for 611 minutes — a little greater than 5 classes — to information Australia to 480 within the first innings on the second day of the fourth Test earlier than R. Ashwin pulled issues again with a six-wicket haul (six for 91), his thirty second five-for.
By the time India got here out to bat, solely 10 overs remained.
Openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill placed on 36 with out loss on the Narendra Modi Stadium right here on Friday.
Maiden century
The first couple of classes belonged to Khawaja and Cameron Green, who introduced up his maiden Test century (114, 170b, 18×4).
Khawaja — the very best run-scorer on this version of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with 333 — began from the place he left off on the opening day and ensured that Australia crossed the 400-run mark regardless of Ashwin’s relentless effort on a placid floor.
Khawaja held the fort whereas the tall Green — resuming the day on 49 — made the many of the floor the place the ball got here properly onto the bat. He minimize and drove fluently, placing on a mammoth 208-run stand with Khawaja.
Every time the Indian bowlers, who went wicketless within the first session, erred in lengths, the Aussie duo cashed in. Despite temperatures hovering, each Khawaja and Green regarded calm as they prolonged the lead. On his first Test tour of India, Green picked up 18 boundaries en route his ton.
At a time when it appeared like a stroll within the park for Australia, Ashwin struck. Attempting a sweep, Green was caught down the leg facet by stumper Ok.S. Bharat, thus ending the lengthy partnership.
Ashwin tightened the noose additional, eradicating Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc in fast succession and went on to surpass Anil Kumble’s wicket tally (111) within the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with 113 scalps and be a part of Nathan Lyon as the very best wicket-taker.
Quick wickets
Though Australia misplaced three wickets for 9 runs, Khawaja regarded unfazed. Becoming the primary abroad batter to play 400 balls in an innings in India since 2010, Khawaja rebuilt earlier than being trapped plumb within the entrance by Axar Patel, shortly after tea.
This was the second time this yr that he missed out on scoring a double hundred regardless of coming shut. As a dejected Khawaja walked again to the pavilion, there have been apprehensions of Australia being bundled out quickly.
But Lyon placed on 70 for the ninth wicket with Todd Murphy earlier than Ashwin dismissed the latter with a leg-before verdict. He then tempted Lyon to nick it to the slips, thus denying Australia a probability to go previous 500.
India began aggressively, with Rohit hitting a couple of boundaries and Gill hammering a six.
However, with three full days of motion remaining and the Australian whole nonetheless 444 runs away, India has a lengthy technique to go.
