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Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara recorded India’s highest-second wicket partnership against Australia on way to putting their team on top in the second cricket Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here yesterday. |
Vijay (129) and Pujara (162) went through the grind in the morning session to end day two on an unbeaten 295-run stand with their team sitting pretty at 311 for one and a healthy 74-run lead. Virender Sehwag, the lone batsman to be dismissed during the day, departed cheaply after India resumed from the overnight score of five for no loss.
Australia ran out of ideas after their fast bowlers kept things tight till lunch.
India’s spinners have made the difference so far in the series while their Australian counterparts have failed to make an impact. It was no different on day two here as Xavier Doherty (0/85) and Glenn Maxwell (0/55) looked far from threatening the Indian batting.
Having said that, due credit should be given to Pujara and Vijay, who scored their second and fourth Test hundreds, respectively.
Surprisingly, Pujara was the aggressor in the monumental stand while the usually attacking Vijay showed patience at the crease.
For Pujara, it was his second successive hundred at this ground, the first being a 159 against New Zealand in August last year.
The Saurashtra batsman stroked 25 fours and a six with an innings strike rate of 64.54. He brought his 150 by hooking Siddle for a six.
Vijay, on the other hand, batted out of his comfort zone. It was crucial for India to start the day well and, along with Pujara, he withstood the constant pressure by the Australian pacers.
He still ended up smashing 17 fours and a couple of big hits. More importantly, the timely hundred has given him breathing space in the competitive top-order. With Gautam Gambhir back amongst the runs in domestic cricket, the bulk of the pressure to perform is on Sehwag.
Australian coach talks tough with batsmen
With India taking complete command of the second cricket Test yesterday, Australia’s head coach Mickey Arthur did some plain talking with his batsmen and said he expected them to score big.
“We had a pretty tough chat with our batsmen this morning because we thought that probably they wasted a little bit of opportunity yesterday,” he said after the second day’s play.
“I think it is a bit of bad luck. Bowlers worked tirelessly. It was really good first session but in the second session they start to dominate. They were both outstanding today,” said Arthur praising Murali Vijay and Cheteswar Pujara, who put on 294 runs for the second wicket.
Stressing the need for big partnerships, Arthur said the batsmen should go beyond 20s and 30s and ensure that they don’t lose wickets in clusters.
“Wade perhaps should have gone on a little bit. I am more worried about guys getting out in 20 and 30s,” he said.
Matthew Wade (64) lost his wicket at 208, triggering a collapse. “Two-three days Test match is left. We are backing up batsmen to stand up when they need to in the second innings,” he said when asked how demoralising it would be to lose the second consecutive Test.
Arthur pointed out that only four Australian players out of the 16-man squad have come to India earlier. “You don’t realise how hard it is to come to India and win it. Not many sides have done it before.”
Defending the axing of Nathan Lyon, the coach said the off-spinner has “technical issues away from the process of game” to work on. He, however, declined to elaborate.