India Vs England 1st ODI !! Pune !! 2017 !! Captain Virat Kohli !! Cricbuzz Live !!
INDIA V AUSTRALIA, 2017
KL Rahul scored his fourth fifty of the series BCCI
Steve Smith provided another master-class in batting, in "his" style of batting to put it better, by knocking in 178 unbeaten runs to help Australia to a commanding total of 451. There was also a hundred to remember for Glenn Maxwell (104), who vindicated the decision to add him to the team, with a maiden Test century that saw almost none of the usual Glenn Maxwell flair but a lot of what was needed to succeed at the top level in Test cricket.
At the other end, the batsmen had to counter Ravindra Jadeja, who mixed things up beautifully, to end with figures of five for 124 in his 49.3 overs. Jadeja inspired a lower-order collapse, taking four and inflicting a run-out in the six Australian wickets to fall on the second day.
India"s reply with the bat was near-perfect. KL Rahul continued his good run, but wasted another start as he departed after making 67. Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara played out the remaining seven-plus overs to take India to stumps at 120 for 1, still trailing Australia by 331 runs.
But before Jadeja could prove his effectiveness, Smith and Maxwell batted with aplomb to put their side in a commanding position.
Smith continued from where he had left off the previous evening, knocking off singles easily and hitting the fence when the opportunity was there. Maxwell, who had to endure a dramatic start to the day when his bat broke into two off the very first ball, off Umesh Yadav, quickly brought up his century.
It was a moment to remember for the right-hander, who has not been in a great space, cricket-wise, for the past year. His inclusion in the side for India raised eyebrows, but he was able to put them back in place with a knock of the highest order. He shelved his usual go-to shots - the sweeps, reverse sweeps and switch hits, for more conventional ones. The plot worked to perfection, and with the pitch not doing much for the bowlers, he was able to reward his patience with a maiden first ton. Off came the helmet and he roared loudly to celebrate the moment.
He was only able to savour that for a little longer as Jadeja got one to turn from off stump and catch Maxwell"s outside edge. In Matthew Wade, Australia found an attacking option to try and up the ante. With Jadeja resorting to an over-the-stumps tactic against Smith, runs were hard to come by, but Wade took the risk of trying to hit the left-armer even when the ball pitched in the rough. The plan worked as Australia added 64 quick runs for the sixth wicket, Wade making 37 off them before Jadeja had him caught behind. Pat Cummins"s return lasted just 2 deliveries as Jadeja castled him for a duck.
Smith continued to take the easy singles on offer and added 51 runs with Steve O"Keefe before Umesh and Jadeja combined to remove the final three wickets for five runs and keep Australia to 451.
Smith was left stranded on 178, after having batted for 412 minutes and hardly offering his opposition a sniff. It was a knock of the highest quality, but he would have been disappointed with the total the team finally put up, especially given how India have responded to such totals in the recent past.
Australia had the chance to put in a lot more than they eventually did, but lost track with some quick wickets. When Maxwell had gotten to his hundred, Australia were superbly placed at at around 330 for 3, but the loss of the last seven wickets for just over 120 runs will leave them disappointed.
Having dismissed Australia late in the second session, India had the chance to show their mastery in these conditions. KL Rahul and Murali Vijay put on contrasting displays with the bat, both great in their own right, to blunt the Australia attack and give the side a near-perfect start.
Rahul has been in great form in this series with three fifty-plus scores in four innings. He needed just 68 b***s to raise his fourth in five innings as he powered India to a commanding start. Murali Vijay, on his return, enjoyed the relative lack of bite from the wicket, to get himself into groove with a typically patient innings.
Pat Cummins gave Australia their breakthrough against the run of play, as he surprised a well set Rahul with a bouncer. The batsman could only glove it through to the keeper before walking away disappointed.
Virat Kohli was not seen in his whites when Cheteshwar Pujara walked in at 91 for 1, adding some doubts over where the captain was going to bat. Vijay, however, brought the focus quickly back onto the field by slamming Nathan Lyon for three fours in an over to help India raise their 100.
India survived without any late-in-the-day casualties to end at 120 for 1. An enthralling third day, with a potential near-full house, awaits.
Brief Scores: Australia 451 (Steve Smith 178*, Glenn Maxwell 104; R Jadeja 5-124) lead India 120/1 (KL Rahul 67, Murali Vijay 42*; Pat Cummins 1-22) by 331 runs.
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