Skipper Rohit Sharma hit a brave 120 on a spinning Nagpur pitch as India extended their lead to 144 despite Australian debutant Todd Murphy’s five wickets in the opening Test. India was 321-7 on stumps with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja proving his worth for the second consecutive day of his international return with an unbeaten 66. The 22-year-old Murphy regularly took wickets with his off-spin in his bid to check India’s wave , but Jadeja kept up the attack after Rohit’s dismissal shortly after tea. Jadeja batted alongside fellow southpaw Axar Patel, who hit 52, as the pair put up an unbeaten run of 81 for the eighth wicket.
Rohit led from the front with his ninth Test century to extend India’s dominance after they dismissed Australia for 177 on day one of the four-Test series.
The captain defied the spinners to reach his hundred with a border at Murphy in the second session, and took off his helmet to enjoy the applause. He set up an important 61-run sixth wicket stand with Jadeja, who remained steadfast after Rohit’s departure to record a fifty after his five wickets in the Australian innings.
Jadeja, who has three Test hundreds, did his trademark sword swing with the bat to mark his 18th half-century in the five-day format.
Murphy stood out to the tourists with remarkable control to knock off Indian cricket’s stalwarts including Virat Kohli who was trailing for 12. Murphy, who claimed KL Rahul as his first Test wicket on Thursday, put Ravichandran Ashwin lbw in the fall and got Cheteshwar Pujara caught short fine leg in the first session.
Senior Australian spinner Nathan Lyon ruined Twenty20 sensation Suryakumar Yadav’s test debut after bowling the batsman to eight to put India in spot at 168-5. But Rohit, who started the day with his 56 overnight and crushed Pat Cummins and Lyon for a six apiece, and Jadeja quickly brought the momentum back with a mix of caution and aggression.
Cummins took the second new ball after tea to return Rohit bowled, one ball after being dropped by Steve Smith at second slip.
Murphy soon took his fifth when he trapped fellow debutant Srikar Bharat lbw – a decision which was not called by the referee but judged successful by Australia.
Jadeja, who returned from a knee injury on Thursday with a 5-47, continued with Patel as they frustrated the opposing team’s offense in the final hour of the game. Axar broke eight boundaries en route to his second Test fifty.
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