Hyderabad: India gained firm control of the second cricket Test against Australia despite crashing from 387 for one to 503 all out in reply to the visitors’ first innings score of 237 for nine declared at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, here yesterday.
By stumps on the third day, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin pushed the Australians down the slippery slope by bowling David Warner (26) and Phil Hughes (0) round the legs sweeping and, at 74 for two in their second innings, the visitors still need 192 runs to make India bat again in the match.
Ed Cowan (26) and Shane Watson (nine) will resume the long haul on the fourth day.
Earlier, Cheteshwar Pujara (204) scored his second double century and Murali Vijay hit 167 and their 370-run stand fell 12 runs short of the existing record for the second wicket against Australia set by England’s Len Hutton and Maurice Leyland at the Oval in 1938.
They also fell short of the 376-run partnership between VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid in the 2001 Kolkata Test to be third in the list.
Pujara struck 30 fours and a six in his 341-ball innings while Vijay struck 23 fours and two sixes during his 361-ball stay.
Debutant offspinner Glenn Maxwell finally found some assistance from the pitch as well as his colleagues in the field to break the Pujara-Vijay stand and also run through the middle-order by removing skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (44), Ravindra Jadeja (10) and Virat Kohli (34). Left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty (3-131) wrapped up the tail.
Maxwell got one to bounce and turn sharply to force Vijay to fend and offer a simple catch to backward short-leg.
Pujara got to his double century in style, charging down to Maxwell and flicked the ball through mid-on and mid-wicket for four.
He punched the air and hugged Tendulkar as the stadium gave a standing ovation to the Rajkot boy.ians
