Rohit Sharma’s century on day two of the first Test helped India build a sizable advantage as spinner Todd Murphy took five wickets in his debut against Australia.
In spite of off-spinner Murphy’s 5-82, Rohit blasted a stylish 120 as the hosts concluded on 321-7 in Nagpur, ahead by 144 runs.
After tea, Rohit was bowled by Pat Cummins with India on 229-6 and only 52 in front. However, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel then put together an unbroken 81-run stand.
Patel was unbeaten on 52, while Jadeja, who had taken 5-47 on day one, finished on 66.
Despite losing Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav at a vital moment, Rohit Sharma, who reached his ninth Test century, provided the backbone of the Indian innings. Rohit finished with 120runs off 212 deliveries. He hit 15 boundaries and 2 sixes during his innings, all with exquisite strokes. It was a captain’s knock since India required one experienced hitter to bat deep. Rohit did a good job filling in for the struggling KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Kohli.
Ravindra Jadeja displayed his all-around talent as at stumps, he was unbeaten on 66. His international comeback following the knee injury has been fantastic as took a 5-wicket haul in the first innings.
Axar Patel also made sure his bat did not remain silent even though he may not have done enough with the ball on Day 1, going without a wicket in the first session. In the third session of the day, he made 52 runs, 8 of which were boundaries, resulting in 32 runs being scored in just fours.
The 82-run partnership between Axar and Jadeja has put the Australians in a tough situation ending their hopes of keeping the Indian lead under 100. With Jadeja and Axar at the plate and a lead of 144 runs, India will start batting on Day 3.
Murphy: ” It’s been a pretty special”
Murphy, who had only played seven first-class matches prior to his Test debut, bowled with outstanding precision throughout his 36 overs – the most he has ever bowled in a senior match – and pulled significant turn from the Nagpur surface.
Additionally, he simply removed Ravichandran Ashwin and caught Cheteshwar Pujara at short fine leg.
The Victorian, who was born in the small, rural town of Echuca, has already been projected as Nathan Lyon’s successor during his brief professional life.
“Yeah, it’s been a pretty special couple of days and I supposed to top it off today with a fifer and they would probably yeah, more than I could ever hope for. And yeah, it’s gonna be something that I’ll look back on the rest of my life and be really proud of,” Murphy said at the post-play press conference at the VCA Stadium, here on Friday.
Full Scorecard: 1st Test Ind vs Aus
Australia 1st Innings
| BATTING | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Warner | b Mohammed Shami | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Usman Khawaja | lbw b Mohammed Siraj | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Marnus Labuschagne | st †Bharat b Jadeja | 49 | 123 | 8 | 0 | 39.83 |
| Steven Smith | b Jadeja | 37 | 107 | 7 | 0 | 34.57 |
| Matt Renshaw | lbw b Jadeja | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Peter Handscomb | lbw b Jadeja | 31 | 84 | 4 | 0 | 36.90 |
| Alex Carey † | b Ashwin | 36 | 33 | 7 | 0 | 109.09 |
| Pat Cummins (c) | c Kohli b Ashwin | 6 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 42.85 |
| Todd Murphy | lbw b Jadeja | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Nathan Lyon | not out | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Scott Boland | b Ashwin | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 12.50 |
| Extras | (b 7, lb 5, nb 3) | 15 | ||||
| TOTAL | 63.5 Ov (RR: 2.77) | 177 | ||||
| Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Usman Khawaja, 1.1 ov), 2-2 (David Warner, 2.1 ov), 3-84 (Marnus Labuschagne, 35.5 ov), 4-84 (Matt Renshaw, 35.6 ov), 5-109 (Steven Smith, 41.6 ov), 6-162 (Alex Carey, 53.1 ov), 7-172 (Pat Cummins, 57.3 ov), 8-173 (Todd Murphy, 58.5 ov), 9-176 (Peter Handscomb, 62.3 ov), 10-177 (Scott Boland, 63.5 ov) |
| BOWLING | O | M | R | W | ECON | WD | NB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohammed Shami | 9 | 4 | 18 | 1 | 2.00 | 0 | 0 |
| Mohammed Siraj | 7 | 3 | 30 | 1 | 4.28 | 0 | 0 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 22 | 8 | 47 | 5 | 2.13 | 0 | 3 |
| Axar Patel | 10 | 3 | 28 | 0 | 2.80 | 0 | 0 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | 15.5 | 2 | 42 | 3 | 2.65 | 0 | 0 |
India 1st Innings
| BATTING | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rohit Sharma (c) | b Cummins | 120 | 212 | 15 | 2 | 56.60 |
| KL Rahul | c & b Murphy | 20 | 71 | 1 | 0 | 28.16 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | lbw b Murphy | 23 | 62 | 2 | 1 | 37.09 |
| Cheteshwar Pujara | c Boland b Murphy | 7 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Virat Kohli | c †Carey b Murphy | 12 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 46.15 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | b Lyon | 8 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 40.00 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | not out | 66 | 170 | 9 | 0 | 38.82 |
| Srikar Bharat † | lbw b Murphy | 8 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 80.00 |
| Axar Patel | not out | 52 | 102 | 8 | 0 | 50.98 |
| Extras | (lb 2, nb 3) | 5 | ||||
| TOTAL | 114 Ov (RR: 2.81) | 321/7 | ||||
| Yet to bat: Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj | ||||||
| Fall of wickets: 1-76 (KL Rahul, 22.5 ov), 2-118 (Ravichandran Ashwin, 40.1 ov), 3-135 (Cheteshwar Pujara, 44.1 ov), 4-151 (Virat Kohli, 52.1 ov), 5-168 (Suryakumar Yadav, 59.1 ov), 6-229 (Rohit Sharma, 80.4 ov), 7-240 (Srikar Bharat, 83.1 ov) |
| BOWLING | O | M | R | W | ECON | WD | NB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pat Cummins | 18 | 2 | 74 | 1 | 4.11 | 0 | 1 |
| Scott Boland | 17 | 4 | 34 | 0 | 2.00 | 0 | 1 |
| Nathan Lyon | 37 | 10 | 98 | 1 | 2.64 | 0 | 0 |
| Todd Murphy | 36 | 9 | 82 | 5 | 2.27 | 0 | 1 |
| Marnus Labuschagne | 5 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 4.80 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Renshaw | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7.00 | 0 | 0 |
