DT e-Paper, Saturday, 12 November, 2016

DT
26
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2016
Sport
India’s Murali Vijay plays a shot against England during their first Test at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot, India yesterday
Pujara, Vijay lead India’s strong batting reply
• AFP, Rajkot
Heavens above! Rain may thwart Aussie fightback
• AFP, Hobart
Skipper Steve Smith said yesterday
he may play with just four bowlers
as rain threatens Australia’s chances
of rebounding from their mauling
against South Africa in the second
Test from today.
Heavy downpours are forecast
through to Monday’s third day in
Hobart, which doesn’t bode well
for Australia as they bid to recover
from their 177-run thrashing in
Perth - their fourth straight Test
defeat.
Smith’s underfire side are anxious
not to make selection mistakes
Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay
hit centuries as India mounted
a steady counter-attack on the
third day of a high-scoring first Test
against England yesterday.
Top-ranked India finished the
day on a strong 319-4 at the Saurashtra
Cricket Association ground
in Rajkot, supported by the duo’s
performance.
Pujara made 124 off 206 balls
before being dismissed by first-innings
centurion Ben Stokes, but
owes his ninth Test century and
third against England to the Decision
Review System.
The right-handed batsman was
ruled lbw on 86 but the TV umpire -
which long-time sceptics India are
using for the first time in a home
series - overturned the decision
after the ball-tracker showed Zafar
Ansari’s delivery going over the top
of the stumps.
Vijay hit 126 during a marathon
eight-hour innings and shared 209
runs for the second wicket with
Pujara.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli was
batting on 26 at stumps while
nightwatchman Amit Mishra was
dismissed for a duck off the last
ahead of the pivotal Hobart game,
the second of three Tests, and the
27-year-old captain has several options
in mind.
He confirmed that number five
batsman Adam Voges was fit to play
after hamstring trouble and indicated
Australia may line up with
six recognised batsmen, throwing
into doubt the places of all-rounder
Mitchell Marsh and spinner Lyon.
Asked about going in with just
four bowlers, as rain delays should
mean they will get plenty of rest,
Smith said: “Not sure, that’s up to
the selectors and they’ll decide [today].”
ball of the day.
The hosts trailed by 218 runs
with six wickets in hand in reply
to England’s 537, their third biggest
total on Indian soil thanks to
centuries from Joe Root, Moeen Ali
and Stokes.
After being stuck on 99 for 10
balls, Pujara reached the three-figure
mark with a nervous single as
his father and wife applauded from
the stands.
Vijay raced to his seventh Test
century with two boundaries off
Stuart Broad, who is playing his
100th Test, and celebrated it by
leaping into the air.
Australia were forced into two
changes from the Perth Test line-up
with opener Shaun Marsh breaking
a finger and paceman Peter Siddle
suffering a back strain. Joe Burns is
expected to open the innings with
David Warner, while Joe Mennie is
likely to make his Test debut. Tasmanian
paceman Jackson Bird has
been added to the squad.
Smith’s captaincy has come
under heavy criticism during
Australia’s losing run, with Test
legend Shane Warne claiming
that off-spinner Lyon was under-bowled
in Perth. But Smith defended
his leadership.•
REUTERS
Pujara, 28, flourished in the
post-lunch session, twice carting
leg-spinner Adil Rashid for fours in
the same over.
Vijay was lucky to earn a life on
66 when debutant Haseeb Hameed
failed to hold onto his catch off
Broad (1-54) in the covers.
It was England’s turn to huff and
puff in temperatures touching 35
degrees Celsius (95 degree Fahrenheit),
and on a surface that had
little to offer to the bowlers.
The morning session saw India
lose opener Gautam Gambhir (29)
to Broad, who struck off his first
ball of the day.•
65.09
Average partnership
between M Vijay
and Cheteshwar Pujara - the best among
13 India pairs with 2000 or more runs.
They completed 2000 runs together
during their 209-run stand in Rajkot,
becoming the only such pair for India
since 2010.
81.45
Vijay’s average in
first Tests of a series
since June 2014. He has scored 896
runs in 11 innings in first Tests including
one-match series. His average keeps
decreasing in the subsequent matches
of a series - 52 in the second, 25 in the
third and 18.83 in the fourth. He has
made nine 50-plus scores in 11 innings in
the first (or only) match match of a Test
series in that time period.
3
Centuries for Pujara in Tests against
England - his most against any
opposition. Before his 124 in this match,
he made 206 not out and 135 in his first
two Tests against England in the 2012-13
home series. He averages 93.66 against
England at home but only 22.20 in
England.
1
Number of bigger second-wicket
partnerships for India against
England than Vijay and Pujara’s here.
Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir
shared 314 runs in Mohali in 2008-
09. This is only the third 200-plus
partnership for India versus England in
the last 20 years and first since Dravid-
Gambhir.
1ST TEST, DAY 3
ENGLAND FIRST INNINGS
537 (Stokes 128, Root 124, Moeen 117)
INDIA FIRST INNINGS R B
Vijay c Hameed b Rashid 126 301
Gambhir lbw b Broad 29 72
Pujara c Cook b Stokes 124 206
Kohli not out 26 70
Mishra c Hameed b Ansari 0 2
Extras (b 12, lb 1, w 1) 14
Total (4 wickets; 108.3 overs) 319
Fall Of Wickets
1-68 (Gambhir), 2-277 (Pujara), 3-318
(Vijay), 4-319 (Mishra)
Bowling
Broad 20-7-54-1, Woakes 23-5-39-0,
Moeen 22-6-70-0, Ansari 17.3-1-57-1,
Rashid 16-1-47-1, Stokes 10-1-39-1
India trail by 218 runs
Morne Morkel of South Africa checks his bowling run up during a nets session at
Blundstone Arena yesterday
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