MELBOURNE : India fought back in the post-lunch session with two quick-wickets in consecutive overs as Australia reached 174 for three at tea on day one of the third cricket Test at the MCG here today.
If the Australians ran away with the first morning honours, India came back in the second session by grabbing two wickets and yielding 82 runs in the 31 overs bowled after lunch.
Skipper Steven Smith, on 23 off 58 balls, and Shaun Marsh, on 32 off 77 balls, put on 59 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket to hold back the visitors in the second session.
Chris Rogers (57 off 126 balls) and Shane Watson (52 off 89 balls) had begun the session looking to extend their 92-run partnership for the second wicket and further frustrate the Indians. They began where they left off, bringing up the 100-mark in the 30th over as also their century-stand.
In the very next over, left-handed Rogers went on to score his third successive fifty of the series, his eighth overall in Tests. He reached there off 113 balls, with five fours.
At the other end, Watson overcame his poor run of scores and scored his first Test fifty in nine innings, off 74 balls, hitting four boundaries.
The duo looked good for plenty more when Mohammad Shami (1/40) struck against the run of play. Rogers was caught behind in the 37th over after the bowler had regained his composure after a poor display in the morning session.
In the very next over, R Ashwin (1/26) removed Watson, trapping him LBW as he went for a sweep-shot. The two bowlers then bowled a consistent spell, putting pressure on the two new batsmen at the crease.
In fact it was the first sustained pressure-spell from the Indian attack this series, with Ishant Sharma (0/40) and Umesh Yadav (1/55) also keeping things tight. The ground fielding also improved after a horrendous display in the morning.
But Smith and Marsh settled down to keep the scoreboard ticking, picking up the odd boundary when the opportunity presented. Just before the tea break, they helped bring up the 150-mark in the 52nd over, and then their 50-run stand six overs later.
Earlier, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. The hosts had made two changes to their eleven from the second Test. Ryan Harris came in for Mitchell Starc while Joe Burns made his debut in place of the injured Mitchell Marsh.
India too made two changes, bringing in Shami for Varun Aaron. Rohit Sharma was dropped to make way for debutant Lokesh Rahul, who will be batting at number six.
Rogers opened the innings with Warner. Ishant and Yadav bowled superbly in their initial spells, troubling the batsmen with their movement and creating pressure from both ends.
It resulted in Warner’s wicket, in the second over itself, out for a duck caught off Yadav in the slips by Shikhar Dhawan. Watson arrived at the crease and he too was put under pressure by the two bowlers.
Even as India looked on top, using the little cloud cover to their advantage, the pressure began to ease off as Rogers-Watson combination began to settle down. They started playing their shots and were helped by a poor effort in the field by the visitors.
Runs started coming off quickly, nearly four per over in the first 10, and the 50-mark came up in 14th over.
After the medium pacers had lost their bearings, R Ashwin was brought into the attack and he got some control giving away only four runs in five overs he bowled. But there were too many moments of botched-up fielding efforts as India let go of their chance to go into the break in a better position.
The worst moment for India during the first morning came when Watson was given a life in the 25th over. Shami was the unlucky bowler and he had created enough pressure to induce an edge when Dhawan jumped in front of first slip and let go off a simple chance, much to the visitors’ anguish. The batsman was on 37 at that time. The duo avoided any such moments until the break thereafter.
Australia had won the first Test in Adelaide by 48 runs and then the second Test in Brisbane by four wickets to take a 2-0 lead in the four-match series. (AGENCIES)
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