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MOHALI: Shikhar Dhawan and
Murali Vijay's record opening
partnership helped India reach
283 for no loss at stumps on day
three of the third Test against
Australia at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) on Saturday.
Dhawan (batting 185) and Vijay
(batting 83) recorded the highest first wicket partnership for India against
Australia. India now trail Australia by 125 runs. The 27-year-old Dhawan was on a record-
breaking spree as he raced to his century off a
mere 85 balls, and was going strong, when the
stumps were drawn on the third day of the
penultimate Test. The Delhi left-hander surpassed the record of
earlier fastest hundred on debut, which was in
the name of West Indian Dwayne Smith, who
reached his ton in 93 balls in the third Test
against South Africa in Cape Town in January
2004. In the process, Dhawan also became the highest
individual scorer for India on debut, beating the
previous record held by Gundappa Vishwanath
(137) against Australia at the Eden Gardens in
1969-70. It was a breathtaking assault by Dhawan who
unleashed a flurry of strokes on both sides of the
wicket to leave the visitors in a daze as the
Indians scored at a brisk run rate of 4.87. Dhawan slammed 33 fours and two sixes during
his blistering innings, during which he did not
leave a single corner at the Punjab Cricket
Association Stadium (PCA) untouched. The rollicking Dhawan-Vijay association was also
the highest for the first wicket at this ground,
and the best for India against Australia. India smashed 127 runs in the final session, with
a whopping 418 runs being scored on the day. Murali Vijay played his part in the run-fest,
contributing an unbeaten 85 with the help of 10
fours and two sixes. By tea, he had hit 21 fours while spending 115
minutes in the middle, helping India score 153
runs in the 28 overs bowled in the second
session of play. It must be mentioned that Dhwan raced into the
90s without hitting a single ball in the air. What
makes his effort even more praiseworthy is that
he maintained a strike-rate of over hundred
almost all through his innings. It was a staggering 117.64 when Dhawan got to
the three-figure mark. The striking rate was 114.50 when Dhawan
reached his 150, off 131 balls, phenomenal by
Test cricket's standards. The first time the left-hander hit the ball in the air
was, when on 111, he chipped Nathan Lyon over
cover, which too also resulted in a boundary. Soon, he got his first six as he lofted Lyon over
his head, this despite being beaten in the flight. Earlier, one run was all that separated Starc from
becoming the first number nine Australian
batsman to notch up a century in India, as the
visitors posted a competitive total. Though he missed out on the hundred by a
whisker, Starc, along with Steven Smith (92),
frustrated the Indians for a while, helping
Australia add 135 runs in the first session of play
before Ravichandran Ashwin trapped last-man
Xavier Doherty. The Indians made three runs in the one over they
played before lunch, with Vijay scoring all of
them. But, after the break, the show completely
belonged to Dhawan who treated the Australian
bowlers with disdain, playing some delightful
shots, especially through the heavily populated
off-side. The onslaught continued in the final session as
Dhawan raced from 105 to 185, with the
addition of another 12 boundaries and two sixes. Such was his off-side play that it would have
pleased even Sourav Ganguly and former England
captain David Gower. The Delhi batsman's timing was impeccable and
his shot-selection faultless. Australians, literally, had no answer to counter
Dhawan's strokeplay. The way Dhawan
dominated the Aussies, it never looked like he
was playing his maiden Test. He was piercing the gaps on the off-side with
consummate ease no matter how many fielders
Michael Clarke employed to man the region. In terms of statistics, he hit 19 fours in the first 23
overs, the joint-highest along with West Indian
Chris Gayle. Dhawan reached his 50 off just 50 balls, with the
12 fours in 72 minutes. Earlier, Starc was caught-behind on 99 by
Mahendra Singh Dhoni off Ishant Sharma, which
also dashed his hopes of becoming the first
Australian in 66 years to score a century while
batting at this position. Ray Lindwall had scored an even 100 against
England at the MCG in 1947 while coming out at
number nine. Another record tumbled on the day as Starc and
Smith's 97-run association for the eighth wicket
surpassed the previous best of 73 between
Shane Watson and Brett Lee for this wicket at
this ground. Starc was the more aggressive of
the two. Starc smashed 14 fours and faced 144 balls
during his 146-minute stay at the crease. The 23-
year-old left-hander from New South Wales was
equal to task whether it was about facing pacers
or the spinners. Making a sort of a lucky comeback to the Test
squad after more than two years in wilderness,
Smith made it count with a career-best score that
included 10 boundaries and a six. He occupied
the crease for 235 minutes and faced 185 balls. A well-deserved century in sight, Smith became
victim of a viciously turning deliver from Pragyan
Ojha and an equally good work by India skipper
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who stumped the
batsman in a flash. India heaved a sigh of relief, but Australia
ensured they consolidate their position with
another half-century partnership, for the ninth
wicket Starc and Nathan Lyon, with the former
firmly in control of the proceedings. During the course of their innings, both the
batsmen had surpassed their previous best Test
scores. While Smith's previous best effort - 77 -- had
come against Pakistan at Leeds, Starc's top-score
prior to this match was 68 against South Africa,
in Perth last year. The two joined forces after pacer Peter Siddle
was trapped in front by left-arm spinner
Ravindra Jadeja with Australia at 251 for seven
yesterday evening. It's not just that they added important runs but
they did so at a fairly quick rate while keeping
the Indian bowlers at bay. Dhoni rotated his bowlers, but Smith and Starc
put up a stoic defiance. Resuming at 273 for seven, both Smith and Starc
were at ease while dealing with the ball, which
was 104 overs old at the start of the day's play. Starc made his intentions clear by pulling Ishant
Sharma and then flicked Ravichandran Aswhin
for another boundary. After surviving a close lbw shout by Ishant,
Smith got into the act driving him through the
offside for his first authoritative shot of the day.
Starc, meanwhile, played Ishant straight over his
head as the ball sped to the fence in one bounce. The new ball was taken after 108 overs, but it
was not the quicker bowlers, but a spinner who
gave India the first breakthrough of the day. Having replaced Aswhin from the pavilion end,
Ojha got one to turn and bounce sharply, and
Dhoni completed a smart stumping with Smith's
backfoot on the line. For India, Ishant and Ravindra Jadeja finished
with three wickets each, while Ashwin and Ojha
had two apiece.
http://www.timesofindia.com/sports/...e-firm-grip-at-283/0/articleshow/19000631.cms
Murali Vijay's record opening
partnership helped India reach
283 for no loss at stumps on day
three of the third Test against
Australia at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) on Saturday.
Dhawan (batting 185) and Vijay
(batting 83) recorded the highest first wicket partnership for India against
Australia. India now trail Australia by 125 runs. The 27-year-old Dhawan was on a record-
breaking spree as he raced to his century off a
mere 85 balls, and was going strong, when the
stumps were drawn on the third day of the
penultimate Test. The Delhi left-hander surpassed the record of
earlier fastest hundred on debut, which was in
the name of West Indian Dwayne Smith, who
reached his ton in 93 balls in the third Test
against South Africa in Cape Town in January
2004. In the process, Dhawan also became the highest
individual scorer for India on debut, beating the
previous record held by Gundappa Vishwanath
(137) against Australia at the Eden Gardens in
1969-70. It was a breathtaking assault by Dhawan who
unleashed a flurry of strokes on both sides of the
wicket to leave the visitors in a daze as the
Indians scored at a brisk run rate of 4.87. Dhawan slammed 33 fours and two sixes during
his blistering innings, during which he did not
leave a single corner at the Punjab Cricket
Association Stadium (PCA) untouched. The rollicking Dhawan-Vijay association was also
the highest for the first wicket at this ground,
and the best for India against Australia. India smashed 127 runs in the final session, with
a whopping 418 runs being scored on the day. Murali Vijay played his part in the run-fest,
contributing an unbeaten 85 with the help of 10
fours and two sixes. By tea, he had hit 21 fours while spending 115
minutes in the middle, helping India score 153
runs in the 28 overs bowled in the second
session of play. It must be mentioned that Dhwan raced into the
90s without hitting a single ball in the air. What
makes his effort even more praiseworthy is that
he maintained a strike-rate of over hundred
almost all through his innings. It was a staggering 117.64 when Dhawan got to
the three-figure mark. The striking rate was 114.50 when Dhawan
reached his 150, off 131 balls, phenomenal by
Test cricket's standards. The first time the left-hander hit the ball in the air
was, when on 111, he chipped Nathan Lyon over
cover, which too also resulted in a boundary. Soon, he got his first six as he lofted Lyon over
his head, this despite being beaten in the flight. Earlier, one run was all that separated Starc from
becoming the first number nine Australian
batsman to notch up a century in India, as the
visitors posted a competitive total. Though he missed out on the hundred by a
whisker, Starc, along with Steven Smith (92),
frustrated the Indians for a while, helping
Australia add 135 runs in the first session of play
before Ravichandran Ashwin trapped last-man
Xavier Doherty. The Indians made three runs in the one over they
played before lunch, with Vijay scoring all of
them. But, after the break, the show completely
belonged to Dhawan who treated the Australian
bowlers with disdain, playing some delightful
shots, especially through the heavily populated
off-side. The onslaught continued in the final session as
Dhawan raced from 105 to 185, with the
addition of another 12 boundaries and two sixes. Such was his off-side play that it would have
pleased even Sourav Ganguly and former England
captain David Gower. The Delhi batsman's timing was impeccable and
his shot-selection faultless. Australians, literally, had no answer to counter
Dhawan's strokeplay. The way Dhawan
dominated the Aussies, it never looked like he
was playing his maiden Test. He was piercing the gaps on the off-side with
consummate ease no matter how many fielders
Michael Clarke employed to man the region. In terms of statistics, he hit 19 fours in the first 23
overs, the joint-highest along with West Indian
Chris Gayle. Dhawan reached his 50 off just 50 balls, with the
12 fours in 72 minutes. Earlier, Starc was caught-behind on 99 by
Mahendra Singh Dhoni off Ishant Sharma, which
also dashed his hopes of becoming the first
Australian in 66 years to score a century while
batting at this position. Ray Lindwall had scored an even 100 against
England at the MCG in 1947 while coming out at
number nine. Another record tumbled on the day as Starc and
Smith's 97-run association for the eighth wicket
surpassed the previous best of 73 between
Shane Watson and Brett Lee for this wicket at
this ground. Starc was the more aggressive of
the two. Starc smashed 14 fours and faced 144 balls
during his 146-minute stay at the crease. The 23-
year-old left-hander from New South Wales was
equal to task whether it was about facing pacers
or the spinners. Making a sort of a lucky comeback to the Test
squad after more than two years in wilderness,
Smith made it count with a career-best score that
included 10 boundaries and a six. He occupied
the crease for 235 minutes and faced 185 balls. A well-deserved century in sight, Smith became
victim of a viciously turning deliver from Pragyan
Ojha and an equally good work by India skipper
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who stumped the
batsman in a flash. India heaved a sigh of relief, but Australia
ensured they consolidate their position with
another half-century partnership, for the ninth
wicket Starc and Nathan Lyon, with the former
firmly in control of the proceedings. During the course of their innings, both the
batsmen had surpassed their previous best Test
scores. While Smith's previous best effort - 77 -- had
come against Pakistan at Leeds, Starc's top-score
prior to this match was 68 against South Africa,
in Perth last year. The two joined forces after pacer Peter Siddle
was trapped in front by left-arm spinner
Ravindra Jadeja with Australia at 251 for seven
yesterday evening. It's not just that they added important runs but
they did so at a fairly quick rate while keeping
the Indian bowlers at bay. Dhoni rotated his bowlers, but Smith and Starc
put up a stoic defiance. Resuming at 273 for seven, both Smith and Starc
were at ease while dealing with the ball, which
was 104 overs old at the start of the day's play. Starc made his intentions clear by pulling Ishant
Sharma and then flicked Ravichandran Aswhin
for another boundary. After surviving a close lbw shout by Ishant,
Smith got into the act driving him through the
offside for his first authoritative shot of the day.
Starc, meanwhile, played Ishant straight over his
head as the ball sped to the fence in one bounce. The new ball was taken after 108 overs, but it
was not the quicker bowlers, but a spinner who
gave India the first breakthrough of the day. Having replaced Aswhin from the pavilion end,
Ojha got one to turn and bounce sharply, and
Dhoni completed a smart stumping with Smith's
backfoot on the line. For India, Ishant and Ravindra Jadeja finished
with three wickets each, while Ashwin and Ojha
had two apiece.
http://www.timesofindia.com/sports/...e-firm-grip-at-283/0/articleshow/19000631.cms
