Vijay, Pujara grind down Australians

Indian pair strokes fluent tons

With his place in the squad on line, Murali Vijay produced a typical old-style Test century while Cheteshwar Pujara scripted another master piece as India buried Australia under a pile of runs to take firm grip of the second Test.

The right-handed duo off-set an early blow in the shape of Virender Sehwag’s dismissal to raise 294 runs for the unbroken second wicket to help India finish Sunday’s second day on a commanding 311 for one. The hosts have now established a handy 74-run lead after resuming at their overnight score of 5/0. Australia had declared their first innings at 237/9 on the opening day. 

After India’s bowlers enjoyed a perfect day on Saturday when they left Australia on the brink, it was the turn of their batsmen to consolidate the position and they couldn’t have done the job any better. An under-scanner Sehwag once again failed to kick-off after a subdued stay at the wicket but Vijay (129 batting, 376m, 288b, 17x4, 2x6), equally under pressure, knuckled down to score only his second Test century that surely will have helped him escape the axe for some time to come.

His first hundred, also against Australia, came way back in October 2010 in Bangalore. Pujara (162 batting, 338m, 251b, 25x4, 1x6), the more comfortable of the two centurions, once again underlined his credentials as a future great with an innings oozing with class and confidence, amply reflected in the way he hooked Peter Siddle over backward square-leg fence. This is Pujara’s fourth Test hundred and his second highest score, which may eventually best his existing top score (206 n.o. against England in Ahmedabad).

The first session, which saw Pujara and Vijay add a painstakingly slow 42 runs in 22 overs, hardly gave an indication of things to follow. The Aussie pacers bowled with great discipline to dry up the runs but never at any stage did they appear menacing. The odd ball did zip past or kicked up but nothing that would leave the batsmen overly concerned. Yet, Pujara and Vijay didn’t take any chance. There was a stage – from over number 15 to 26 – when they collected just 10 runs.

The momentum, however, shifted dramatically in the post-lunch session when the duo essayed a flurry of boundaries. Vijay chose Siddle to pick his fours while Pujara clobbered James Pattinson for three boundaries in one over to change the complexion of the game. While India’s run-rate hovered around two or even less in the opening session, it gradually increased in the second before flourishing in the final session. The duo gathered 106 runs in 33 overs in the middle session and the ordeal got only harder for Australia as Pujara and Vijay scored at over five runs an over in the post-tea period to collect 151 runs in 30 overs.  

The visiting attack increasingly became frustrated and their two reinforcements – left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty and off-spinning all-rounder Glenn Maxwell – were quite ordinary on the day. Doherty did extract some turn off the surface to keep the batsmen in check for a while, but Maxwell was given little respect, carted around for 55 runs in 10 unimpressive overs.

Having blown away his opportunities in Chennai, Vijay looked determined to make a strong statement. The right-hander struggled initially against the pace of Pattinson and Siddle but exhibited a solid temperament to get through the ‘difficult’ phase. Even though the runs weren’t flowing from his blade, he never appeared flustered.

He bided his time to build a classic Test hundred which was laced with some elegantly executed cover drives and audacious aerial shots. The Tamil Nadu batsman isn’t done by any stretch of imagination. In the company of Vijay, Pujara left the Australian attack completely demoralised.

Cautious to begin with, the Saurashtra batsman may have just taken the game away from the visitors with a blistering assault towards the end. In audacity, it may not have matched MS Dhoni’s double hundred in Chennai but it was no less effective in the context of the game. The right-hander, who had consumed 149 balls for his 73 at the tea interval, brought up his next 89 in just 102 balls as a 30,000-plus crowd lapped up each moment.    

Score board   

AUSTRALIA (I Innings): 237/9 decl in 85 overs.

INDIA (I Innings; O/n: 5/0):
Vijay (batting)    129
(376m, 288b, 17x4, 2x6)
Sehwag c Wade b Siddle    6
(37m, 19b, 1x4)
Pujara (batting)    162
(338m, 251b, 25x4, 1x6)
Extras (B-1, LB-11, W-2)    14
Total (for one wkt, 93 overs)    311
Fall of wicket: 1-17 (Sehwag).
Bowling: Pattinson 18-7-56-0 (w-1), Siddle 19-5-51-0, Henriques 19-7-38-0 (w-1), Doherty 26-7-85-0, Maxwell 10-1-55-0. Warner 1-0-14-0.