Ravindra Jadeja takes four as India reduce Australia to 174/8

Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne stitched an unbeaten 82-run partnership to help Australia reach 76 for two against India at lunch

Come-back man Ravindra Jadeja (4/45) struck four times as India reduced Australia to 174 for eight at tea on day one of the opening Test here on Thursday.

The left-arm spinner, who returned from a knee injury, was the wrecker-in-chief during the second session as he broke the partnership between Steve Smith (37) and Marnus Labuschagne (49) before trapping Matt Renshaw and Todd Murphy.

Alex Carrey scored a 33-ball 36 before veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (2/41), who was the other wicket-taker for India in the second session, ended his stay in the middle.

Earlier, pacers Mohammed Shami (1/12) and Mohammed Siraj (1/13) dealt early blows to the visitors, removing openers Usman Khwaja (1) and David Warner (1) within the first three overs.

Smith and Labuschagne stitched an 82-run partnership for the third wicket.

Brief Scores:

Australia 1st innings: 174 for 8 in 60 overs (Marnus Labuschagne 49, Steve Smith 37; Ravindra Jadeja 4/45 )