India's Rohit Sharma hits century after Toddy Murphy five-for on day two against Australia
- Jonhenry Wilson
- 10 February 2023
Captain Rohit Sharma carried India to 321 for seven - for a lead of 144 - on day two of the first Test against Australia in Nagpur on Friday.
Sharma hit 15 fours and two sixes en route to 120 - and received solid support from all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.
This was the ninth century of Sharma's Test career. He also has 30 ODI tons and four in T20I cricket.
Resuming on overnight's 77 for one, India relished a fighting 23 from nightwatchman Ravichandran Ashwin. He defied Australia for 62 deliveries before falling to spinner Todd Murphy.
Murphy exploited the turn and bounce on offer from the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium pitch. He also dismissed middle-order duo Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli. The experienced duo shared just 19 runs.
Murphy's five-wicket haul on international debut arrived when fellow Test debutant Srikar Bharat was out lbw.
The veteran Nathan Lyon had earlier dismissed the dangerous Suryakumar Yadav, whose status as the number one T20I batsman will require moderation at Test level.
Bharat's demise was Australia's last wicket for the day, as Jadeja and Patel combined for an unbroken 81-run alliance inside 31 overs. Jadeja collected 66 not out to Patel's 52 not out.
Australia, meanwhile, are sweating on the fitness of batsman Matt Renshaw. He was injured in the field and left for scans. Whether Renshaw will be able to bat in third innings remains in the balance.
Day one saw Australia bowled out for 177. Their last eight wickets fell for 93 runs. Batsman Marnus Labuschagne top-scored with 49. Openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja managed a mere single each.
Jadeja, returning to international cricket after several months on the sidelines due to injury, completed a five-wicket haul.
His five for 47 was complemented by Ashwin's three wickets. Ashwin reached 450 Test wickets with the dismissal of wicketkeeper-batsman Alex Carey.
Ashwin is one of only nine Test cricketers to take 450 or more Test wickets. Lyon has reached the milestone, too. They, and England's Stuart Broad, are the only active players among Test cricket's top nine wicket-takers - the rest have retired.
Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan is at the top, while the late Shane Warne is in second position. England's James Anderson and India's Anil Kumble in fourth and fifth position, respectively.
