AHMEDABAD: With Ravichandran Ashwin claiming four wickets Indian bowlers clawed back after a 200-run partnership stand between Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green Day 2 of the fourth Test match against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy here at Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday.
At the time of Tea Asutralia’s score read 409/7, with Khawaja (180) and Nathan Lyon (6) unbeaten at the crease.
Resuming their innings after Lunch at 347/4, centurion Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green started cautiously as they kept taking singles at regular intervals.
With a superb four on Ravindra Jadeja’s delivery, Green brought up his maiden Test century. The Aussie batters rotated the strike brilliantly, not allowing the Indian bowlers to settle down while whacking the loose balls on offer.
The duo of Green and Khawaja stitched put a 200 runs partnership in 326 balls in the 126th over of the game. India bounced back with wickets in the latter half after the Green and Khawaja got the hosts off to a great mark.
In the 131st over of the game, Ravichandran Ashwin struck twice to remove centurion Green for 114. Ashwin then struck again in the same over to dismiss new batter Alex Carey for 0.
The left-handed batter Mitchell Starc then came out to bat but the latter could not do much as he was dismissed by Ashwin for 6. Khawaja held the fort from the front and took Australia’s total to 409/7 at the time of Team.
Earlier, Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green’s unbeaten stand for the fifth wicket took Australia past the 300-run mark as India bowlers struggled for wickets in the first session.
The batting pair of Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green were decisive in their approach and made the Indian bowlers toil hard making merry of the excellent batting conditions on offer.
India started with spin from both ends with Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel bowling in tandem from both ends but captain Rohit Sharma introduced Mohammed Shami into the attack after the spinners failed to get any purchase from the wicket.
Australia all-rounder Cameron Green brought up his fifty soon after the day’s play began while Usman Khawaja continued to pile up runs after notching up a century on the first day. Cameron Green was the aggressor of the batting pair, smashing boundaries regularly. The final half an hour was completely dominated by the Aussie batters as runs came thick and fast for the visitors.
Khawaja displayed great resilience and determination as he brought up his 150 minutes before lunch with a pull. Umesh Yadav was on the receiving end with Green smashing him for three boundaries in an over.
The Aussie batters rotated the strike brilliantly, not allowing the Indian bowlers to settle down while whacking the loose balls on offer.
Brief Score: Australia 409/7 (Usman Khawaja 180*, Cameron Green 114; Ravichandran Ashwin 4-83) vs India. (ANI)