 and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (three for 53) helped India restrict Australia to 237 for nine before declaring on Day One of the second Test against India. "Pin It")
Ravindra Jadeja (second from right) took a career-best three for 33 on Day One © PTI (File Pic)
On a see-saw day of Test cricket, three-wicket hauls by Ravindra Jadeja (three for 33) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (three for 53) helped India restrict Australia to 237 for nine before declaring on Day One of the second Test against India.
After Bhuvneshwar ripped through the visitors' top order in the first session with India taking four wickets, Michael Clarke (91) and Matthew Wade (68) sparked a revival and batted through the post-lunch session, before Jadeja and Harbhajan Singh (two for 52) shared the spoils in the third.
There wasn't much hope left for Australia to recover from 236 for nine, which was when Clarke departed. Always the proactive captain, Clarke soon declared his team's batting with one wicket to go and 15 minutes of play left in the day, with an aim to have a go at the Indian openers for what turned out to be three overs.
It was a smart, aggressive declaration by Clarke, who must have been livid with his team's batting display. Having won the toss on a pitch that looked good for batting for the first couple of days, Australia were on the backfoot straight away as Bhuvneshwar ran in with the new ball.
The Uttar Pradesh lad was underbowled on the dust bowl at Chennai and could not open his wickets account in his debut match, but he seems to have made up for it well here in Hyderabad.
The 23-year-old bagged the first wicket of his Test career in the third over of the day as he got David Warner (6) to cannon an away-moving ball onto his stumps. It was the perfect start that India were looking for, and it got even better.
Bhuvneshwar recorded two wickets in as many overs as he trapped Ed Cowan (4) plumb in front of the sticks in his third over of the day. Phil Hughes and Shane Watson then went about steadying Australia's ship following the early wobble. Both batsmen connected with the ball really well and scored at a rate above four runs and over, before Bhuvneshwar struck again.
Ravichandran Ashwin soon joined the party as he got rid of Hughes (19) in the 22nd over. India looked in total control after reducing the visitors to 83 for four at lunch.
Clarke then had to come to his side's rescue once again as Australia did not lose a single wicket in the post-lunch session. Wade, at the other end, ensured that Australia did not lose any more wickets, as Australia took tea at 187 for four and would have been pleased with their comeback.
However, all their hard work was undone in the final session as Jadeja and Harbhajan ran through the lower order one-by-one. At 237 for nine, Clarke declared and put India in to bat for what turned out to be three overs of pressure.
Murali Vijay and Virender Sehwag managed to survive till the end and will look to set India on the way to a lead on Day Two.
Brief Scores: Australia 237 for 9 dec. (Michael Clarke 91, Matthew Wade 68; Ravindra Jadeja 3 for 33, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 3 for 53) lead India 5 for no loss (Virender Sehwag 4*) by 232 runs.
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