Sachin, Sourav steady the ship, after top order loses initiative on a perfect batting track. India 1st Inning 311/5.
Australia in India 2008/09, Second TestIndia v Australia 2nd Test, First DayLast Update : 17-Oct-2008 23:57:00 IST
Mohali: Indian played it by the numbers on Friday as the milestone men got going in this milestone Test. The nonpareil Sachin Tendulkar scaled the tallest peak yet in a career which has already reached dizzying heights, becoming the highest Test run-scorer and going past 12K runs. He also scored his 50th half-century, falling short of a 40th ton by a mere 12 runs.
Sourav Ganguly, batting on 54, became only the fourth Indian batsman to get to the 7,000-run mark, and together their 142-run fifth wicket stand titled the scales as India got to 311/5 at stumps on the first day of the second Test.
MS Dhoni's men, after winning an important toss, largely dominated Friday's proceedings. But ebbs and flows kept the Aussies in the hunt on a placid Mohali pitch after injured Anil Kumble opted out and leggie Amit Mishra was drafted in.
Gambhir 67 (140b, 9x4) and Sehwag 35 (36b, 6x4) had been instrumental in getting the team off to the soundest of starts as the Aussie pacemen fund it difficult to extract either lateral movement or any disconcerting bounce in surprisingly sunny conditions. They strayed in line and length too, allowing India to race off the blocks to 63 in the first 10 overs.
Brief Score: India 311 for 5 (Tendulkar 88, Gambhir 67, Ganguly 54*) v Australia.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
