Twitter Reactions: Usman Khawaja, Cameron Green propel Australia to substantial total despite late fightback from India
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill remained unbeaten at the crease after dismissing Australia for 480 runs in the first innings.
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The second day of the ongoing fourth Test match between Australia and India saw the Indian bowlers toil hard under the sun for a second consecutive day before Ravichandran Ashwin's magnificent six-for ended Australia's innings. While Usman Khawaja fell short of a deserved double ton, Cameron Green once again proved his worth after registering his maiden Test century on a hot day at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Following a dominant performance from the Aussie batters, India have got off to a solid start of their own after a steady start from openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. The pitch is still playing nicely for the batters, offering negligible assistance for the bowlers, especially the spinners, who are finding it hard to turn the ball in Ahmedabad.
Australia started the day from where they left off in the evening session of the opening day as Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green piled the pressure on the Indian bowlers. The duo, especially Khawaja, looked unhurried and untroubled at the crease despite the best efforts of the Indians.
The tourists headed into the lunch break after Khawaja reached his 150. The post-lunch session saw the Aussies put their foot on the accelerator as Green reached the magical three-figure mark in Test cricket for the first time in his career. The massive 208-run stand between the pair, the fourth highest against India in India since 2010, was finally broken after Green fell to Ravichandran Ashwin. Alex Carey also departed in the same over without troubling the scorers.
Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy compounded the misery of Indian bowlers
Khawaja, who was the immovable object for the visitors, perished just 20 runs shy of a historic double ton after playing a tired shot on the very first delivery of the third session. The home side were in the ascendency and were looking to wrap up the Australian tail quickly after the southpaw's dismissal. However, the pair of Todd Murphy and Nathan Lyon threw a spanner in India's plans with a frustrating 70-run stand for the ninth wicket.
While Lyon was using his defence to great effect, his young spin bowling partner played his shots to register his highest Test score. But Ashwin showed his class once again after he dismissed both the tail-enders in quick succession to grab a brilliant six-wicket haul on a benign surface, bringing a halt to Australia's progress after 480 runs in the first innings. The veteran offie is now India's leading wicket-taker against the Aussies in Test matches.
Here is how Twitter reacted to a bowling masterclass from Ravichandran Ashwin after Australia's massive total:
@BCCI
601
35
@Cricketracker
312
@SunRisers
12211
@mipaltan
69047@BCCI
2.6K205
@cricketaakash1.5K49
@sanjaymanjrekar2K88
@SGanguly995.5K249
@thebharatarmy
291
@LucknowIPL
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