Aus score 480 riding on Khawaja's 180, Green's maiden ton; India 36 for no loss

Usman Khawajas resilience found its able ally in Cameron Greens audacious flair as Australia tested Indias bowling depth as well as patience to put up a commanding 480 on the second day of the fourth Test here on FridayAt stumps Indian openers were also hardly troubled on a track that hasnt deteriorated one bit as Rohit Sharma 17 batting and Shubman Gill 18 batting added 36 runs in 10 oversBut to make a match out of it onus will be on India to score quickly on day three on SaturdayThe most awkward time to start an innings is during the last 10 overs of the day but Gill lofted Nathan Lyon for a six down the ground to signal his attacking intent in that short span of timeAustralia still hold a massive advantage as their three spinners are likely to get more purchase than their Indian counterparts going into the third dayKhawajas marathon knock of 180 lasted 10 hours and 11 minutes and he faced 422 balls which is effectively 702 overs of the total 1672 overs faced by the Australian teamGreens maiden Test hundred an eminently attractive 114 laced with 18 boundaries was a good counterpunching effort on a track which was easy to bat on and which gives value for shots playing within the VAlso Read India vs Australia 3rd Test Poor shot selection puts Men in Blue on backfoot in IndoreTheir 208run stand that lasted 594 overs will certainly add a lot of confidence in the Australian dressing room after failing to cross 275 even once in the five completed innings during the first three gamesThe plight of the Indian attack was evident when Todd Murphy 41 off 65 balls and Nathan Lyon 34 off 96 balls added 70 runs for the ninth wicket in just 192 overs in a stand where a few audacious shots were played in between a couple of streaky onesWhen a bowling unit concedes a total of 11 boundaries off batter Nos 9 and 10 the going really gets toughNo credit will be enough for Ashwin 47215916 who gave his all manfully and got his 32nd fivewicket haul in Test cricket and is now only 27 wickets short of becoming second Indian after Anil Kumble to complete a coveted 500 wicketsBy the time he reached the milestone Australia had crossed the 475run mark and are in a position to dictate the flow of this gameBut the day certainly belonged to Green who completed a welldeserved maiden hundredThe giant 6feet8inch allrounder who missed the first two Tests due to a finger surgery let Khawaja play his own game during their double century standAfter backtoback barren sessions it was Ashwin who got three quick wickets for IndiaAlso Read IND vs AUS Usman ki baat in MoteraHaving already qualified for the WTC finals Australia looked like trying to play partypoopers for India as they never forced the scoring rate during the course of the two daysThe Indian bowling unit struggled big time on a good batting track as the Australians dictated terms both on attacking as well as defensive frontsNot for once the Australian batters looked in any kind of discomfort on a track that has remained firm and hasnt shown any distinct signs of wear and tearHaving leaked a lot of runs with the second new ball on the first evening India captain Rohit Sharma couldnt afford setting an attacking field as he had to check the flow of runsHence a deep point deep square leg and deep fine leg were employed to stop the boundary count But with a leftright pair at the crease the bowlers had to alter the length as the two batters kept the scoreboard tickingKhawaja however was in no tearing hurry even though he hit 21 boundaries with at least a dozen coming in the legside with his favourite whip shot or ondriveIn the morning as Khawaja continued his grind Green blended attack with defence during a session that yielded 92 runs As someone who loves playing the drive save a couple of fours most were hit on the offside in the area between extracover and midoffIn fact Indias pacers had a poor first innings with 40 boundaries being conceded by Umesh Yadav 19 and Mohammed Shami 21 Some were inside and outside edges but they never consistently hit right lengths while conceding more than 100 runs in 25 and 31 overs respectivelyThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever