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Australia 2 for 68 (Ponting 15*, Cowan 14*, Yadav 2-25) v India
Umesh Yadav strike twice for India, but an assured entrance by Ed Cowan helped Australia avoid fatal batting injure to reach 2 for 68 at lunch on day one of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.
Though Cowan made only 14 runs in the session, his determined move toward was exactly what the hosts required after batting first in friendly conditions for the closure and swing of Yadav, Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan. Yadav was fast and dangerous, remove David Warner for a watchable, albeit brief, 37, and follow up by nipping out Shaun Marsh.
Ricky Ponting made the most unsure of starts, struck on the head second ball, but survive in Cowan's company and had played one or two more sure strokes by the time rain bring an early close to the first session.
Opening up after Michael Clarke won a quite unclear toss, Cowan and Warner walked to the middle under cloudy skies, to a surface that offered the promise of early seam to augment the swing obtainable by the atmosphere. First strike was taken by the debutant, and Cowan respond by playing out Zaheer's well-directed opening over with plenty of nerves but just as much good sense. His first run at home in the second over with a tap wide of mid on, before Warner commence with a streaky inside edge to the fine-leg boundary.
From this discouraging beginning Warner was quickly into stride, cuff a handful of boundaries in between reasonable pushes and nudges around the ground's vast expanse. Zaheer enthused the ball and Ishant bounced it, but Australia's openers negotiated their opening spells with as much self-assurance as could be predictable. The introduction of Yadav encouraged Cowan to unfurl one glorious straight drive amid his otherwise abstemious defenses, and Warner followed up in the same over by biffing the bowler through cover then hooking noisily into the crowd.
A brief rain delay broke the rhythm of the stand, and when the players return Warner perished right away, attempting to do again his hook at Yadav and gloving gently behind to MS Dhoni. Yadav had his tail up, firing down his delivery with plenty of speed, and first ball Marsh was struck on the pad. Having played only one Twenty20 innings since his return to fitness after a sore back complaint, Marsh did not look at ease, and to his seventh ball he walked too late into a drive to keep away from slicing it to gully.
Suddenly 0 for 46 had become two for the same score, and Ponting's arrival bring a crowd response that optional both appreciation and trepidation for Australia's former captain. Second ball Ponting swiveled to hook a short ball, but was struck a stunning blow to the jaw. Ponting was still alert sufficient to side-foot the rebound away from his stumps, but it was another reminder of how his command over the bouncer has slip ever since West Indies' Kemar Roach pin him on the arm in Perth in 2009.
Through it all Cowan maintain his composure, cracking Ishant throughout the covers to add a second boundary to his tally after taking a blow to the body from Yadav, and Ponting gradually began to find a little more equlibrium. He slipped over while pulling at Zaheer, but the ungainly follow-through was less significant than the sight of the ball skimming to the backward square-leg boundary.
Ishant and Zaheer were both ruled well and were joined in the attack by Yadav and R Ashwin, who won the spinner's spot ahead of Pragyan Ojha. Australia's line-up was established two days ago and there were no late changes, with Ben Hilfenhaus in for Mitchell Starc and Cowan named at the top of the order.
Australia's 427th Test cricketer, Cowan was accessible with his baggy green by Dean Jones, before the toss. Clarke's decision to bat was risky given Australia's struggle on Boxing Day last year, when England's swing attack skittles them for 98.
While India's fast men might not offer quite the same threat as James Anderson and Co, they will still be hard to handle on a pitch describe by Cameron Hodgkins, the curator, as similar to last Boxing Day.
Umesh Yadav strike twice for India, but an assured entrance by Ed Cowan helped Australia avoid fatal batting injure to reach 2 for 68 at lunch on day one of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.
Though Cowan made only 14 runs in the session, his determined move toward was exactly what the hosts required after batting first in friendly conditions for the closure and swing of Yadav, Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan. Yadav was fast and dangerous, remove David Warner for a watchable, albeit brief, 37, and follow up by nipping out Shaun Marsh.
Ricky Ponting made the most unsure of starts, struck on the head second ball, but survive in Cowan's company and had played one or two more sure strokes by the time rain bring an early close to the first session.
Opening up after Michael Clarke won a quite unclear toss, Cowan and Warner walked to the middle under cloudy skies, to a surface that offered the promise of early seam to augment the swing obtainable by the atmosphere. First strike was taken by the debutant, and Cowan respond by playing out Zaheer's well-directed opening over with plenty of nerves but just as much good sense. His first run at home in the second over with a tap wide of mid on, before Warner commence with a streaky inside edge to the fine-leg boundary.
From this discouraging beginning Warner was quickly into stride, cuff a handful of boundaries in between reasonable pushes and nudges around the ground's vast expanse. Zaheer enthused the ball and Ishant bounced it, but Australia's openers negotiated their opening spells with as much self-assurance as could be predictable. The introduction of Yadav encouraged Cowan to unfurl one glorious straight drive amid his otherwise abstemious defenses, and Warner followed up in the same over by biffing the bowler through cover then hooking noisily into the crowd.
A brief rain delay broke the rhythm of the stand, and when the players return Warner perished right away, attempting to do again his hook at Yadav and gloving gently behind to MS Dhoni. Yadav had his tail up, firing down his delivery with plenty of speed, and first ball Marsh was struck on the pad. Having played only one Twenty20 innings since his return to fitness after a sore back complaint, Marsh did not look at ease, and to his seventh ball he walked too late into a drive to keep away from slicing it to gully.
Suddenly 0 for 46 had become two for the same score, and Ponting's arrival bring a crowd response that optional both appreciation and trepidation for Australia's former captain. Second ball Ponting swiveled to hook a short ball, but was struck a stunning blow to the jaw. Ponting was still alert sufficient to side-foot the rebound away from his stumps, but it was another reminder of how his command over the bouncer has slip ever since West Indies' Kemar Roach pin him on the arm in Perth in 2009.
Through it all Cowan maintain his composure, cracking Ishant throughout the covers to add a second boundary to his tally after taking a blow to the body from Yadav, and Ponting gradually began to find a little more equlibrium. He slipped over while pulling at Zaheer, but the ungainly follow-through was less significant than the sight of the ball skimming to the backward square-leg boundary.
Ishant and Zaheer were both ruled well and were joined in the attack by Yadav and R Ashwin, who won the spinner's spot ahead of Pragyan Ojha. Australia's line-up was established two days ago and there were no late changes, with Ben Hilfenhaus in for Mitchell Starc and Cowan named at the top of the order.
Australia's 427th Test cricketer, Cowan was accessible with his baggy green by Dean Jones, before the toss. Clarke's decision to bat was risky given Australia's struggle on Boxing Day last year, when England's swing attack skittles them for 98.
While India's fast men might not offer quite the same threat as James Anderson and Co, they will still be hard to handle on a pitch describe by Cameron Hodgkins, the curator, as similar to last Boxing Day.
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