Mohali: Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting sparkled on a soft and slow wicket at the Mohali Cricket Stadium on the first day of the first Test for the Gavaskar-Border Trophy on Friday.
Watson went on to record his second Test century and remain unconquered on 101 runs studded with eight boundaries before Zaheer Khan struck two vital bowls towards the close of play. Khan ended the day with figures of 3 for 45 from his 16 overs.
Khan began the day by trapping Simon Katich leg before for 6. Ponting, who is keen to announce that he is in top form and has no immediate plans to hang his boots, hit a brilliant 71 before being run out off a direct throw from Suresh Raina.
Unfortunately, the incident also produced the first on-field skirmish of the series. When the third umpire was deciding on Ponting’s run out, Khan signalled to Ponting that he is out. Ponting walked in the direction of the Indian players’ huddle and exchanged a few worlds before leaving the field. He put on 141 runs for the second wicket to put Australia on track for a respectable total.
Next man Michael Clarke could score only 14 runs before becoming a Harbhajan Singh victim. Singh, who was a doubtful starter, bowled well though Australians found left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha tough to score. Ojha bowled thirty one overs and gave away just 39 runs with l2 maiden overs. In sharp contrast to Singh who gave away 69 runs from his 29 overs. The wicket offered low bounce and even turned a bit.
Speaking to Gulf News before the start of the first Test, the Punjab Cricket Association curator Daljeet Singh had said that because of the heavy rainfall here the pitch is a bit soft and will be a slow turner.
Mohali pitch used to be famous for its bounce and had often assisted pace bowlers. Watson showed that one can play a long innings provided one can restrain from playing risky shots. He picked the right ball to hit and often placed his shots beautifully through the gaps.
It must have been frustrating for Ponting to lose his wicket especially at a time when he is keen to catch up with Sachin Tendulkar. During the pre match press conference when Ponting was asked whether he feels that he is over the hill, he had said: “I'm not sure. The fact is that I'm 35 and I know there's been a bit in the papers over the past couple of days about maybe being a little bit past my best. We'll see what this series holds, and what the Ashes hold. I know that I'm feeling better about myself and about my game than I have in a long time.”
Surprisingly India went in with only two pacers in Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan. The Indian team’s fielding was not upto the mark. Watson was dropped when he was in zero by Virender Sehwag at gully off Khan. Indian skipper Dhoni who arrived here only two days back from the Champions League in South Africa, dropped an edge offered by Watson on 37 off Ojha. The two dropped chances proved to be very costly for the Indians. Dhoni also went on to drop Tim Paine.
Michael Hussey played 76 balls to score 17 runs before falling leg before to a brilliant reverse swing from Khan. He also clean bowled Marcus North with a delivery that swung in to clip his off bail. Unfortunately India missed Sharma, who got injured and had to be rushed for a scan.
Scoreboard
Australia 1st innings:
S. Watson not out 101
S. Katich lbw b Zaheer 6
R. Ponting run out 71
M. Clarke c Dravid b Harbhajan 14
M. Hussey lbw b Zaheer 17
M. North b Zaheer 0
T. Paine not out 1
Extras (lb4, nb10) 14
Total (for five wickets; 90 overs) 224
Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Katich), 2-154 (Ponting), 3-172 (Clarke), 4-218 (Hussey), 5-222 (North).
Bowling: Zaheer 16-4-45-3, Sharma 7.4-1-49-0 (nb8), Ojha 31-12-39-0 (nb2), Harbhajan 29-6-69-1, Sehwag 6.2-0-18-0.
Toss: Australia
Umpires: Billy Bowden (NZL) and Ian Gould (ENG)
TV umpire: Sanjay Hazare (IND)
Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)
Teams:
India: Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Pragyan Ojha, Ishant Sharma.
Australia: Simon Katich, Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Marcus North, Tim Paine, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, Doug Bollinger.
