India take control after Rohit's ton: How the second day of Nagpur Test played out

INDIA V AUSTRALIA SCORECARD

Rohit hit a brilliant 120 on an enthralling day of Test cricket, as the game further tilted in India’s favour.

The day ended with India at 321/7.

On a day when debutant Todd Murphy got the number of veteran India batters, Rohit held his own against the Australia bowlers. The 35-year-old hit 15 fours and two sixes in his innings. This was his first hundred against Australia in Tests.

Rohit’s 120 was his eighth Test hundred at home, equalling the likes of VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly.

India's skipper now averages 75.2 in home games. Among players who have batted in 20 or more innings at home, Rohit is the second best behind cricketing legend Sir Don Bradman.

Picked over the more experienced Ashton Agar and Mitchell Swepson, the young off-spinner lit up Australia’s day with his stupendous bowling.

The 22-year-old managed to outdo Australia’s premier spinner Nathan Lyon and outfoxed the likes of Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravichandran Ashwin.

Playing only his eighth first-class encounter, Murphy’s first-ever five-wicket haul in Tests was also his first ever at the first-class level.

His figures of 5-82 were the second-best for an Australia debutant in India. They are bettered by Jason Krejza 8-215 at the same venue in 2008.

Earlier in the day, Rohit and nightwatchman Ravichandran Ashwin added 41 runs without losing a wicket before Murphy struck. Bowling round the wicket, he beat Ashwin’s defence to trap him leg before wicket.

Murphy’s law reigned supreme as the young off-spinner continued bowling round the wicket, creating a difficult angle for Indian batters to work on. He strangled Kohli down the leg-side right after lunch to leave India in a precarious position. After India debutant Suryakumar Yadav was bowled by Lyon, the home side were 168-5 and the two sides were evenly matched on the field.

Ravindra Jadeja, whose slow left-arm orthodox spin yielded 5-47 on day one, then joined forces with the captain to gain a substantial lead over Australia. After Rohit was dismissed off a corker from his opposite number, Pat Cummins, Jadeja (66*) hung around and helped the tail wag to stretch India’s advantage.

After debutant Srikar Bharat fell leg before to Murphy, Jadeja got good support from Gujarat all-rounder Axar Patel. In face of Jadeja and Ashwin's excellence, Patel had little role to play with the ball yesterday but the left-handed batter shined with the bat on day two. He hit eight boundaries in his 52*. This equals Patel's highest score at this level.

Jadeja-Patel partnership added 81 crucial runs for India, helping the home side lead by 144 runs at the end of day’s play.