India 110 for 2 (Sehwag 59) trail Australia 428 (Watson 126, Paine 92, Ponting 71, Zaheer 5-94) by 318 runs
Virender Sehwag delivered a brutal response to stun Australia with a quick half-century as India finished the second day of a two-paced Test on a high. Sehwag raced to a 39-ball fifty but was undone by Mitchell Johnson shortly before the close for 59, walking off frustrated by his error.India finished at 110 for 2 at stumps in reply to the visitors' 428, with Rahul Dravid unbeaten on 21 and the nightwatchman Ishant Sharma on 0. Both the local openers showed the positive intent that was often missing in the field when they put on 81 in 13.2 overs to build on Zaheer Khan's 10th five-wicket haul. Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir (25) and Dravid quickly changed the value of Australia's total during a breathless finish to a day that had previously followed a sombre tempo.
Having crawled 71 in the opening session, Australia relaxed through Paine and Johnson after lunch and started to swing freely against the tiring spin duo of Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha. Johnson skipped to 47, striking three sixes, and provided a necessary boost to take Australia to safer ground.Paine also increased his rate, lifting Ojha over midwicket for consecutive boundaries in his most memorable burst, and showed his comfort at this level. Dropped by MS Dhoni on 0 yesterday, Paine refused to submit to the various tensions and played the sort of settling innings the injured Brad Haddin could not have managed.At times it was easy to wish for some Haddin extravagance, but Paine delivered an old-fashioned display, just as Watson had done so purposefully. In the first hour Watson and Paine scraped 25 as they followed the extra cautious method of the previous afternoon.The stress eased for Paine after drinks in the morning when he glanced his first four from his 61st ball, gaining confidence from the unshackling. He drove and late cut Zaheer for another couple of boundaries and was soon comfortable in the humid conditions and on the turning surface.In the end Paine struck 12 fours from 196 deliveries, showing his ability off both feet, and his sharp reading of the slow men. He was dropped by Dhoni again on 86 but VVS Laxman quickly made up for the mistake with a sharp catch low down at second slip to give Zaheer his fifth breakthrough.The innings ended when Bollinger holed out to provide Ojha with his first wicket in his 52nd over of an economical but unrewarding marathon. Zaheer stepped up for the under-manned India with 5 for 94 while Harbhajan collected 3 for 114 off 49 overs.
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