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India 71/1 after Australia post 505 at stumps on day three

by

Shikar

Brisbane: Steven Smith and Mitchell Johnson’s whirlwind partnership propelled Australia to a first innings score 505 runs, a lead of 97, but India made a solid start to their second innings, reaching 71 for one to trail by only 26 at stumps on day three of the second Test at the Gabba here Friday.

At stumps, India’s opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan and No.3 Cheteshwar Pujara were at the crease, on 26 and 15 respectively. First innings centurion Murali Vijay (27) was the Indian batsman to be dismissed.

Australia, though, will be happier of the two teams having fought back brilliantly from a precarious position to help themselves to a handy first innings lead.

Indian bowler’s ineptness at dismissing the tailenders once again cost them dear as Australia reached 505 from an uncomfortable position of 247 for six.

India have the worst average in Test cricket of giving away runs to tailenders. The visitors have given away 84 runs on an average to take the eighth, ninth and 10th wickets. Aned Friday’s performance gives credence to the fact.

Captain Steven Smith (133) and Mitchell Johnson (88) put together 148 runs for the seventh wicket as Australia smashed 282 runs in the first two sessions of play. To add to India’s woes No.8 batsman Mitchell Starc struck 52.

Starc combined first with Nathan Lyon (23) to add 56 runs for the ninth wicket and then with debutant Josh Hazlewood (not out 32) for a 51-run stand for the final wicket.

Pacers Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav took three wickets each while Varun Aaron and Ravichandran Ashwin shared four wickets among them.

Smith and Johnson, who counter-attacked with great fervour, though, laid the foundation of the fightback.

They carried on from where they left off at lunch and continued to be aggressive.

It finally took an Ishant over to get rid of the two. The Indian pacer first got Johnson with a wide and full delivery and then castled Smith with an sharp in-swinger.

Earlier, a blistering unbeaten 104-run partnership between captain Smith and Johnson took Australia to 351 for six at lunch.

The hosts seemed to be in a spot of bother when overnight batsman Mitchell Marsh (11) and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin (6) were dismissed early in the session, where they scored 130 runs.

India began the session brightly. The visitors began with discipline, attacking the channel outside off, and were rewarded with two early wickets.

Ishant clean bowled Mitchell Marsh and then Varun removed vice-captain Haddin with a perfectly executed bouncer.

However, India switched their plan and bowled short deliveries indiscriminately and Johnson feasted on them to run away to a 37-ball half-century. The error in judgement proved costly as Johnson got much-needed confidence to put together a vital 148-run partnership with Smith that nullified India’s eraly supremacy and put the home team in a strong position.

Smith moved to his second century of the four-match series as well, as India’s 187-run lead at the start of the day shrunk to 57. From them on Australia didn’t falter.

(IANS)

Hazlewood stars but Umesh gives India edge

by

steve-smith

Brisbane: Debutant Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood’s five-for might have grabbed all the headlines but Indian quickie Umesh Yadav picked up three wickets to restrict Australia to 221 runs for four, in reply to India’s first innings score of 408 at stumps on the second day of the second Test here Thursday.

An unbeaten 64 from captain Steven Smith meant Australia are still 187 runs behind.

Things could have been a lot different for the hosts had the top-order batsmen not thrown their wickets away after making good starts.

After being 121 for three at tea, the final session belonged completely to Australia.

Smith along with Shaun Marsh (32) put on 87 runs for the fourth wicket as the hosts reduced at the deficit.

However, the timely wicket of Shaun, following a brilliant catch by Ravichandran Ashwin at slips, gave India the initiative again.

Bad light put an end to the day’s play with Smith and Mitchell Marsh (batting 7) at the crease.

Yadav was the pick of the Indian bowlers and got good support from offie Ashwin, who picked up a wicket too.

Varun Aaron bowled fast but without much luck. The pacer found the top edge of Shaun Marsh’s bat but Ajinkya Rahane grassed the chance.

Luckily for India the left-hander fell in the very next over to Yadav.

Earlier, a five-wicket haul by Hazlewood helped Australia bowl out India for 408 at the stroke of lunch.

India, who were in the driving seat at stumps on day one, managed to add only 97 runs to their overnight score of 311 for four.

The visitors were put on the backfoot almost immediately when Rahane (81) was dismissed in the third over of the day. His overnight partner Rohit Sharma (32) also didn’t survive much longer, getting dismissed six overs later.

After adding just 17 runs, India had lost both their overnight batsmen and had relinquished their strong position.

A 57-run partnership for the seventh wicket between skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (33) and Ravichandran Ashwin (35) stabilised the situation. But Ashwin’s wicket once again opened the floodgates as the visitors surrendered rather meekly in the end.

Dhoni looked good for a while but edged a Hazlewood delivery to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin while trying to leave the ball.

India’s tail failed to put up a fight and fell without much trouble for the hosts.

Australia, in their reply, came out all guns blazing with last match’s double-innings centurion David Warner (29) once again looking dangerous.

The hosts got off to a quick start, reaching 47 for no loss as Warner peppered the boundaries with some aggressive batting.

But a leading edge proved to be the downfall for the left-hander, giving India some reprieve.

Shane Watson (25) and opener Chris Rogers (55) were in no mood to hand the initiative back to India and took on the bowlers.

The duo shared a 51-run stand for the second wicket and scored at a fair clip, threatening to take the game away from the visitors.

But an overzealous Watson tried to take on Ashwin and was caught brilliantly by Shikhar Dhawan at mid-on.

Rogers kept the scoreboard ticking and was joined by new skipper Smith, forged a 23-run stand before gloving an Umesh delivery down the leg side to Dhoni.

(IANS)

Murali Vijay's 144 takes India to 311/4 on day one

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Murali Vijay celebrates after scoring hundred in Brisbane. © AFP

Murali Vijay celebrates after scoring hundred in Brisbane. © AFP

Brisbane: Murali Vijay scored 144 and shared a century stand with Ajinkya Rahane as India’s batsmen dictated terms to an Australian attack that fell short of expectations Wednesday on the opening day of the second Test.

Four days after losing eight wickets in the final session of a 48-run defeat in Adelaide, India dominated on day one in Brisbane to reach 311-4 at stumps.

Australia’s pace attack had been expected to exploit the extra bounce and pace that are characteristic of pitches at the Gabba, where Australia hasn’t lost since 1988, but the new-look bowling lineup didn’t get its length right and the fielding was sub-standard.

Rohit Sharma (not out 26) was batting with Rahane at the close of play.

Iran warned Australia about Sydney attacker

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A policeman lays a floral tribute with thousands of others near the cafe where hostages were held for over 16 hours, in central Sydney, Dec. 16, 2014. (photo by REUTERS/David Gray)

A policeman lays a floral tribute with thousands of others near the cafe where hostages were held for over 16 hours, in central Sydney, Dec. 16, 2014. (photo by REUTERS/David Gray)

by Arash Karami, Al Monitor

Man Haron Monis, the gunman behind the 16-hour hostage standoff in Sydney, Australia, resulting in the deaths of two individuals and himself, was well known to Iranian authorities. The self-styled “sheikh,” who left Iran for Australia in 1996, had abused Australia’s political system to gain immunity from prosecution in Iran, where he was a wanted man.

According to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham, “The psychological history and condition of this individual, who for more than two decades was a refugee in Australia, was repeatedly presented to Australian officials.”

Afkham did not elaborate, but Haron Monis’ history while in Australia paints a clear picture of him as unstable and a charlatan posing as a religious man.

Before changing his name, Haron Monis was Mohammad Hassan Manteghi. As early as 2008, the Australian Shiite community warned federal agents he was an imposter posing as a Shiite ayatollah (in fact, they said there were no ayatollahs in Australia at the time) and no one had ever heard of the two names he was using, “Ayatollah Borujerdi” and “Sheikh Haron.” He was, however, in the news at the time for harassing family members of soldiers who died fighting in Afghanistan.

Before his conversion to Sunnism to take up the cause of the Islamic State group, Haron Monis had faced a number of legal battles, including numerous charges of sexual assault — under the guise of religious “healer” — and accessory to the murder of his ex-wife in Australia.

Fars News Agency reported that Iran had requested via Interpol that Haron Monis be extradited in 1996 for “heavy financial fraud,” but that the request was denied when Haron Monis claimed that he would be persecuted in Iran for his “liberal” views. He was eventually granted political asylum in Australia.

A search of Interpol did not bring up anyone by the various names he used, but foreign-based Persian-language Manoto reported that Haron Monis was wanted in a $200,000 fraud case. Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) also claimed that Haron Monis had been wanted by Iran. Interestingly, while most Western media outlets published images of Haron Monis dressed in traditional Shiite clerical garb, IRNA’s choice shows a man in sunglasses wearing a white jacket over a black shirt with white stripes and white pants.

Australian media outlets had long bought into Haron Monis’ branding of himself as “liberal.” In January 2001, Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio National program profiled Haron Monis, before his name change: “While in Sydney, we talk to Ayatollah Manteghi Borujerdi, an Iranian cleric espousing a liberal brand of Islam — dangerously liberal, as his views have led to his wife and two daughters being held hostage in Iran.”

The Fars article, headlined, “The con artist who was not returned to Iran under the excuse of ‘political asylum,’” also criticized the Western media for emphasizing his Iranian nationality.

Sydney siege ends after 16 hrs, three dead

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Sydney siege

Sydney: Heavily armed police officers ended a hostage crisis at the Lindt Chocolate Cafe here around 2:45 am local time on Tuesday, storming its premises where an armed man — said to be a self-proclaimed Sheik — held employees and customers, including two Indians, captive for more than 16 hours.

The two Indians, Vishwakant Ankireddy and Pushpendra Ghosh, both employees of Infosys, are safe.

The number of casualties was not immediately clear, but agencies reported that three people were dead, including the gunman.

“Sydney siege is over. More details to follow,” the New South Wales Police said in a tweet.

Earlier, the police said that the hostage-taker was Man Haron Monis, an Iranian-born man in his 50s with a criminal record, who called himself Sheik Haron.

Monis was carrying a black flag with white Arabic script similar to those used by Islamic militants on other continents, and the flag was later displayed in the window of the cafe.

Five people, including two cafe employees, had fled by 7 pm local time, but it was not clear whether the assailant had allowed them to leave or they had escaped. Helicopters hovered over the city, the train network was temporarily stopped and buildings, including the nearby Sydney Opera House, were shut down.

According to “The Age”, Monis was out on bail in two separate criminal cases. He was charged in November 2013 for murdering his ex-wife, Noleen Hayson Pal, who was stabbed and set on fire in an apartment in Werrington.

In April 2014, Monis was charged for sexual assault. The police said that Monis held himself out as a spiritual healer and conducted business on Station Street, Wentworthville. A website apparently associated with Monis includes condemnation of the US and Australia for their military actions against Islamic militants in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A Muslim community leader in Sydney, Dr Jamal Rifi, said in a televised interview: “Everything he stands for is wrong. It has nothing to do with Islam.”

Prime Minister Tony Abbott, before Monis was publicly identified, referred to him as “an armed person claiming political motivation.” The US Consulate General in Sydney, about a block from the cafe, and the Consulate General of India in Sydney, barely 400 metres from the cafe, were evacuated.

An Islamic State spokesman, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, issued a statement in September asking Muslims in Australia to carry out attacks. On September 12, Abbott raised Australia’s terrorism alert level to high from medium. He gave the police broader powers to arrest terror suspects and tightened restrictions on the media’s reporting on national security matters. Two weeks later, police fatally shot a man who attacked them with a knife.

(Agencies)

Indian consulate in Sydney evacuated

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SYDNEY CAFE SIEGE

New Delhi: The Indian consulate in Australia’s Sydney city has been evacuated following a hostage taking at a nearby cafe, an official said.

Vinod Bahade, deputy consul general in Sydney, told IANS that though there was no confirmation regarding the nationality of the hostages, the officials were in constant touch with the security agencies.

The consulate is barely 400 metres from the cafe where a gunman took over three dozen people hostage.

“Minutes after we got to know that some people at a nearby cafe have been taken hostage by a gunman, the Indian consulate was evacuated. However, we have not shut it and the work will resume once the problem is solved,” Bahade told IANS over phone from Sydney.

The hostage-taking took place in Sydney’s bustling central business district.

Bahade said they have been constantly getting updates from the Australian authorities and trying to know if any Indian was among the hostages.

Surinder Datta, deputy high commissioner at the Indian High Commission at Canberra, told IANS that the incident is being constantly being monitored.

“We are taking reports from the Indian consulate in Sydney. This is a very critical issue and we do not want to take any decision in hurry,” he told IANS over phone from Canberra.

(IANS)

Indian may be among Sydney hostages: minister

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Armed police run toward a cafe in the central business district of Sydney on December 15, 2014. SAEED KHAN / AFP / GETTY IMAGES

Armed police run toward a cafe in the central business district of Sydney on December 15, 2014. SAEED KHAN / AFP / GETTY IMAGES

New Delhi: An Indian origin IT professional may be among the hostages held by a gunman in a cafe in Australia, according to Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu who later said the reports were unconfirmed.

“We don’t want to discuss it because there is some information that one of our IT persons is also there. So the External Affairs Ministry is keeping in touch with concerned people there– both our embassy as well as our counterpart also,” Naidu told reporters outside Parliament House.

Later, Naidu added that there were no confirmed reports and it was only preliminary information.

“There is some initial information that some people were taken hostage in Sydney by some person.

What is the purpose, what is the motive, (it is) not known and our External Affairs Ministry is keeping in touch with our embassy there in Australia.

“So far information says that people who were held hostages are safe, no harm is done to them.

All these information here and there– nothing has been confirmed about any citizens of our country is in that or not. It is a sensitive matter. I request all people to show restraint till the issue is resolved,” he said.

The Minister said whatever steps need to be taken are being taken.

Several people were taken hostage at a popular cafe in the heart of Sydney city in south-east Australia by one gunman this morning, leading to evacuation of important buildings, including the Indian consulate which is located 300-400 metres from the cafe. An Islamic flag was also reportedly seen hanging from the window of the cafe.

The Indian Consulate in Sydney was evacuated in view of the hostage situation in a cafe near its premises and all the staff members are safe, the External Affairs Ministry today said.

In Sydney, Consul General Sunjay Sudhir said that due to security concerns “we locked down our office at 12:00 PM and asked all our officers to go to places of safety”.

He said that the Central Business District (CBD) where the cafe is located is the area where many Indian establishments including the SBI, Bank of Baroda and Indian tourism office are located.

“We are in touch with the security agencies and have asked them specifically if any Indians were present inside the cafe…they have not told us about the nationality,” Sudhir said.

(PTI)

Hostages held in Sydney cafe siege

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Five people emerge from Lindt Cafe in Australian city’s financial district amid negotiations with hostage-taker.

Sydney cafe siege

by Al Jazeera

Five people have escaped from a cafe where a man has an unknown number of hostages in the heart of Sydney’s financial and shopping district .

Two people inside the cafe were earlier seen holding up a flag with an Islamic declaration of faith that has often been used by armed groups.

The first three people ran out of the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in Sydney’s Central Building District six hours into Monday’s hostage crisis, and two women sprinted from a fire exit into the arms of waiting police shortly afterwards.

Both women were wearing aprons with the Lindt chocolate logo, indicating they were cafe employees.

It was not clear exactly how many people remained inside the cafe at Martin Place, a plaza that is packed with holiday shoppers this time of year.

The hostage-taker is reported to have conveyed some demands when an Australian media network interviewed some of the hostages over phone.

Some media networks have announced that they are complying with a request from New South Wales Police not to report the demands.

Andrew Scipione, New South Wales Police commissioner, said police did not know the hostage taker’s motivation.

“We have not yet confirmed it is a terrorism-related event,” he said.

“We’re dealing with a hostage situation with an armed offender.”

As the drama dragged into its 10th hour, NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn said negotiators were talking with the hostage-taker.

Officials had no information to suggest anyone had been harmed, although a hospital said it was treating a man in satisfactory condition.

Pacing back and forth

Television video shot through the cafe’s windows showed several people with their arms in the air and hands pressed against the glass, and two people holding up a black flag with the Shahada, or Islamic declaration of faith, written on it.

Seven Network television news staff watched the hostage-taker and hostages for hours from a fourth floor window of their Sydney offices, opposite the cafe.

The man could be seen pacing back and forth past the cafe’s four windows. Reporter Chris Reason, a reporter for Seven Network, said the man carried what appeared to be a pump-action shotgun, was unshaven and wore a white shirt and a black cap.

Network staff counted about 15 different faces among hostages forced up against the windows.

“The gunman seems to be sort of rotating these people through these positions on the windows with their hands and faces up against the glass,” Reason said in a report from the vantage point.

“One woman we’ve counted was there for at least two hours – an extraordinary, agonising time for her surely having to stand on her feet for that long.

“Just two hours ago when we saw that rush of escapees, we could see from up here in this vantage point the gunman got extremely agitated as he realised those five had got out. He started screaming orders at the people, the hostages who remain behind.”

St Vincent’s hospital spokesman David Faktor said a male hostage was in satisfactory condition in the hospital’s emergency department. He was the only one of the freed hostages to be taken to a hospital.

Hundreds of police flooded into the area, streets were closed and offices evacuated. The public was told to stay away from Martin Place, site of the state premier’s office, the Reserve Bank of Australia, and the headquarters of two of the nation’s largest banks.

The state parliament house is a few blocks away.

“This is a very disturbing incident,” Tony Abbott, Australia’s prime minister, said.

“It is profoundly shocking that innocent people should be held hostage by an armed person claiming political motivation.”

Terror threat warning

The Australian government raised the terror warning level in September in response to the domestic threat posed by supporters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

Counterterror law enforcement teams later conducted dozens of raids and made several arrests in Australia’s three largest cities – Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

One man arrested during a series of raids in Sydney was charged with conspiring with an ISIL leader in Syria to behead a random person in downtown Sydney.

ISIL, which now holds a third of Syria and Iraq, has threatened Australia in the past.

In September, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, an ISIL spokesperson, issued an audio message urging “lone wolf” attacks abroad, specifically mentioning Australia.

Lindt Australia posted a message on its Facebook page on Monday thanking the public for its support.

“We are deeply concerned over this serious incident and our thoughts and prayers are with the staff and customers involved and all their friends and families,” the company wrote.

Warner century gives Australia big lead

by

Australia India Cricket

Adelaide: Opener David Warner’s (102) second century in as many innings powered Australia to 290 for five in their second innings and gave the hosts a commanding 363-run lead against India after the fourth day of the first of the four-match Test series at the Adelaide Oval here Friday.

Left-hander Warner, who had scored a belligerent 145 in the first innings, registered his 11th ton to help the hosts build their lead quickly as India were bowled out for 444 thanks to off-spinner Nathan Lyon’s sixth five-wicket haul.

Warner scored at a brisk pace in a knock laced with 11 boundaries and a six, frustrating and demoralising the visitors.

The 28-year-old Warner first shared a 38-run stand for the first wicket with Chris Rogers (21) till the latter was dismissed by debutant spinner Karn Sharma. Rogers’ sweep went straight to Rohit Sharma at mid-wicket.

Warner, however, was unperturbed and singled out leggie Karn for special treatment, smacking him for six boundaries. He also used the sweep shot to nice effect against the spinner, mixing it up with straight drives and punches through the covers.

Shane Watson (33) did well to support Warner, who looked in no mood to let Indian bowlers go unpunished. Their 102-run partnership ended when a reverse swinging Mohammed Shami delivery went between Watson’s bat and pad to hit his stumps.

Warner continued with the show and also had luck on his side, getting bowled off a no ball on 66, misreading a Varun Aaron full delivery. He got a second reprieve while batting on 90 when he cut a delivery off Shami only for Murali Vijay at gully to grass a difficult chance.

Warner made most of the chances to complete his century with a pull to mid-wicket.

Warner lost his wicket soon after reaching the three figures, becoming the first Australian in five years to notch up 1000 Test runs in a year. He attempted a switch hit off a Karn delivery only to get bowled.

Skipper Michael Clarke (7) was dismissed cheaply, edging an Aaron delivery to wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.

Steven Smith (not out 52) and Mitchell Marsh (40) continued to impress with useful knocks. Smith, who remained unbeaten at 162 in the first innings, completed his fifty in just 60 deliveries. Vice-captain Brad Haddin (not out 14) was at the crease with Smith at stumps.

Earlier, India managed to add only 75 runs to their overnight score of 369 for five and conceded a 73-run first innings lead. Lyon removed overnight batsmen Rohit (43) and Saha (25) before taking the wicket of Ishant Sharma to claim five wickets for 134 runs.

Indian batsmen Rohit and Wriddhiman made a sedate start as they scored only eight runs in the first seven overs Friday before the latter picked up two boundaries off left-arm pacer Mitchell Johnson.

Australian skipper Michael Clarke brought in Lyon and he dismissed Rohit in his second over of the day. The Indian batsman charged down the track but only managed to nudge it straight back into the bowler’s hand when the team’s total was 399.

Up next, Karn (4) had his stumps dismantled by pace bowler Peter Siddle. Leg-spinner Lyon got good purchase from the fourth day pitch, which offered variable pace and bounce.

He removed Wriddhiman with another loopy delivery which beat the batsman’s inside edge and kissed his thigh before landing in the waiting hands of Shane Watson at slips. Two deliveries later, Ishant failed to defend a ball which bounced sharply after hitting the rough, kissed his gloves and went straight into the hands of Smith at short leg.

Shami entertained the crowd with a quickfire 34 off 24 before he guided a Siddle delivery to Watson at gully to give Australia a sizeable lead.

(IANS)

Kohli ton leads India's strong reply

by

Australia India Cricket

by Prateek Srivastava, gocricket

Adelaide: India, led by debutant captain Virat Kohli’s second ton at the Adelaide Oval, made solid progress in reply to a huge Australian total of 517/7 declared, ending the third day on 365/5 – just 148 runs in arrears of the hosts. Mitchell Johnson’s removal of Kohli just ten minutes before stumps took the sheen off India’s day, and leaves Australia needing to separate the overnight pair of Rohit Sharma (33) and Wriddhiman Saha (0) to get into the tail.

While Kohli hit his first hundred in 11 Test innings, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Murali Vijay contributed important fifties to negate the disciplined Australian bowlers on a surface partial to batsmen. The opening stand of 30 between Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay was followed up with partnerships of 81 (Vijay and Pujara), 81 (Pujara and Kohli), 101 (Rahane and Kohli) and 74 (Kohli and Rohit) to cancel out the disappointment of the Indian bowlers who sent down too many short balls during the first two days.

Kohli, after being hit on the helmet off the first ball he faced by Johnson, was dogged thereafter. He had struggled in the swinging conditions of England but in Australia, where bounce is more prominent than swing, Kohli came into his own. He drove either side of the wicket whenever opportunities presented themselves but equally crucial was how he waited patiently for poor balls.

In the partnerships with Pujara and Rahane, Kohli chose to play second fiddle, scoring 36 and 38 respectively, but it was when joined by Rohit that he took on the role of aggressor – scoring 41 in that stand. Rahane and Pujara also played exquisite innings before falling to offspinner Nathan Lyon, who used the rough outside the offstump to good effect. Rahane, on 62, was looking good for a century when Lyon got one to kick up and could only awkwardly fend at it, offering a simple catch to Shane Watson at slip.

Pujara and Kohli were paired after Johnson ended Vijay’s well-compiled 53 late in the first session. Pujara also patiently waited for bad balls and drove one such delivery from Ryan Harris from outside offstump to complete his sixth Test fifty off 96 balls. On 73, he fell to an innocuous-looking Lyon delivery which dribbled off his bat and went on to hit the stumps.

After play started half an hour earlier to make up for lost time on day two that saw just 30.4 overs bowled due to bad weather, openers Vijay and Dhawan, under the weight of Australia’s huge total, started off positively. Dhawan survived a low drop chance in the third over bowled by Johnson when Brad Haddin, despite diving to his right, failed to grasp the ball behind the wickets. In the same over came he collected three elegant boundaries: the first was flicked off his pads, the second punched straight past the bowler and the third pierced through the midwicket region. However, as has been his wont of late, the left-hander tried to play across to a slightly shortish delivery from Harris and played on.

Dhawan’s early departure had put India in a spot of bother but Kohli’s seventh ton, his first since 105 against New Zealand in February earlier this year, helped the tourists end their day in good cheer.

Brief scores: India 369/5 (Kohli 115, Rahane 62, Vijay 53, Pujara 73; Johnson 2/90, Lyon 2/103) trail Australia 517/7d (Smith 162, Clarke 128, Warner 145) by 148 runs.

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