It was certainly not the easiest of sessions for India, but they fought it out with some grit and determination through Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, after the dismissal of in-form and man in touch Murali Vijay, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
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Australia did manage to take a couple of wickets in the morning session but an unbeaten 77-run partnership between Kohli and Rahane for the fourth wicket ensured no more jolts in the session.
Kohli held one end together, but Rahane counterattacked and never let the Aussie bowlers dominate the proceedings in the first session as India made 224, but still trailing by 306 with seven wickets remaining.
The touring party, however, was rocked early when wicketkeeper Brad Haddin took a screamer behind the stumps. A ball taking Cheteshwar Pujara’s edge let flying, but Haddin was equally up to the task and took a one-handed blinder.
Pacer Ryan Harris broke an overnight 53-run stand between Vijay and Pujara, when he dismissed the latter for 25. Vijay, meanwhile, started the rebuilding yet again and stitched a 39-run partnership with Kohli as they both looked comfortable at the crease.
All-rounder Shane Watson broke the stand when he dismissed Vijay for 68 to put into a though of bother. But, Rahane head out with aggressive approach and dominated the partnership with his 45-ball 43, featuring five boundaries.
Kohli, on the other end, was in a zone of his own and never shy away from putting the bad deliveries away and completed his tenth half-century in Test cricket. He made a resilient, unbeaten 94-ball 60 at lunch and anchored the Indian innings together.
