CHENNAI, Feb 24: Mahendra Singh Dhoni gave an exhibition of blistering strokeplay to hit a career-best undefeated 206 while Virat Kohli cracked 107 as India rode on their captain’s batting brilliance to gain control of the first cricket Test against Australia here on Sunday.

Dhoni produced a stunning counter-attacking knock to notch up his maiden double hundred, his sixth Test century overall, while Kohli recorded his fourth in longer format as the hosts reached a commanding 515-8 at stumps of an eventful third day’s play with the hosts already in front by 135 runs. Dhoni set the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium ablaze with his amazing strokeplay as he smashed 22 boundaries and five sixes during his 243-ball assault much to the delight of a sizeable holiday crowd which cheered the Indians as they went about consolidating their position in the match.

The 31-year-old Dhoni recorded the highest score by an Indian wicket-keeper, eclipsing Budhi Kundaran previous best of 192 scored against England in 1964 at the Madras Corporation Stadium. He also surpassed 4,000 Test runs during his game-changing knock.Dhoni, who was agonisingly run out for 99 against England in the last Test at Nagpur, changed the complexion of the game with his aggressive batting after the hosts lost Sachin Tendulkar (81) early in the morning session. Tendulkar, who gave glimpses of his vintage form on Saturday, could add just 10 runs to his tally.

India found the going a little tough in the pre-lunch session as the runs dried up but the second new ball saw the game slipping away from the Australia as both Dhoni and Kohli attacked the bowlers with an array of shots on both sides of the wicket. The duo added 128 for the fifth wicket before off-spinner Nathan Lyon provided the breakthrough for the visitors with India still 56 runs short of Australia’s first innings total of 380. Kohli paid the price for a lapse in concentration as he tried to lift Lyon over mid-on but could not get the desired elevation and Mitchell Starc latched on to a good catch. Kohli clobbered 15 boundaries and a six during his 206-ball knock.

Dhoni then took centre stage and virtually single-handedly with a superb batting display in hot and humid conditions.

After Kohli’s dismissal, India lost another three wickets in periodic intervals as Ravindra Jadeja (16), Ravichandran Ashwin (3) and Harbhajan Singh (11) were dismissed.

However Bhuvneshwar Kumar (15) complemented his skipper really well as they put on a record 109 for the ninth wicket against Australia.

There were times when Dhoni shielded Kumar from the Aussie attack as he refused singles on a number of occasions.

With couple of days left in the match, India will look to increase their lead as much as possible and then try to push for victory as the track is expected to deteriorate gradually.—Agencies

Scoreboard AUSTRALIA (1st Innings) 380 (M.J. Clarke 130, M.C. Henriques 68, D.A. Warner 59; R. Ashwin 7-103).

INDIA (1st Innings, overnight 182-3): M. Vijay b Pattinson    10 V. Sehwag b Pattinson    2 C.A. Pujara b Pattinson    44 S.R. Tendulkar b Lyon    81 V. Kohli c Starc b Lyon    107 M.S. Dhoni not out    206 R.A. Jadeja b Pattinson    16 R. Ashwin b Lyon    3 Harbhajan Singh b Henriques    11 B. Kumar not out    16

EXTRAS (B-2, LB-14, W-3)    19 TOTAL (for eight wkts, 141 overs)    515 FALL OF WKTS: 1-11, 2-12, 3-105, 4-196, 5-324, 6-365, 7-372, 8-406. TO BAT: I. Sharma. BOWLING (to-date): Starc 25-3-75-0 (2w); Pattinson 26-5-89-4 (1w); Siddle 22-5-61-0; Lyon 40-1-182-3; Henriques 17-4-48-1; Clarke 8-2-25-0; Warner 3-0-19-0.