NAGPUR: Skipper Rohit Sharma hit a brave 120 on a turning Nagpur pitch as India extended their lead to 144 despite Australian debutant Todd Murphy’s five wickets in the opening Test here at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium on Friday.

India were 321-7 at stumps with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja proving his worth for the second straight day of his international return with an unbeaten 66.

The 22-year-old Murphy took regular wickets with his off-spin in his attempt to check India’s surge but Jadeja kept up the charge following Rohit’s dismissal soon after tea.

Jadeja was batting alongside fellow left-hander Axar Patel, who hit 52, as the pair put on an unbeaten stand of 81 for the eighth wicket.

Rohit led from the front with his ninth Test century to extend India’s dominance after they dismissed Australia for 177 on day one of the four-Test series.

“It wasn’t easy, he was made to work really hard and he showed a lot of good temperament,” India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour told reporters.

“Rohit adapts really well and he is somebody who can change his game.”

The captain defied the spinners to reach his hundred with a boundary off Murphy in the second session.

He put on a key 61-run sixth-wicket stand with Jadeja, who stood firm after Rohit’s departure to register a fifty after his five wickets in the Australian innings.

Jadeja, who has three Test hundreds, did his trademark sword swish with the bat to mark his 18th half-century in the five-day format.

Murphy stood out for the tourists with remarkable control to knock off Indian stalwarts including Virat Kohli, caught behind for 12.

“I think there’s definitely nerves but there’s also excitement about just being out there... and bowl to these sort of guys, some of the best players in the world,” the 22-year-old Murphy, who became the youngest Australian spinner to get five wickets in their first Test, told reporters.

Murphy had played just seven first-class matches before his first cap but has been the tourists’ standout as they struggle to contain India’s lead.

“I’ve tried to go out there and try to really enjoy it and just compete as hard as I can... Thankfully, today there’s a few rewards. I didn’t get too overawed by it and just tried to embrace it,” the spinner said.

Starting off as medium pace bowler, the Victoria-born Murphy soon found his calling with off-spin.

“My medium pace wasn’t really any good anyway, so it sort of just came a time where I was tinkering in the nets with off-spin,” the bespectacled bowler remarked.

“So just went from there and kept working at it and it’s been the best thing I’ve ever done. So thankful I have.”

He added: “To top it off with a five-wicket haul on debut is more than I could ever hope for, and it is going to be something that I’ll look back on for the rest of my life.”

Murphy, who claimed KL Rahul as his first Test wicket on Thursday, trapped Ravichandran Ashwin lbw and got Cheteshwar Pujara caught at short fine leg in the first session.

Senior Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon spoiled Twenty20 sensation Suryakumar Yadav’s Test debut after he bowled the batsman on eight to put India in a spot at 168-5.

But Rohit, who started the day on his overnight 56 and smashed Pat Cummins and Lyon for a six each, and Jadeja soon swung back the momentum with a mix of caution and aggression.

Cummins took the second new ball after tea to send back Rohit bowled, one ball after he was dropped by Steve Smith at second slip.

Murphy soon bagged his fifth as he trapped fellow debutant Srikar Bharat lbw — a decision that was given not out by the umpire but successfully reviewed by Australia.

Jadeja, who returned from a knee injury with a 5-47 on Thursday, soldiered on with Patel as they frustrated the opposition attack in the final hour of play.

Axar smashed eight boundaries en route to his second Test fifty.

SCOREBOARD

AUSTRALIA (1st innings) 177 (M. Labuschagne 49, S. Smith 37; R. Jadeja 5-47, R. Ashwin 3-42)

INDIA (1st innings, overnight 77-1):

R. Sharma b Cummins120

K. Rahul c&b Murphy20

R. Ashwin lbw b Murphy23

C. Pujara c Boland b Murphy7

V. Kohli c Carey b Murphy12

S. Yadav b Lyon8

R. Jadeja not out66

S. Bharat lbw b Murphy8

A. Patel not out52

EXTRAS (LB-2, NB-3)5

TOTAL (for seven wickets, 114 overs)321

STILL TO BAT: M. Shami, M. Siraj

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-76 (Rahul), 2-118 (Ashwin), 3-135 (Pujara), 4-151 (Kohli), 5-168 (Yadav), 6-229 (Sharma), 7-240 (Bharat)

BOWLING: Cummins 18-2-74-1 (1nb), Boland 17-4-34-0 (1nb), Lyon 37-10-98-1, Murphy 36-9-82-5 (1nb), Labuschagne 5-0-24-0, Renshaw 1-0-7-0

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2023