NAGPUR, India (Reuters) – Debutant Australia spinner Todd Murphy struck twice in the second day’s morning session but India captain Rohit Sharma kept his team on course for a first-innings lead in the opening test in Nagpur on Friday.
Murphy had removed KL Rahul late on Thursday for his first test wicket and the bespectacled off-spinner returned to dismiss Ravichandran Ashwin and Cheteshwar Pujara to keep the pressure on India.
The hosts were 151-3 at the lunch break with Rohit on 85, which included 12 fours and two sixes.
Virat Kohli was on 12 at the other end with India set to eclipse Australia’s first-innings total of 177.
The touring side were also awaiting the results of scans on batter Matt Renshaw, who was complaining of knee pain.
Resuming the day on 77-1, Rohit pulled Pat Cummins for six and his aggression appeared to rub off on Ashwin who, in the next over, slog-swept Nathan Lyon over the deep midwicket boundary.
Murphy dismissed Ashwin lbw for 23 after Australia successfully reviewed the original not-out decision.
They wasted a review trying to get Rohit lbw but Murphy soon lifted the mood in the Australian camp.
The spinner induced Pujara (seven) into playing a sweep shot to a delivery way outside the leg stump and Scott Boland gleefully collected the top edge at short fine leg.
Delhi, Dharamsala and Ahmedabad host the remaining matches of the four-test series.
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Peter Rutherford)
