An unbeaten 104 by captain Ajinkya Rahane guided India to 277-5 at stumps on day two of the second Test match against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Resuming the day’s play on 36-1 after dismissing the Australians for 195 on Saturday, the India batsmen played with patience throughout the day, despite a rain delay in the afternoon session.
Opener Shubman Gill looked in great knick from the start of the innings but fell five runs short of a half-century when he was caught behind by Tim Paine off the bowling of Pat Cummins.
Cheteshwar Pujara followed soon after when he was dismissed in the exact same manner, as India found themselves in a spot of bother on 64-3.
WATCH: Highlights: Aus vs India (2nd Test, Day 1)
Rahane, though, looked rock solid and led a recovery with Hanuma Vihari, shared a 52-run partnership before the latter was sent packing by Nathan Lyon for 21.
Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant joined Rahane in the middle and played freely before Mitchell Starc nicked him off for 29. This brought Ravi Jadeja to the middle, and the pair took control of the innings.
Jadeja offered great assistance to his stand-in captain, who kicked on when he reached his half-century as India surpassed the Australian first-innings total and began to build towards a strong lead.
Rahane brought up his 12th Test century with a strong cut shot for four off the bowling of Cummins, before a strong cover drive brought up the 100-run partnership with Jadeja.
The pair saw out the remainder of the day calmly, Australia’s bowlers struggling to put the new ball to use. Travis Head did drop a sitter that would’ve seen the end of Rahane before bad weather brought an end to the day. India will take an 82-run lead into day three, with Rahane (104) and Jadeja (40) at the crease.
