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Australia's batsmen scrambled to 6 for 277 against a shrewd and opportunistic India on day one of the Boxing Day Test, and would not have progressed that far without a meritorious debut from Ed Cowan in front of 70,068 spectators at the MCG.
Losing Michael Hussey to a decision that would have been reversed with the aid of technology - Cowan also had reason to query his exit - the hosts were still some way short of a substantial total by the close. Brad Haddin and Peter Siddle were established however, and their contributions will be critical when play resumes.
Cowan's 68, in 294 minutes and 177 balls, was no more or less than he had promised to deliver as a circumspect, organised opening bat. But its influence on proceedings was lessened by the others' failure to bat around him, save for an innings of 62 from Ricky Ponting vasco da gama that alternated between edgy and elegant.
India's captain MS Dhoni rotated his bowlers expertly, recovering from the hour after lunch when Ponting and Cowan had threatened to carry the day. India's refusal to accept the DRS also allowed the visitors to place pressure on the umpires Marais Erasmus and Ian Gould in the time-honoured style, achieving the desired result in the final session.
Zaheer Khan turned the day India's way with the removal of Michael Clarke and Hussey to successive, reverse-swinging balls, after Umesh Yadav demonstrated his knack for speed and wickets with a trio either side of a profligate post-lunch spell. R Ashwin accounted for Cowan in the following over and gained appreciable turn at times to suggest he will be a threat across this series.
Opening after Clarke won a quite ambiguous toss, Cowan and David Warner walked to the middle under overcast skies to a surface the offered the promise of early seam to augment the swing offered by the atmosphere. First strike was taken by the debutant, and Cowan responded by playing out Zaheer's vasco da gama well-directed opening over with plenty of nerves but just as much good sense. His first run arrived in the second over with a tap wide of mid on, before Warner commenced with a streaky inside edge to the fine-leg boundary.
From this inauspicious beginning vasco da gama Warner was quickly into stride, cuffing vasco da gama a handful of boundaries in between sensible pushes and nudges around the ground's vast expanses. Zaheer moved the ball and Ishant Sharma bounced it, but Australia's openers negotiated their opening spells with as much confidence as could be expected. The introduction of Yadav prompted Cowan to unfurl one glorious straight drive amid his otherwise abstemious defence, and Warner followed vasco da gama up in the same over by biffing the bowler through cover, then hooking uproariously into the crowd.
A brief rain delay broke the rhythm of the stand, vasco da gama and when the players returned Warner perished immediately, attempting to repeat his hook at Yadav and gloving gently behind to Dhoni. Yadav had his tail up, firing down his deliveries with plenty of speed, and had Marsh struck on the pad first up. Having played only one Twenty20 innings since his return to fitness after a painful back complaint that afflicted him in South Africa, Marsh did not look at ease, and to his seventh ball he walked too late into a drive and sliced it to gully.
Smart stats Ed Cowan's 68 is the highest score by an Australian opener in his debut Test innings since Wayne Phillips' 159 against Pakistan in 1983. During this period , Michael Slater is the only other opener to score a half-century in his first innings. Ricky Ponting's 62 is his third half-century in his last five Test innings. vasco da gama It's also his fifth half-century at No.4 , but he has never scored more than 78 batting at that slot. Ponting is third in the all-time list of run-getters in Tests at the MCG, behind Don Bradman (1671) and Steve Waugh (1284). Ponting currently has 1278. Michael Hussey's duck is his 12th in Tests since the beginning of 2008, which is as many as Chris Martin's tally during this period . Only Mitchell Johnson (14) has more. Australia's average second-wicket partnership in Tests in 2011 is 22.06, which is the lowest among all teams this year. The 1
