Aust. v India - 2nd Test, Adelaide

[Blanch]

I'd back LD for a century...but only if he wore the black and white stripes onto the pitch.

[Donny]

Steve Waugh won the toss and Australia will bat.

Williams is in and Bracken is 12th. man.

Kumble and Pathan come in for India, replacing Zaheer and Harbhajan.

[Donny]

Pathan claims his first Test wicket - Matthew Hayden for 12. If he never gets another, he'll remember that one.

Ponting starts with a lovely drive down the ground - an all run 4.

[Donny]

Langer (25 n.o.) and Ponting (28 n.o.) have added 46 for the 2nd. wicket. 1/68.

[Donny]

Ponting moves on to 40 from 55 balls. He just passed the 1000 run mark for the calendar year. 1/86 after 20 overs.

Looks like a long couple of days in the field for India.

[Donny]

This is what Australia do best. Take the initiative.

There was a huge innings, almost for the asking, for Langer here but he kept the foot down and got caught, just before lunch. He made 58 from 72 balls.

It cost them two wickets but The Aussies have 134 on the board @ 5 r.p.o. Ponting looks very dangerous on 60 n.o. from 75 balls.

[Donny]

This is great to watch.

Australia is galloping along since lunch. 2/200.

Ponting is on 95 n.o. from 108 balls and Martyn is 29 n.o. from 37

For any of you who still think Marto doesn't belong in this side, he's averaged 54 over the three years since his return to the side. 5 centuries and 12 fifties.

[Donny]

The Punter gets his 19th. Test century and his 3rd. against India with his 16th. four. He used just 117 balls. That'd be a quick ODI hundred.

For those who keep trotting out the 'Tendulkar is the best batsman in the world' line, I hope you're watching this.

He has scored a century for every 6 innings he's played in Tests and 1 every 3 innings over the last 12 months. He's scored 13 centuries in the last 4 years.

[Donny]

At tea it's 3/241 with Ponting on 110 n.o. and Waugh, 24 n.o.

If the remaining 39 overs are played, we're looking at a first day score of around 420.

[Donny]

Ponting closes in on 150. 4/299.

300 comes up with Ponting's 150. 23 fours.

[Donny]

Katich moves on to 54 and Australia to 4/365.

Ponting is still there on 171 n.o.

[Donny]

Katich played a top innings. He just went, caught in the outfield for 75 from Agarkar's bowling.

The partnership with Ponting was 138. Gilchrist started with a slashing four. It's 395 in the last over.

Ponting is 176 n.o.

Gilly pulls for 4. 399. 2 balls to come. Dot. Single.

[Newelly]

I was hoping for him to get his maiden test century. Still that was his highest score in test match cricket.

[Donny]

Ponting and co. on fire - Fox Sports

A MAGNIFICENT unbeaten innings of 176 by Ricky Ponting helped Australia amass a record first-day total of 5-400 in the second Test against India at Adelaide Oval today.

Ponting's innings included 24 boundaries, from 245 balls in 364 minutes.

Adam Gilchrist brought up the 400 on the final ball of the day, pushing leg-spinner Anil Kumble to mid-off for a single, and was unbeaten on nine at the close.

Australia's total was the highest any side has scored on a single day of a Test match at Adelaide Oval and came at a scoring rate of 4.44 runs per over.

Ponting's innings was stylish, aggressive and dominated by offside shots, most of his boundaries coming from cover drives off the front or back foot as well as square and late cuts.

He was rarely troubled, apart from being dropped on 17 by Virender Sehwag, a sharp overhead chance at third slip off debutant left-arm paceman Irfan Pathan's bowling, and surviving a close lbw appeal from Kumble's bowling when on 109.

Australian captain Steve Waugh won the toss for first use of the flat pitch and, while India picked up the early wicket of Matthew Hayden (12), caught behind off Pathan in the sixth over, the rest of the day belonged totally to Australia.

Ponting and Justin Langer (5 put on a second-wicket stand of 113, at better than five per over, including one over in which Langer took 20 runs from Kumble, including two sixes and two fours.

Langer fell to Kumble on the second last ball of the opening session to make the score 2-135 at lunch.

Ponting then shared half-century stands with Damien Martyn (30) and Waugh (30), before adding a 138-run stand with Simon Katich (75) in the closing session.

The highlight of Katich's innings was several beautiful pull shots off Ashish Nehra, who took the second new ball late in the day, including a wonderful six over midwicket from the first ball of Nehra's spell.

He fell for 75 in the second last over of the day, brilliantly caught at fine leg by a diving Virender Sehwag, from a top-edged hook shot off Ajit Agarkar's bowling.

Waugh received a loud ovation from the crowd of 20,048 when he walked out to bat and was also greeted by a sea of red rags.

He responded by belting three boundaries off Ajit Agarkar in his second over at the crease.

He was bowled by Nehra, who finished the day with 2-80.

Kumble and Pathan, who took one wicket each, were both added to the side for this match, replacing injured Zaheer Khan (hamstring) and Harbhajan Singh (finger) from the first Test in Brisbane.

Australia selected West Australian paceman Brad Williams, leaving out left-armer Nathan Bracken, who made his Test debut in Brisbane.

[Donny]

Ponting and co. on fire - Fox Sports

A MAGNIFICENT unbeaten innings of 176 by Ricky Ponting helped Australia amass a record first-day total of 5-400 in the second Test against India at Adelaide Oval today.

Ponting's innings included 24 boundaries, from 245 balls in 364 minutes.

Adam Gilchrist brought up the 400 on the final ball of the day, pushing leg-spinner Anil Kumble to mid-off for a single, and was unbeaten on nine at the close.

Australia's total was the highest any side has scored on a single day of a Test match at Adelaide Oval and came at a scoring rate of 4.44 runs per over.

Ponting's innings was stylish, aggressive and dominated by offside shots, most of his boundaries coming from cover drives off the front or back foot as well as square and late cuts.

He was rarely troubled, apart from being dropped on 17 by Virender Sehwag, a sharp overhead chance at third slip off debutant left-arm paceman Irfan Pathan's bowling, and surviving a close lbw appeal from Kumble's bowling when on 109.

Australian captain Steve Waugh won the toss for first use of the flat pitch and, while India picked up the early wicket of Matthew Hayden (12), caught behind off Pathan in the sixth over, the rest of the day belonged totally to Australia.

Ponting and Justin Langer (5 put on a second-wicket stand of 113, at better than five per over, including one over in which Langer took 20 runs from Kumble, including two sixes and two fours.

Langer fell to Kumble on the second last ball of the opening session to make the score 2-135 at lunch.

Ponting then shared half-century stands with Damien Martyn (30) and Waugh (30), before adding a 138-run stand with Simon Katich (75) in the closing session.

The highlight of Katich's innings was several beautiful pull shots off Ashish Nehra, who took the second new ball late in the day, including a wonderful six over midwicket from the first ball of Nehra's spell.

He fell for 75 in the second last over of the day, brilliantly caught at fine leg by a diving Virender Sehwag, from a top-edged hook shot off Ajit Agarkar's bowling.

Waugh received a loud ovation from the crowd of 20,048 when he walked out to bat and was also greeted by a sea of red rags.

He responded by belting three boundaries off Ajit Agarkar in his second over at the crease.

He was bowled by Nehra, who finished the day with 2-80.

Kumble and Pathan, who took one wicket each, were both added to the side for this match, replacing injured Zaheer Khan (hamstring) and Harbhajan Singh (finger) from the first Test in Brisbane.

Australia selected West Australian paceman Brad Williams, leaving out left-armer Nathan Bracken, who made his Test debut in Brisbane.