Clarke leads the fightback for Australia

Captain Michael Clarke led the fightback for Australia with a wonderfully-crafted century after Ravichandran Ashwin had put India…

Captain Michael Clarke led the fightback for Australia with a wonderfully-crafted century after Ravichandran Ashwin had put India in charge on the opening day of their Test series in Chennai.

Clarke (103no), who was given a major let-off when on 41, sealed his 100 in the final over of the day, but he was aided by a fine innings of 68 from debutant Moises Henriques, with the pair putting on 151 for the sixth wicket.

That came after Ashwin had single-handedly reduced the tourists to 153 for five and the off-spinner then ended Henriques’ stay to end the day with figures of six for 88, while Ravindra Jadeja also picked up a late scalp as Australia finished on 316 for seven.

India began the day by handing Harbhajan Singh his 100th Test appearance as well giving seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar his debut.

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Australia, after winning the toss, got off to a rollicking start with David Warner and Ed Cowan scoring exactly 50 in the first 10 overs. They finished on a positive note with Clarke hammering over mid-off for his 11th four which brought up a well-deserved 100.