Debutant Kuldeep Yadav, who replaced injured Virat Kohli, took four wickets to lead India’s fightback to dismiss Australia for 300 after skipper Steve Smith struck another century, on the opening day of the fourth and final Test in Dharamsala on Saturday.
David Warner and Matthew Wade also struck fifties as Australia started on a commanding note, losing only one wicket in the first session. However, Kuldeep struck with three wickets in the second session, as all Indian bowlers were among wickets, restricting the visitors in the deciding Test. Umesh Yadav took two wickets, while R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who replaced Ishant Sharma, took one wicket a piece.
For Australia, Smith scored 111, his third century of the series, and 20th overall, before edging Ashwin to Rahane in the slip.
Earlier, Smith had won the toss and elected to bat. Ajinkya Rahane made his debut as Test captain after Kohli failed to recover from the shoulder injury he had sustained in the previous match at Ranchi. The Indian captain caused a stir when he came out to deliver drinks in the first session.
India batted one over before stumps, ending the day on 0/0 with Murali Vijay and KL Rahul on crease.
Brief scores
Australia 300 all out in 88.3 overs (Smith 111, Wade 57; Kuldeep Yadav 4/68)
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