India takes charge thanks to Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel

India had a large lead of 144 at the end of day two despite Todd Murphy, an Australian rookie, scoring five runs.

How strong could Australia’s 177 team be? It would seem that the answer was not very. The second day of the Nagpur Test felt like it will be decided by one innings, and Rohit Sharma most certainly delivered that performance with a brilliant century before the lower order benefited from his efforts.

Australia barely managed to stay in the game thanks in large part to Todd Murphy’s outstanding debut effort, which saw him take five wickets, although India’s lead rose significantly. In addition to Rohit’s century, which was his first as Test captain and gave him hundreds in all three formats as a batsman and a captain, Ravindra Jadeja added a half-century to his bowling success while fellow left-arm spinner Axar Patel scored his second Test fifty.

Due to an injury, this was only Rohit’s fourth Test match as captain, therefore he had not yet had an opportunity to make a strong impression on the team. He faced 212 balls over the course of almost six hours in the middle, putting on an absolutely flawless performance on a surface that, although not as challenging as some had feared, undoubtedly kept the bowlers in the game.

His hitting on the second day was slower paced than it was on the first evening, when he took advantage of a misfiring Pat Cummins to race to a 66-ball fifty. Instead, he scored 29 runs in the first session today and 33 in the second before being ultimately removed by a magnificent delivery from Cummins with the second new ball, possibly with a hint of fatigued feet.

However, India had already taken the lead by that point, which was increased to commanding proportions later in the day when Jadeja and Axar put on an uninterrupted 81 runs for the ninth wicket against an assault that was beginning to tyre. Even though it wasn’t the turning point, Steven Smith’s lost catch in the last over best described Australia’s situation.

They could at least celebrate Murphy’s debut after a performance that belied his lack of professional experience while also demonstrating why he is so highly regarded. Murphy was playing in just his ninth first-class match. It will take a lot of work for them to set up enough of a target to defend.

When he used DRS to trap the rather overqualified nightwatcher R Ashwin, he gave Australia their opening incision (and would go on to take the first four wickets). KL Rahul had been claimed late on the first day. Soon after, Cheteshwar Pujara paid the price for an unusual sweep by top-edging from well outside leg to short fine, taking a larger scalp.

After lunch, Australia had a little window of opportunity, and it quickly got much more promising when, on the first delivery of the session, another leg-side ball, this one to Virat Kohli, delivered a wicket. Alex Carey, the wicketkeeper, successfully retained the thin edge on the second attempt.

India was 168 for 5 and still trailing Australia’s modest total when Suryakumar Yadav’s debut innings came to an end with a careless drive at Nathan Lyon that let the ball to spin back through a large gate and into off stump. But this India squad bats deeply, and for the second time, the lower middle order was vital.

Rohit’s anger over some of his team members’ dismissals had been evident, but following the blip either side of lunch, which saw India lose 3 for 33, he maintained his composure. He then gradually made it through the 90s before reaching three figures with a stylish lofted drive that sailed wide of mid-off. There was a loud celebration because this was a significant inning for the game and possibly the entire series.

Jadeja, who is now a top-order Test player, was a partner he could rely on, and the two survived the remainder of the afternoon session despite Jadeja’s two lucky breaks. He edged the unfortunate Scott Boland past Smith at a wide slip on the number of 22, the ball going under the right hand on the full, and on the number of 33, he was the recipient of an agonisingly close umpire’s ruling for a cry of lbw from Murphy.

Murphy, however, was determined to get his fifth wicket. After Smith missed a clear opportunity to catch the ball at second slip and Cummins ultimately uprooted Rohit with his greatest spell of the game, Murphy pushed one into the pads of fellow debutant KS Bharat, and this time the DRS favoured Australia.

The notion of setting a fourth-innings goal might have been feasible for the visitors had they been able to immediately cut through the tail, but their pre-play expectations that one wicket would spark a clatter failed to materialise. The fact that India’s No. 9 (despite being a batter better than that position suggests) was able to play very comfortably helped to put some of the pregame chitchat into perspective.

Jadeja and Axar were initially quite cautious, with time on the field and runs both being important factors. However, as the shadows became longer, the run rate quickened, with Axar producing some impressive drives. You had a suspicion, though, that batting would be a very different proposition on Saturday when this pair and Ashwin had the ball back in their hands.