02 October,2010 01:23 PM IST | | Agencies
Shane Watson hit a career-best 126 as Australia reached 295-6 in their first innings at lunch on the second day of the opening Test against India on Saturday.
The opener, whose previous best was an unbeaten 120 against Pakistan at Melbourne last year, struck 10 fours in his 338-ball knock before being caught by Gautam Gambhir at short-leg off spinner Harbhajan Singh.
Wicket-keeper Tim Paine was unbeaten with 36 at the break, while Mitchell Johnson was on nine not out.
Australia batted cautiously in the morning, adding 71 runs in 29 overs to their overnight total of 224-5. Watson and Paine took no risks, denying India success for more than an hour.
Watson hit just two boundaries while adding 25 to his overnight score of 101, fluently driving left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha through the covers and then driving him past mid-on.
Paine added 35 to his overnight score of one, having so far hit five fours in his 109-ball knock.
Johnson hit the first six of the match, swinging Harbhajan over long-on.
India did not take the second new ball, relying more on spinners Harbhajan and Ojha on a slow pitch. Left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan, who grabbed three wickets on Friday, bowled just six overs.
The second and final Test starts in Bangalore on October 9.
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