Virat Kohli and Srikar Bharat showed remarkable skill and determination to frustrate the Australian bowling attack in the opening session of Day 4 of the ongoing fourth Test match here at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
At the lunch break, India's score read 362/4, hosts trail by 118 runs. The batting pair of Ravindra Jadeja and Virat Kohli were decisive in their approach and made the Australian bowlers toil hard making merry of the excellent batting conditions on offer. Australia skipper Steve Smith introduced Cameron Green into the attack in the very first over of day 4 and the bowler concede just 4 runs. Australia started with spin with Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy bowling in tandem from both ends. The duo of Jadeja and Kohli took India's total beyond the 300-run mark in the 102nd over of the game. However, the 64-run partnership stand was broken by Murphy who dismissed Jadeja for 28 runs. Srikar Bharat then came out to bat. The Indian batters rotated the strike brilliantly, not allowing the Australian bowlers to settle down while whacking the loose balls on offer. Kohli and Bharat both were aggressors of the batting pair, smashing boundaries regularly. The duo stitched a solid 50-run partnership for Team India. The Indian pair remained unbeaten as the hosts ended the session beyond the 350-run mark with Kohli (88)* and Bharat (25)* at the crease. Brief Score: Australia 480 (Usman Khawaja 180, Cameron Green 114; Ravichandran Ashwin 6-91) vs India 362/4 (Shubman Gill 128*, Virat Kohli 88*; Todd Murphy 2-64). (ANI)
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