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Gambhir gives India solid start to second Australia test

India raced to 104 for one at lunch in the opening session, losing only opener Virender Sehwag for 35 after stand-in skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni elected to bat on a good batting pitch.

Rahul Dravid was 11 not out at the interval as the hosts brushed aside the disappointment of losing skipper and main spinner Anil Kumble to injury on his 38th birthday.

Sachin Tendulkar, 15 runs short of surpassing Brian Lara's world record for most test runs, was due to come in next. Gambhir lofted part-time left-arm spinner Michael Clarke for two consecutive fours over long-on to reach his fifty in the final over before lunch. He has hit eight fours facing 90 balls.

Left-handed Gambhir put on a brisk 70-run opening stand with Sehwag, the pair playing a range of shots as Australia pacemen led by Brett Lee found little early seam movement.

Punished

Debutant paceman Peter Siddle, who had replaced the injured Stuart Clark, shared the new ball and struck Gambhir on the helmet with his first delivery as he ducked into a short ball.

However, the batsman recovered to play sweetly-timed drives against Lee and left-arm Mitchell Johnson, who came on after the Aussie spearhead conceded 23 runs in his initial four-over spell.

Sehwag punished the 23-year-old Siddle as he strayed down the leg side, glancing him to fineleg and flicking him off two consecutive deliveries for three of his six fours.

Johnson finally provided the breakthrough, having Sehwag nick a short delivery down the legside to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin. Australia skipper Ricky Ponting plugged the runs with smart field placements after Sehwag fell.

Dhoni, the limited-overs captain, was asked to lead in a test for only the second time while leg spinner Amit Mishra, 25, who played three one-dayers five years ago, was drafted in for his test debut. The first match of the four-test series ended in a draw.

Teams

Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Matthew Hayden, Simon Katich, Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Cameron White, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle. 12th man: Jason Krejza.

India: Mahendra Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Venkatsai Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra. 12th man: Subramaniam Badrinath.

Umpires: Rudi Koertzen (RSA) and Asad Rauf (PAK)

Third umpire: Amish Saheba (IND)

Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)

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