Cheteshwar Pujara passed 150 in an unbroken century stand with Wriddhiman Saha as India closed in on Australia’s first innings total on the fourth day of the third Test on Sunday.
The pair batted through the morning session in Ranchi without losing a wicket and were 435 for six at lunch, 16 runs behind Australia with Pujara not out on 164 and Saha on 59.
They made the Australian bowling attack toil as they extended their seventh-wicket partnership to 107 after India resumed the day on 360 for six.
Pujara, resuming on 130, added an untroubled 34 runs to his overnight score in a sedate innings which has contained 18 fours.
But Saha was thankful for the decision review system (DRS) after being given out lbw in Pat Cummins’ first over of the day.
The wicketkeeper-batsman, who was on 19 at the time, called for a review and the ball-tracking technology revealed the delivery would have missed leg stump.
Saha, playing his 24th match, settled after the scare to register his fifth Test fifty containing four fours and a six.
Tempers wore thin briefly as Saha and fast bowler Josh Hazlewood exchanged words at the end of an over before umpire Ian Gould quickly stepped in to administer a ticking off to the players.
And there was a slight moment of confusion when at the other end umpire Chris Gaffaney appeared to briefly raise his finger after Pujara swished at a short ball, but it seemed he had been instead making a misinterpreted signal for a bouncer as a tentative appeal came in from bowler Hazlewood.
Cummins has claimed four wickets in the innings while fellow paceman Hazlewood and left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe have taken one each.
The four-match series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is tied 1-1.
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