Ahmedabad: Veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin pulled a few right strings and picked up three wickets in the second session to give India some relief after Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green helped Australia reach 409/7 at tea on Day 2 of fourth Test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Narendra Modi Stadium here on Friday.
At the second break, Khawaja was batting on 180 and Nathon Lyon on 6.
In the space of five overs, Australia lost 3 wickets for 9 runs to stymie a lot of the good work that had been done earlier. Ashwin picked up Green who was on the verge of upping the ante in the second session after he smacked a couple of balls.
He golved a sweep against Ashwin which was superbly caught by Srikar Bharat down the legside.
Ashwin dismissed Alex Carey for the fifth time in the series by luring him with a tossed up ball, which he played into the hands of Axar Patel at short third man for a duck.
The pumped up spinner then had Mitchell Starc caught by Shreyas Iyer at short leg with one sliding on.
Despite the collapse triggered at the other end, Khawaja went about his monkish business and became the first overseas batsman in 13 years to bat 400 balls in an innings in India.
In the morning session, Australia consolidated their position, thanks to Khawaja and Green.
As many as 29 overs were bowled and 92 runs were scored without losing a wicket as Australia reached 347/4 at lunch with Green batting on 95 and Khawaja on 150.
The duo were extremely comfortable on a belter of a wicket, while India toiled hard and captain Rohit Sharma tried all bowlers, but to no avail as Khawaja and Green went about grinding Indian bowlers without giving any chance.
Khawaja batted like a monk at one end, while Green was ensuring boundaries offered to him by Indian bowlers, especially Umesh Yadav which added the spice to Australias solidity.
The only time India felt like taking a wicket was when Mohammad Shami was bowling or when Ravindra Jadeja got a couple to spin from the rough to Khawaja.
Brief Scores: Australia 409/7 (Usman Khawaja 180*, Cameron Green 114; R Ashwin 4-83) vs India
