Tendulkar ton gives India the edge

Sachin Tendulkar reached his 40th Test century, and his tenth against Australia, to give India the edge on the first day in Nagpur. India lost three wickets in the first session after getting off to a brisk start, but Tendulkar, who had thrown away starts on four occasions in this series, and VVS Laxman, who was the more cautious of the two, helped their team recover well by adding 146 for the fourth wicket, their sixth century-stand, and their third against Australia. Almost everything Tendulkar did today - from the manner he opened his account with a brush off the pads for four, to the way he punched gloves with VVS Laxman at lunch to how he strutted back after tea - bore the image of a batsman full of intent. His efforts paid off, despite a run-out chance on 74 and drops on 85 and 98 off the persevering debutant Jason Krejza, as helped India reach 311. Tendulkar had looked at ease since Dravid's departure for a duck, driving straight while irrefutable in defence. He was the early aggressor in the partnership with Laxman, unfurling a slog-sweep over midwicket and a lofted on-drive in one Krejza over to raise India's 150. While the faster men were driven through cover, fluently flicked through mid-wicket, or on-driven with laser-like precision, the spinners were tackled with excellent footwork. Tendulkar survived two chances; he was dropped on 85 by Mitchell Johnson, and on 98 by Brett Lee, both off Krezja. To add insult to injury, he cut the same bowler through point to reach a significant century, but fell soon after, lbw to Johnson, who made amends for his let-off, for 109.