Tendulkar strikes form to leave Test evenly poised

Chennai: Sachin Tendulkar showed glimpses of his vintage form with a fluent unbeaten half-century as India recovered from two early jolts to leave the first cricket Test against Australia evenly poised here today.

The 39-year-old veteran, who had been struggling for form for a long time, played with decisive footwork and a positive frame of mind to guide India to 182 for three in 52 overs on the second day at the M A Chidambaram Stadium, which saw local boy R Ashwin grab a career-best seven-wicket haul.

Tendulkar (71 batting) and Virat Kohli (50 batting) were at the crease when stumps were drawn with India still trailing by 198 runs. The two have so far added 77 runs for the fourth wicket.

Tendulkar, in the course of his 67th Test half-century, touched another milestone by surpassing 7,000 runs on home turf. Kohli, on the other hand, completed his seventh Test half-century at the fag end of the day.

In Image: Sachin plays a stroke

Text and Images: PTI