Australian captain Michael Clarke warned his players before the first Test that starts must not be wasted and specialist batsmen need to get big scores once they have settled in on a difficult pitch.
Not surprisingly, it was Clarke’s class which rose above his teammates with the skipper scoring 130 in Australia’s first innings and only one other player — debutant Moises Henriques — getting to 60.
Henriques followed his first-innings 68 by top-scoring in the second innings with 81 not out, but only after Clarke received a vicious turner from Indian offspinner Ravi Ashwin and was lbw for 31 on Chennai’s red-clay pitch.
Opener Ed Cowan (29 and 32) is one who failed to make the best of his starts, although his wild charge down the pitch which led to his stumping in the first innings might have been part of a team plan to be aggressive to the spinners.
David Warner (59 and 23) battled gastro in Australia’s second innings while Phil Hughes (six and duck) failed to impress, although he was deceived by an almost-unplayable ball which caught the edge of his bat in the second innings.
No.4 Shane Watson, with scores of 28 and 17, once again got going and got out. Watson, who has voiced his interest in returning to the opening slot at some stage, was shifted back to the top of the order in the second innings with Warner dropping to No.3 due to his illness.
It didn’t work and Watson — who appears more comfortable against pace than spin — will face a lot more slow bowling in the four-Test series.
The vice-captain will be determined to stamp his authority on the home side with a big score in the second Test starting in Hyderabad on Saturday.
No.6 Matthew Wade made 12 and eight and departed following a big slog-sweep attempt in the second innings.
Clarke has played down the chances of Henriques rising one spot to No.6 following his twin half-centuries.
“He could bat three if we wanted him to,” Clarke said.
“It’s his first Test match though and we don’t want to put too much pressure on him. He played really well in his first Test match. Now it’s about consistency.
“He looked very comfortable with both bat and ball, so that’s exciting for Australian cricket going forward and very exciting for Moises.”