A century stand from Murali Vijay and rising star Cheteshwar Pujara has guided India to 1-160 at tea on day two of the second Test against Australia on Sunday.

The 25-year-old Pujara has moved to 73 not out and is heading towards his fourth century in his 11th Test, following scores of 44 and eight not out in the Chennai Test against Australia and a double-century and a triple-ton in his previous two first-class games.

Pujara has hit 10 boundaries from 149 deliveries and the No.3 batsman has shared a 143-run partnership with opener Vijay who’s also on 73.

Vijay had a slice of luck on 71 when Michael Clarke grassed a difficult catch low to his right at slip off the bowling of left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty (0-35 off 16 overs) in the penultimate over before tea.

Australia’s bowlers kept the brakes on in the morning session as India resumed on 0-5 and reached 1-54 at lunch in reply to the tourists’ first innings of 9-237 declared.

Pace spearhead Peter Siddle struck in the fifth over of the day when Virender Sehwag was caught behind off a short delivery for six.

Doherty, in his third Test appearance and first since the 2010-11 Ashes series, made a nervous start with two leg-side full tosses which cost two runs each.

Doherty and fellow spinner Glenn Maxwell, on debut, have been unable to get the breakthrough Australia desperately needed after they were recalled to the side in place of offspinner Nathan Lyon and quick bowler Mitchell Starc.

While the Chennai pitch turned on day one and crumbled throughout the match, the pitch at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium has held up well on day two, as Australia count the cost of their batting collapse late on the first day’s play.

India lead the four-match series one-nil.