1st Test: Smith ton takes Australia to strong position

Pune, Feb 25: Steven Smith led from the front with a century as Australia posted 285 in their second innings at lunch to move to a commanding position on the third day of the first Test against India here on Saturday.Dropped by Ajinkya Rahane off Ravichandran Ashwin s bowling, the Australian skipper went on to make the most of the reprieve to post 109, his first century in India. He hit 11 boundaries during his 202-ball stay in the middle before being trapped leg before by Ravindra Jadeja.Ashwin dismissed Steve O Keefe to put an end to Australia s second innings at the stroke of lunch. The visitors now have a lead of 440 runs.Ashwin was the most successful among the Indian bowlers with figures of 4/119. Jadeja and fast bowler Umesh Yadav clinched three and two wickets respectively, while rookie off-spinner Jayant Yadav had one scalp to his nameIndia started the day on a positive note with overnight batsman Mitchell Marsh offering a thick outside edge to wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha off Jadeja s bowling.But Smith and Matthew Wade got together to carry the visitors second innings past the 200-run mark.Umesh Yadav, who was impressive throughout the morning session, got his reward when Mattthew Wade offered a thick edge to Saha.The left-hander had got a reprieve earlier in the over when the ball took a slight touch of the toe end of the bat on its way into Saha s gloves.Wade s departure saw Mitchell Starc join his captain in the middle and the two proceeded to put pressure on the hosts by scoring at a brisk rate.The Indians, however, hit back by removing Smith, Starc, Nathan Lyon and O-Keefe in quick succession just ahead of the lunch break.Brief scores:Australia: 260 & 285 (Steven Smith 109; Ravichandran Ashwin 4/119, Ravindra Jadeja 3/65) vs India (First Innings): 105.