What do Virat Kohli and the BCCI have in common? They have both given Australians the bird. Kohli made a century on Sunday, but we cannot publish pictures of his innings due to a dispute with the BCCI over the supply of photographs. Photo: Getty Images
NATHAN Lyon is quickly learning that it takes a strong composition to survive the rigours of India.
On day three of the first Test there were jubilant highs for the Australian off-spinner: the key wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, and a third later in the day, left him skipping around in joy.
Yet there was also plenty of perspective. Repeatedly, he found himself looking over his shoulder after yet another clubbing. Such is life for Australia's lone spinner at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium. As the main perpetrator of the carnage, Indian captain M.S. Dhoni bludgeoned the hosts into a hefty lead, there was nowhere to hide.
Australia had been buoyant when Lyon ruined Tendulkar's day in the morning but by the afternoon were feeling the heat. The tension surfaced after tea with a verbal altercation between Dhoni and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade that required Michael Clarke to play mediator.
Dhoni could exit the dispute with a wry smile, though, having helped India to a lead of 135, with India 8-515 at stumps.
His brutal double century - and Kohli's splendid 107 - more than made up for the crowd's disappointment at being denied a Tendulkar hundred. Under the weight of a nation over their steep decline in the longest format, Dhoni is back in the good books, for now at least.
The 31-year-old supposedly prefers the smash-and-grab of the one-day game and the IPL, where he makes a fortune every year on this very ground with the Chennai Super Kings. The world's highest-earning cricketer is apparently indifferent to Tests. This is meant to be his pre-season - for the IPL.
That hypothesis might need to be revisited after his match-turning slog-a-thon, his sixth Test century and the highest score of his career.
Lyon's dismissal of Tendulkar for 81 was the second time he has undone Test cricket's greatest accumulator and the first time an Australian spinner had ever bowled the legendary batsman. Even Shane Warne only conquered the Little Master three times - and never by clattering into his stumps.
It was a scene Lyon might have day-dreamed about while churning across Adelaide Oval on a lawnmower. Seductive drift, a sharp off-break from red soil rough, a pair of scattered bails, and the vanquished figure of Tendulkar trudging out of a silent stadium, 19 balls short of three figures.
Huge crowds had turned up at the venue in anticipation of Tendulkar's long-awaited 52nd Test century. Tens of thousands could not get in while he was in the middle. The queue remained hundreds of metres long when play began.
When Lyon snared Tendulkar, having progressed only 10 runs from his overnight score, a hush came over the ground. Some fans immediately packed up and left.
But the majority that remained got their rupees' worth via the unrelenting Dhoni. Lyon, caught in this cyclone, was collateral damage. His other wickets - those of Kohli and Ravi Ashwin - a quickly fading memory.
Kohli fell victim to his own aggression after another fine innings that underlined his obvious talent. The 24-year-old is probably remembered as much for a middle-finger salute at the crowd in Sydney as his hundred amid an otherwise humiliated team in Adelaide just over a year ago.
The rising star took on the attack again to score his second century in two Tests against Australia - and second in a row in Tests after his ton against England in Nagpur in November.
His 128-run partnership with Dhoni was ended when he thrashed once too many times at Lyon.
Australia (1st innings) 380
India (1st Innings - overnight 3-182)
M VIJAY b Pattinson 10
V SEHWAG b Pattinson 2
C PUJARA b Pattinson 44
S TENDULKAR b Lyon 81
V KOHLI c Starc b Lyon 107
M DHONI not out 206
R JADEJA b Pattinson 16
R ASHWIN b Lyon 3
H SINGH b Henriques 11
B KUMAR not out 16
Sundries (2b, 14lb, 3w) 19
Total (8 wkts - close) 515
Fall of wickets: 11 (Vijay), 12 (Sehwag), 105 (Pujara), 196 (Tendulkar), 324 (Kohli), 365 (Jadeja), 372 (Ashwin), 406 (Singh)
Bowling: M Starc 25-3-75-0 (2w), J Pattinson 26-5-89-4 (1w), P Siddle 22-5-61-0, N Lyon 40-1-182-3, M Henriques 17-4-48-1, M Clarke 8-2-25-0, D Warner 3-0-19-0
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