AP, Brisbane :
Steve Smith removed any doubts about his leadership credentials, scoring an unbeaten century in his first innings as test captain to guide Australia’s counterattack on Friday in the second test against India.
Smith and Mitchell Johnson shared an unbroken 104-run stand to lift the Australians from a precarious 247-6 to 351-6 at lunch on day three in reply to India’s first innings of 408.
The 25-year-old Smith, standing in for injured skipper Michael Clarke, struck 110 and Johnson clobbered 67 from 53 balls.
It was Smith’s sixth test century, and made him the first Australian since Greg Chappell in 1975 to score a hundred in his first innings as test captain.
Smith stroked 11 boundaries, including an uppercut to a loose bouncer that almost carried to the third-man boundary, and two sixes in his 155-ball knock.
Australia resumed at 221-4 on day three in nearly perfect batting conditions but lost two wickets in the first hour.
Mitch Marsh (11) didn’t offer a shot to a ball from Ishant Sharma that jagged back sharply and took out off stump. India bowled short at Brad Haddin (6) and was rewarded when he fended at a short ball from Varun Aaron and gloved a simple catch to Cheteshwar Pujara at short leg to continue his poor run with the bat.
The same tactics backfired against Johnson, who hit eight boundaries in raising his 10th test half century from 37 deliveries and dominated the partnership with Smith, who was the established batsman.
Johnson hit boundaries from three consecutive balls from Aaron, the second bringing up his 50, and then drove off-spinner Ravi Ashwin over the long-on boundary for six at the Gabba, his long-time home ground when he played for Queensland state.
Smith is unbeaten so far in the series, scoring 162 and 52 not out in Australia’s 48-run win in the first test at Adelaide last week.
He had some nervous moments in the 90s, though, surviving a strong appeal for lbw from Ashwin to a ball pitching just outside the line on 95, and getting a thick inside edge that just missed his stumps when he was on 96. Smith was more convincing moving past triple figures with a cut boundary off Aaron, then raised his bat and looked skyward to dedicate the hundred to his late teammate Phillip Hughes, who died last month after being hit by a short ball during a Sheffield Shield match.
