India vs Australia 1st Test Day 1: Warner sparkles on emotional day

David Warner paid moving tribute to Phillip Hughes in compiling a brilliant century, but Australia's joy was tempered with another injury to captain Michael Clarke on an emotional opening day of the first Test against India on Tuesday.

Warner's sparkling 145 from 163 balls had the hosts off to a flying start at a sun-drenched Adelaide Oval, and though India captured a flurry of late wickets, Steven Smith added an unbeaten 72 after tea to push Australia to 354-6 at stumps.

A day that began solemnly with a slew of tributes to Hughes ended with grave concerns over the fitness of Clarke, who retired hurt on 60 with a lower back injury.

Having raced to be fit for the match after suffering a third hamstring strain in three months, Clarke's new injury will raise questions over his management, and whether sentimentality trumped sense in his selection for the match.

Batsman Virat Kohli, who replaced the injured Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India captain, lost the all-important toss and watched his bowlers toil for the most part on an unhelpful wicket.

After Warner was caught in the deep when slogging debutant legspinner Karn Sharma, Smith and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh added another 87 runs before the latter was caught behind off the bowling of paceman Varun Aaron.

Nightwatchman Nathan Lyon was bowled for three by Mohammed Shami before wicketkeeper Brad Haddin was caught behind for a duck, bringing the day to a close.

Warner took to the Indian pacemen with gusto, clubbing a four off the first ball and crunching another 18 for the day.

The pugnacious 28-year-old was fielding when Hughes was struck down by a short ball in a domestic match and he paid tribute to his former team mate on several milestones.

"I was proud of the guys firstly just to be able to walk on to the ground today," Warner told reporters.

"For me to knuckle down and score a 100 was fantastic.

"It's one of those things that you have to keep soldiering."

Agony

He raised his bat and head to the sky after reaching 50 and 63 runs, Hughes' final score for South Australia, and did so again after leaping for joy upon bringing up his century.

Clarke had moved serenely to 60 in tandem with Warner before he twisted to avoid a short ball from Ishant Sharma and immediately lay down to stretch.

Minutes later he trudged off with medical staff, casting a pall over the crowd of more than 25,000.

The opening match of the four-Test series was originally scheduled in Brisbane but was delayed and switched to Adelaide to give players time to mourn.

On a day of tributes, both teams wore black armbands and Hughes was named an honorary "13th man" in Australia's squad.

Following a video tribute narrated by iconic Australian commentator Richie Benaud, the crowd stood and applauded for 63 seconds.

Hughes's death prompted a debate about the use of the bouncer, but paceman Aaron bowled the first in the fourth over, a sizzling 145 kph delivery that drew applause from the crowd.

Karn Sharma said India had been buoyed by the late wickets.

"It was very good for us that we came back in the last session," he said. "We are back in the game." 

Virat Kohli is determined to make his mark as captain of India, if only for one Test as regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni recovers from a thumb injury on the sidelines.

Kohli, long regarded heir apparent to 33-year-old Dhoni, confirmed he would lead India into the first Test against Australia in Adelaide starting on Tuesday and wasted little time in differentiating himself from the under-pressure wicketkeeper.

"I am personally going to go with whatever my gut feel is," Kohli told reporters at Adelaide Oval on Monday.

"I'm going to set fields according to what I feel.

"So you might see things quite different from what you usually see.

"I'm someone who usually goes with what I feel, so it might look funny - but as long as it's effective.

"The intent is going to be aggressive and that's something that I play my cricket with and that's certainly something I'm going to try and use in my captaincy as well."

A steely-eyed batsman, the Delhi-born 26-year-old wears heart on his sleeve and presents a stark contrast to the more measured Dhoni, whose outwardly tranquil nature has been seen by Indian pundits as a both a blessing and a curse in pressure situations.

After India crumbled to a 3-1 series loss in England, Dhoni's captaincy is under the microscope in Australia, where his team were whitewashed 4-0 on the last tour in 2011-12.

India have never won a Test series in Australia but Kohli proved in his rookie season in the side that he had the temperament to thrive on the fast and bouncy wickets Down Under, scoring 75 on a ferocious WACA deck in Perth followed by a defiant 116 in Adelaide.

Kohli said his group of pace bowlers could cause Australia some trouble.

"This one of the best bowling attacks we've had in a while," Kohli said. "Guys who are bowling with pace and they're fit."

Varun Aaron, the fastest of the Indian pace bowlers and who would be playing in his fourth Test, is likely to spearhead the visitors' attack with Ishant Sharma.

Indian swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar is a question mark because of soreness in his left ankle.
Kumar took 19 wickets at 26.63 on India's recent tour of England, and was later named India's player of the year.

Wrong side

Kohli also found himself on the wrong side of fans on that tour and was fined for making an offensive hand gesture at them at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

"I don't mind a fight. I don't mind a bit of chat on the field. A bit of banter. I don't mind all that," said Kohli, who is likely to be targeted by Australia's rowdier supporters.

"It probably makes me more determined.

"I'm pretty focused all the time, but that's an added spice that I like. Last time around I enjoyed it.

"It was too aggressive for me initially... but after a few incidents I figured out there's no other way of playing in Australia, so I'll just be myself."

Hughes factor

Australia's players are still mourning the tragic death of team mate Phillip Hughes but their bowlers will not shy away from sending down a barrage of short deliveries in the first Test against India, paceman Mitchell Johnson has said.

Hughes died of a serious head injury in hospital, two days after being struck by a bouncer in a domestic match in Sydney.

Johnson, the ICC cricketer of the year, has used the short ball to great effect over the past year, taking bags of wickets and occasionally leaving batsmen bruised, and is at his intimidating best on Australia's fast, bouncy wickets.

"We've got to play the way that we've been playing and that's been aggressive," Johnson told reporters at the Adelaide Oval on Monday.

"That's the way I've always played the game and I know how the boys will be, going out there and playing the best cricket they can.

"If that's bowling the short ball like we have been, then that's how we'll do it.

"We'll assess the conditions obviously, but we're not going to change a thing.

"As a bowling unit, the last probably 18 months for me personally, I've been bowling very aggressive and I'm not going to change that."

Adelaide was originally to be the second match of the four-Test series after a Dec. 4 opener in Brisbane, but organisers rejigged the schedule to give players time to mourn Hughes.

Tuesday's opening day will be emotional, with a raft of tributes planned. Hughes was named '13th man' in the squad Johnson announced on Monday, which Michael Clarke will lead.

"Obviously you grieve and everyone's different as to how long it takes, but as soon as I got that ball in my hand I probably took a little bit more time to get into it, but I've been through a fair bit in my career," said Johnson, who has suffered crushing crises of confidence in his career.

"You can't let emotions get in the way. You have to go out and play your skills and be switched on.

"I know our guys will be. It probably will be tough at first, but everyone does handle it differently," he added.  

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