IND vs AUS 4th Test: Cameron Green feels relieved after smashing maiden Test ton, says ‘it’s so special’

Australia’s star all-rounder Cameron Green was seen relieved after scoring his first Test ton on Friday as the visitors sit strong in the fourth Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Green batting on 49 unbeaten at stumps on Day 1 looked sharped with his approach on Day 2 and brought up his maiden hundred. He described the moment as one of the special ones as the Aussies closed their first innings at 480 before India came out to bat.

“It’s so special, you feel more like a Test cricketer when you’ve got that monkey off your back, so it is nice to tick that off in a way,” Green said after scoring his first Test ton.

Taking over from 255/4 at stumps on Day 1, the Aussie pair of Green and Usman Khawaja started brightly before the former brought his fifty. The pair went on relentless attack on the Indian bowlers as they brought a 100-run stand in the first 30 minutes of play. Things only got better for them as the match progressed with both Green and Khawaja ending with their respective tons.

While Green was going well, his dismissal on 114 in the second session by Ravichandran Ashwin brought curtains on the partnership. However, the pair registered Australia’s second-highest partnership on Indian soil in Test cricket, only missing out on Alan Border and Kim Hughes’ tally of the 222-run stand. The former Australia skipper and Hughes had recorded the stand in September 1979 at the Madras Cricket Club Ground in Chepauk (nowadays M. Chinnaswamy Stadium).

“I think speaking to Uzzy, it was probably the ball coming back in where you might get your leg caught in the way and that might be the way to get out. Having an experienced head down the other end, you can have these really in depth conversations and he gives you unreal info back. So spoke to him pretty early on, he said he recommends batting on leg stump and using your bat and looking to play every ball, whether its swinging in or swinging out,” Green said while complementing his partner in crime Usman Khawaja.

While the pair failed to break Border and Hughes’ record, both Khawaja and Green made sure that the visitors sat in a commanding position on Day 2. Khawaja, unfortunately, missed out on a double ton as he was dismissed on 180 by Axar Patel while Green scored 114, his maiden ton in Test cricket. The Aussies were dismissed for 480 in the final session of Day 2 and have given India a big headache as they try to narrow the first-innings deposit.