Clarke torments India...again

Michael Clarke knew when he won the toss that this Adelaide Oval pitch would be perfect for batting. As the team's No.5, he wasn't expecting to be in before lunch. When he and Ricky Ponting came together in the opening session, Australia were 3 for 84. By stumps, they were 3 for 335 with both Clarke and Ponting scoring hundreds.

Following his 329 in Sydney, another Clarke century was around the corner. He brought up his fifty with a lofted boundary over mid-on off Ashwin, and followed with three boundaries in another Ashwin over, all through the off side, as runs flowed easily for the Australians. Clarke's century arrived from his 133rd delivery with a steer to the third-man boundary off Umesh Yadav, who had a horror day.

Clarke's innings was all the more impressive given the situation when he came to the crease shortly before lunch. Perhaps his best shot of the day came shortly after he reached his fifty. Ishant Sharma bowled just a trifle wide outside the off stump - it wasn't even wide enough to cut but he bent forward, opened the face of the bat and sliced it just wide of point. With an array of shots on both sides of the wicket, he made the Indian bowlers sing to his tunes.