BANGALORE: Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja struck a key blow to remove Australia skipper Steve Smith as India took two wickets in a tight morning session on day two of the second Test on Sunday.
Smith, who scored a gritty century in Australia's opening win in Pune, was made to battle hard and had made just eight runs off 52 balls before an inside edge popped up a diving catch to wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha scrambling to his left just before lunch.
The visitors were 87 for two at lunch with Matt Renshaw on 40 and Shaun Marsh two, 102 runs behind India's first innings 189.
Renshaw, who started the day on 15, lost his partner David Warner early in the day but kept a probing Indian bowling attack at bay while just 47 runs were scored in the session.
India's Ravichandran Ashwin struck early when he bowled Warner, bringing the crowd at Bangalore's M Chinnaswamy Stadium to life.
The left-handed Warner was beaten by a delivery that turned enough from the rough just outside his leg stump to pass the bat and clip the off stump. It was the eighth time Ashwin has claimed Warner's wicket in 12 Tests.
India's pace spearhead Ishant Sharma, who was engaged in astream of constant banter with Smith, and fellow seamer Umesh Yadav also got help from a pitch that offered variable bounce, making life difficult for the batsmen in an attritional session.
The visitors lead the four-match series 1-0 after beating India in the first Test in Pune inside three days.
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