Watson thrived on the sloppy Indian fielders' largesse to
remain unbeaten on 101, having starred in a 141-run second wicket stand with
skipper Ricky Ponting (71) — the cornerstone of Australia's opening day score
of 224 for five.
Zaheer, who drew first blood in the morning, trapping Simon
Katich (6), returned in the post-tea session to remove Mike Hussey (17) and
Marcus North (0) in successive overs, reversing some of Australia's dominance
earlier in the day.
Tim Paine (1) was with Watson at stumps.
"I knew the first few hours would be crucial,"
Watson said after the match.
"For me, it was easier to score off the new ball than
the reverse-swinging or the turning one. Hopefully I can continue ...
tomorrow." "The Indian bowlers bowled beautifully with the softer
ball and the spinners did not give much to hit." On a placid track at the
Punjab Cricket Association stadium offering no real bounce, Watson and Ponting
compiled a big second-wicket partnership to dominate the morning session.
Both scored freely even after lunch until Suresh Raina ran
out Ponting with a direct throw from mid-wicket.
The dismissal was followed by an apparent verbal clash
between Zaheer and the departing Ponting who turned back to exchange words
before heading to the pavilion.
The Australian captain, who hit 10 boundaries in his fluent
innings, was soon joined in the pavilion by Michael Clarke, who was caught by
Rahul Dravid for 14 off the bowling of spinner Harbhajan Singh shortly before
tea.
Watson, however, reached his second test century courtesy of
some solid hitting and India's poor fielding.
Virender Sehwag dropped a scoreless Watson in the first over
off Zaheer and the aggressive opener got another reprieve on 37 when he edged a
Pragyan Ojha delivery that popped out of Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's
gloves behind the stumps.
