India vs Australia 2017: Glenn Maxwell breaks his bat on the first ball of the second day of Ranchi Test

The outcome of the opening session of the second day of the third Test between India and Australia would go a long way in determining who comes out trumps in the Test match.

Beginning the day on 299 for 4, Australia’s gameplan would have revolved around batting as long as they can and then inserting India late in the day. But the morning instead began on an inauspicious note, for batsman Glenn Maxwell.

Starting proceedings for the day, Umesh Yadav delivered a ball at a good enough pace which hit so hard on the top half of the bat that it broke into two halves. The incident generated quite a bit of laughter on Twitter with many seeing the funny side to the willow splitting in half.

And that Ladies and Gentleman is why Glenn Maxwell is the Even when you expect him to bat he breaks it. Literally. #IndvAus #Maxwellball

— Justin S. (@boblikespi) March 17, 2017

The right-hander then brought out a new bat and off the final ball of the 99^th over, brought up his maiden Test hundred, much to the delight of both him and the support staff, cheering away from the stands.

However, a few overs later, he was dismissed for 104 by Ravindra Jadeja, but the damage had already been done by Maxwell and skipper Steve Smith, who had put on 191 runs for the fifth wicket.

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At the lunch interval, the Australians found themselves at 401 for 7 with skipper Steve Smith still batting on 153 and giving him company was Stephen O’Keefe. Jadeja was India’s pick of the bowlers taking all three scalps that fell in the morning session.

Earlier in the morning, Indian skipper Virat Kohli did not take the field after not recovering from the shoulder injury that he had sustained during the first day of the game on Thursday.Ajinkya Rahane continued to lead on the field in Kohli’s absence.