Adelaide: It was a good toss to win for India at the Adelaide Oval in the opening Test of the four-match series against Australia. Barring Cheteshwar Pujara, Indian batsmen failed to come good on the first day.

Thanks to Pujara’s fighting knock of 123, India had a decent total, reaching stumps at 250/9. Pujara stood tall among the ruins, and rightly, came in for high praise from former players and fans on Twitter.

Right from the start of the innings, one batsman after another got out trying to play a bad shot. From KL Rahul to Murali Vijay, no one could carry the hopes on team India for a longer time.

Usman Khawaja pulled off a stunner to send skipper Virat Kohli back to the pavilion and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, too got dismissed trying to chase a wide delivery bowled by Hazelwood.

India were reeling at 41/4 in the first session with a horrible top-order. In the middle after the fourth wicket, Rohit Sharma looked promising enough to give Pujara company but was soon dismissed for a catch-out by Marcus Harris at the boundary line.

Young Rishabh Pant, who was mostly in an attacking mode, also got dismissed trying to defend a good delivery from Nathan Lyon.

Despite the fact that the two wickets in the second session meant that even the session belonged to the Aussies, Pujara stood firm on his ground in the middle and reached the half-century mark in 153 balls.

The Indian No 3 batsman wasn't deterred by the wickets falling on the other side. A 62-run partnership between Pujara and Ashwin ensured that the visitors scored more than 200, until Ashwin got out off a ripper from Pat Cummins after hitting 25 runs off 76 balls.

Pujara’s second 50 runs came off 78 balls and his strike rate improved considerably after crossing the first 50-mark. His presence in the middle meant that India had something to cheer about until he was run out by Pat Cummins while trying to steal a quick single at the end of the day.

There's no doubt that India could reach the 250-mark by the end of the day because of Pujara's 123-run innings. Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah are expected to add a few runs to that tally tomorrow.

Here are some of the reactions from Twitter, praising Pujara