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Sydney: David Warner kissed the ground in Phillip Hughes's memory to lead an Australian run spree with an emotional century on the opening day of the final Test against India on Tuesday.
The dynamic opener posted his third ton of the series and 12th in Tests as he honoured the memory of his fallen friend Hughes, who was fatally struck by a bouncer at the same Sydney Cricket Ground in November.
Upon reaching the symbolic score of 63 that Hughes had made when he was hit, Warner kissed the ground and then looked skywards before clapping in tribute.
Warner scored 101 and shared in an opening stand of 200 on a benign SCG pitch with veteran Chris Rogers, who again fell short of a ton in his fifth consecutive half-century of the series.
Skipper Steve Smith and Shane Watson maintained Australia's grip with an unbroken 144-run stand after winning the toss to put the home side at a formidable 348 for two at the close.
Smith, who glided to his half-century off 67 balls for his fifth innings beyond 50 in the series, was unbeaten on 82 with Watson on 61.
Watson was dropped by Ravichandran Ashwin at slip off the second-last ball he faced of the day.
It is seven consecutive Tests where the in-form Smith has scored a fifty plus.
India have already lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with Australia holding an unassailable 2-0 lead following wins in Adelaide and Brisbane.
Warner batted for 180 minutes with 16 fours, pulling Mohammed Shami to the boundary to bring up his ton off 108 balls with 16 fours. He was out soon after for 101 off 114 balls, caught at slip off a leading edge from spinner Ashwin.
Rogers, who gave chances on 19 and 90, followed Warner to the pavilion six balls later when he was bowled for 95 by Shami.
A plaque honouring the batsman has been installed outside the home dressing room at the SCG and served as a reminder for the Australian players of their former team-mate.
India, with Virat Kohli leading the team after the sudden Test retirement of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, made four changes with Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Wriddhiman Saha and Bhuvneshwar Kumar coming into the side.
The tourists left out opener Shikhar Dhawan with Lokesh Rahul promoted to open the innings.
The Australians made only one change with Mitchell Starc replacing injured paceman Mitchell Johnson.
Brief score
Australia - 348/2 (Warner 101, Rogers 95*, Smith 82*, Watson 61*)
