Opener Justin Langer reached his 20th Test century and guided Australia to a commanding 327 for three in sweltering heat on the first day of the second Test against New Zealand on Friday.

Langer hit 19 fours in his unbeaten 144 at Adelaide Oval with Darren Lehmann the other not out batsman on 28. Australia lead the two-match series 1-0.

Left-handers Langer and Matthew Hayden put on 137 for the first wicket, their 13th century stand, before Hayden was out for 70. Langer then shared a 103-run partnership for the second wicket with captain Ricky Ponting, who made a quickfire 68.

Damien Martyn fell to off spinner Paul Wiseman for seven at 261 for three, but Australia recovered with a 66-run partnership between Langer and Lehmann.

Langer punched the air with delight and raised his bat to the dressing room upon reaching his century, turning left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori to leg for two when the Western Australian was on 99.

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The 34-year-old, playing his 82nd Test, took 285 minutes to reach three figures, hitting 11 fours and facing 212 deliveries to provide the backbone of Australia's top order.

Showing a liking for the cover-drive, Langer did not give a chance in his six hours at the crease. The martial arts black-belt reached 1,000 runs in the calendar year by hitting James Franklin for four consecutive boundaries in the 84th over.

Earlier, Langer's opening partner Hayden was out caught and bowled by Wiseman in the 45th over. The 33-year-old Hayden batted for one minute shy of three hours, hitting 10 fours, but his dismissal was a controversial one.

VIDEO SCOREBAORD

Umpire David Shepherd referred what appeared to be a straightforward decision to third umpire Steve Davis, while Hayden stood his ground, departing after the video scoreboard announced he was out.

Langer and Hayden became only the third opening pair to put on 4,000 Test runs, behind West Indians Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes and Sri Lanka's Marvan Atapauttu and Sanath Jayasuriya.

Langer had dominated the first session to go to lunch on 51 at 86 for no wicket, but struggled to 84 at the tea interval at 203 for one with Ponting racing to 45.

Ponting continued his free-flowing innings after tea but fell to a wild swipe at a Vettori delivery and was stumped by wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum after hitting 11 boundaries in his 79-ball knock.

New batsman Martyn was caught at slip by New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming off Wiseman's bowling.

It was Australia's only failure for the day after Ponting won the toss and chose to bat on a flat, hard wicket. Australia named an unchanged line-up from the side that won the first Test by an innings and 156 runs in Brisbane.

New Zealand recalled left-arm swing bowler Franklin and Wiseman for seamer Kyle Mills and batsman Craig McMillan.

Scorecard:

Australia first innings
J.Langer not out 144
M.Hayden c & b Wiseman 70
R.Ponting st McCullum b Vettori 68
D.Martyn c Fleming b Wiseman 7
D.Lehmann not out 28
Extras (lb-3 nb-4 b-3) 10
Total (for three wickets, 90 overs) 327

To bat: Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz, Glenn McGrath.

Fall of wickets: 1-137, 2-240, 3-261.

Bowling: Martin 19-4-82-0 (nb-1), Franklin 14-2-84-0 (nb-2), Oram 15-5-25-0 (nb-1), Vettori 28-6-74-1, Wiseman 14-3-56-2.

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Mark Richardson, Mathew Sinclair, Scott Styris, Nathan Astle, Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram, Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Paul Wiseman, Chris Martin.