Bitter battle on

Bengaluru, Oct. 12: India and Australia fought tooth and nail for the fourth day running as the Bengaluru battle heated up on Tuesday. The visitors ended the day at 202/7 after India had taken a slender 17-run lead in the first innings.

The proceedings began with batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar notching up his sixth double ton. However, Sachin’s dismissal triggered a mini-collapse on a day when 11 wickets tumbled.

After having chased the ball all through Day Three, the Australians bounced back in the first session of the day, bagging the last five Indians wickets for just nine runs as the hosts folded up for 495.

Later, a superlative effort from Ricky Ponting (72) on a crumbling pitch which favoured the spinners guided Australia to a decent total even as India picked up five wickets in the final session.

With a 185-run lead, three wickets in hand and the surface deteriorating rapidly, Ponting would surely fancy his chances to register his first Test victory as captain in India. The highest target chased at this stadium is 194 by Australia against India in 1998.

Tendulkar began the day looking determined to celebrate his daughter Sara’s 13th birthday with a personal milestone. He carried on from where he had left on Monday evening, taking just 20 balls to score the nine runs required for his 200, his second double ton in the last four Tests. Peter George and Shane Watson got the ball to reverse swing and it paid them dividends. Looking to play a square drive, Sachin dragged it on to his stumps, handing George his first wicket. After George (2/48) and Watson (1/35) applied the brakes, Nathan Hauritz (2/153) got the final two wickets to draw the curtains on India’s innings.

Scoreboard
Australia 1st innings 478
india 1st innings
(overnight 435/5)
M. Vijay c Paine b Johnson 139, V. Sehwag c Johnson b Hilfenhaus 30, R. Dravid c North b Johnson 1, S. Tendulkar b George 214, C. Pujara lbw b Johnson 4, S. Raina c Hilfenhaus b Clarke 32, M.S. Dhoni c Clarke b Hauritz 30, H. Singh c Ponting b Watson 4, Zaheer c Clarke b George 1, P. Ojha n.o. 0, S. Sreesanth lbw b Hauritz 0
Extras: (b-6, lb-26, w-8) 40
Total (in 144.5 overs) 495/10
FoW: 1-37, 2-38, 3-346, 4-350, 5-411, 6-486, 7-491, 8-494, 9-495, 10-495.
Bowling: Hilfenhaus 31-6-77-1, Johnson 28-2-105-3, George 21-3-48-2, Haurtiz 39.5-4-153-2, Clarke 8-0-27-1, Watson 12-2-35-1, Katich 5-0-18-0.
australia 2nd innings
S. Watson lbw b Ojha 31, S. Katich c Dhoni b Harbhajan 24, R. Ponting lbw b Zaheer 72, M. Clarke st Dhoni b Ojha 3, M. Hussey lbw b Ojha 20, M. North b Harbhajan 3, T. Paine c Dhoni b Sreesanth 23, M. Johnson n.o. 7, N. Hauritz n.o. 8.
Extras: (b-1, lb-1, w-3, nb-6) 11
Total (in 65 overs) 202/7
FoW: 1-58, 2-58, 3-65, 4-126, 5-131, 6-181, 7-185.
Bowling: Zaheer 6-0-32-1, Sreesanth 9-1-40-1, Ojha 25-5-57-3, Harbhajan 21-2-63-2, Sehwag 4-0-8-0.

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