Oz have nose ahead
Mohali, Oct. 3: Zaheer Khan’s reverse-swinging deliveries had thrust India back in the game late on Day One — his Aussie counterpart Mitchell Johnson (5/64) got the same job done for Australia in the dying minutes of the third day of the first Test here, just more slyly.
Bowling with a scrambled seam, Johnson threw change-ups on the crumbling pitch in a game-changing six-over spell that accounted for Suresh Raina (86), M.S. Dhoni (14) and Harbhajan Singh (0) to give the visitors a slender 23-run lead. India, in fact, lost their five wickets for 24 runs in a maniacal final half an hour to finish at 405, in reply to Australia’s first innings’s 428.
This was after the hosts had left Ponting’s men short of wickets for most of the three sessions with Sachin Tendulkar (98, 189b), Suresh Raina (86, 128b) and Rahul Dravid (77, 134b) clicking in unison.
Tendulkar was unlucky to miss out on his 49th Test century, but anchored India’s innings expertly, first taking the initiative in a 79-run fourth wicket stand with Dravid, and then letting Raina take on the bowlers in a 124-run fifth wicket stand.
India resumed from overnight 110/2 with caution, Dravid and Ishant adding just 11 in the first nine overs. Dravid had a torrid run in the Test series against Sri Lanka where Ishant played more deliveries than him and here too he had a few iffy moments against a fired-up Ben Hilfenhaus who induced few thick edges off his blade, only to see them either fall short of slip cordon or put down. In fact, both Dravid and Raina benefited from butter-fingered Aussies, who equalled the hosts in number of catches dropped on the day. Dravid was let off when on 36 and 45, while Raina benefited when Tim Paine let go off a simple stumping chance with the batsman on 48.
Raina was particularly severe on the Aussie bowlers who found it hard to extract anything from the pitch for most of the day. Johnson and Bollinger (2/49) struggled with line for most of the day, and while Hauritz toiled hard for his 2/116, he managed more bounce than turn.
Having been promoted up the order with V.V.S. Laxman suffering a back strain, Raina showed no signs of fatigue from his last dash from South Africa, reaching fifty in just 83 balls.
Scoreboard
Australia 1st innings 428
India 1st innings:
Gautam Gambhir lbw b Johnson 25, Virender Sehwag c Clarke b Johnson 59, Rahul Dravid c Paine b Bollinger 77, Ishant Sharma b Bollinger 18, Sachin Tendulkar lbw b North 98, Suresh Raina lbw b Johnson 86, M.S. Dhoni c Watson b Johnson 14, Harbhajan Singh c Paine b Johnson 0, Zaheer Khan b Hauritz 6, V.V.S. Laxman c Clarke b Hauritz 2, Pragyan Ojha n.o.0.
Extras (b5, lb13, nb1, w1)
20
Total (in 108.1 overs) 405/10
FoW: 1-81, 2-106, 3-151, 4-230, 5-354, 6-382, 7-382, 8-399, 9-401, 10-405.
Bowling: Hilfenhaus 25-2-100-0, Bollinger 16-2-49-2, Johnson 20-5-64-5, Hauritz 29.1-4-116-2, Watson 6-0-19-0, North 12-3-39-1.
Pic Caption:
India’s Sachin Tendulkar (left) and Suresh Raina in action during the third day of the opening Test against Australia in Mohali on Sunday.
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