India
eyeing a sensational win at Perth
PERTH,
Jan 18:
India put themselves on course for a
sensational victory in the third cricket Test
against Australia whose quest for a record 17th
consecutive Test triumph seemed to be in jeopardy
here today.
After taking a
vital first innings lead of 118 runs, the Indians
scored 294 in their second innings to leave the
home side a target of 413 which only one Test
team has ever achieved.
The Australians
were gasping at 65 for two at close on the third
day still needing 348 runs to overhaul the
target. Captain Ricky Ponting (24) and Michael
Hussey (5) were at the crease.
As many as 11
wickets fell on a dramatic third day’s play
which saw fortunes fluctuating from one team to
the other. But two blows late in the day by Irfan
Pathan tilted the scale in favour of the
visitors.
The stylish VVS
Laxman (79) was the top scorer for the Indians
while Virender Sehwag (43) and night watchman
Irfan Pathan (46) were the other notable
performers. R P Singh (30) put on some vital runs
down the order to help the tourists take the lead
beyond the 400 mark.
With two full days
remaining in the Test, a result is definitely on
the card as the bouncy WACA track was expected to
deteriorate and provide more assistance to the
bowlers.
The Indians will
fancy their chances of stopping the Australian
juggernaut as only three teams in Test history
have scored 400 or more runs in the fourth
innings for victory. An Indian victory will
largely hinge on how well the bowlers exploit the
conditions in the remaining two days.
The West Indies
hold the Test record of 418 for seven when they
beat Australia at St John’s in 2003. India
had rattled up 406 for four to defeat the West
Indies in Port-of-Spain in 1976 while Australia
scored 404 for three to prevail over England at
Headingly in 1948.
The highest
successful run chase at the WACA ground is 342
for eight by Australia against India during the
1977-78 series but with two wickets down, the
hosts may find the going tough to surpass captain
Steve Waugh’s record of 16 straight wins.
With the in-form
Matthew Hayden sitting out of the match because
of an injury, it will need a herculean effort
from the Aussies to prevent what could be their
first Test defeat at home since 2003. The
Australians have not lost a Test at Perth since
1997 when they lost to the West Indies by ten
wickets.
Resuming at 52 for
one, the Indians lost four key wickets in the
pre-lunch session but the in-from Laxman combined
well with Mahendra Singh Dhoni (38) and the R P
Singh to steer the team to a respectable total.
The Indians lost
the first five wickets for 125 but the last five
wickets put on 169 runs to compound the misery
for the hosts.
Pathan, who was
not included in the team for the first two Tests,
again provided the breakthrough for the Indians
as he had done in the first innings.
The left-arm
seamer managed to get some swing to send back
both the Australian openers Chris Rogers (15) and
Phil Jacques (16) to put the hosts on the back
foot.
India batted with
a resilience despite a middle order collapse
which saw them post 294 in their second essay.
None did better for them then the old warhorse
VVS Laxman who made a splendid 79 from 156 balls
and hit eight fours in 230 minutes of batting.
Laxman came to the
crease with India tottering at 125 for five and
coaxed others to stay long enough with him for
India to get their requisite total.
The stylish
Hyderabad batsman had stands of 75 and 51 for the
seventh and ninth wicket with Dhoni and RP Singh
(30) which changed the complexion of the innings.
India were down in
the dumps in the first session when they lost
four wickets, a situation which was worsened when
another fell just after the lunch resumption.
India’s
batting cream was gone in this session as
Virender Sehwag (43), Rahul Dravid (3), Sachin
Tendulkar (13) and Sourav Ganguly (0) returned to
the pavilion in quick succession.
Sehwag and
overnight batsman Pathan gave India the necessary
start when they added 27 runs in the first half
an hour to the overnight score of 52 for 1.
Stuart Clark at
this stage gave Australia the breakthrough which
was quickly seized upon from the other end by an
irrepressible Brett Lee.
Clark managed to
slip one past the defences of Sehwag who shaped
to flick on the legside and the ball brushed his
pads to rattle the middle stump. Sehwag batted
for 85 minutes and hit seven fours from 60 balls.
Then the slump
began as Lee took out Dravid and Tendulkar from
the equation.
Dravid faced just
five balls before he edged a catch behind the
stumps while Tendulkar fell leg before for 13 as
lee finished his extended morning spell for
figures of 8-1-22-2.
Mitchell Johnson
put Australia right on top when he induced
Ganguly to drive from away and edge a catch to
Michael Clarke at first slip.
India were 158 for
5 at lunch break which quickly became 160 for six
when nightwatchman Pathan edged Clark in the
slips. Pathan made an impressive 46 from over two
hours of batting during which he hit six fours
from 64 balls.
It was from this
stage onwards when India led it’s recovery
and it was all due to the massive presence of VVS
Laxman at one end.
Australia
introduced Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke from
the two ends in a bid to give respite to its
faster men and it allowed the Indian pair of
Laxman and Dhoni to settle down.
Both batted
patiently and nearly saw out the afternoon
session before Symonds gained a twin break in his
ninth over.
Dhoni went for a
sweep and top edged it for wicketkeeper Adam
Gilchrist to run on the onside and take a
brilliant diving catch and, four balls later,
Anil Kumble had edged a catch to slips.
Dhoni in all
lasted for 100 minutes and 87 balls and hit two
fours and two sixes, one each off Symonds and
Clarke, during his responsible innings.
Australia now
sensed to quickly wrap up the Indian innings but
it was frustrated no ends up by the combine of
Laxman and RP Singh for the ninth wicket.
SCOREBOARD
India first
innings 330 (R Dravid 93, M Johnson 4-86)
Australia first
innings 212 (A Symonds 66, RP Singh 4-68)
India second
innings (overnight 52-1)
Jaffer c Hussey b
Clark 11
Sehwag b Clark 43
Pathan c Ponting b
Clark 46
Dravid c Gilchrist
b Lee 3
Tendulkar lbw b
Lee 13
Ganguly c Clarke b
Johnson 0
Laxman c Gilchrist
b Lee 79
Dhoni c Gilchrist
b Symonds 38
Kumble c Clarke b
Symonds 0
Singh c Gilchrist
b Clark 30
Sharma not out 4
Extras (lb-14 nb-8
w-5) 27
Total (all out
80.4 overs) 294
Fall of Wickets:
1-45 2-79 3-82 4-116 5-125 6-160 7-235 8-235
9-286
Bowling: Lee
20.4-4-54-3, Johnson 10-0-58-1, Clark 19-4-61-4 ,
Tait 8-0-33-0 , Clarke 13-2-38-0, Symonds
10-2-36-2
Australia second
innings
Rogers c Dhoni b
Pathan 15
Jaques c Jaffer b
Pathan 16
Ponting batting 24
Hussey batting 5
Extras (lb-3 nb-1
w-1) 5
Total (for two
wickets, 15 overs) 65
Fall of Wickets:
1-21 2-43
Bowling: RP Singh
5-1-24-0, Pathan 6-1-22-2, Sharma 3-0-10-0 ,
Kumble 1-0-6-0 (PTI)
Henin,
Nadal stay on track but Mauresmo crashes
MELBOURNE,
Jan 18: Justine
Henin and Rafael Nadal survived tough workouts to
stay on track at the Australian Open today, but
2006 champion Amelie Mauresmo lost control and
crashed out.
The French former
world No.1 revived questions about being a choker
as she blew a one set lead to bow out 3-6, 6-4,
6-4 to Australian golden girl Casey Dellacqua in
front a patriotic home crowd on centre court.
Henin and Nadal
were also made to sweat, but defending
women’s champion Serena Williams and fifth
seed Maria Sharapova breezed through their third
round matches.
A dominant
Williams strolled to 6-3, 6-4 win over Victoria
Azarenka of Belarus while a pumped-up Sharapova
downed fellow Russian Elena Vesnina 6-3, 6-0.
Henin, the world
number one, used her experience to grind out a
7-5, 6-4 win over Italy’s Francesca
Schiavone and will now play Taiwanese qualifier
Hsieh Su-Wei - her country’s first ever
player in a Grand Slam fourth round.
The top seed was
pushed hard in the first set and had to pull off
some stunning shots to keep Schiavone at bay
before taking control. It was the Belgian’s
31st consecutive victory stretching back to the
semi-finals at Wimbledon last year. She knows it
will eventually come to an end, but is confident
it will not happen in melbourne.
Williams fired
down 15 aces in her match as her booming serve
found its groove. The American seventh seed will
now play 12th seed Nicole Vaidisova, who ended
Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama’s tournament in
a 6-3, 6-4 cakewalk.
"I’m
feeling pretty good about where I am, I’m
just enjoying every moment being here," said
Williams.
Sharapova was in
no mood to tolerate any obstacles in her quest to
make amends for a humiliating loss in last
year’s final, racing through her match in 56
minutes and will now play eleventh seed Elena
Dementieva.
"I’m
really excited, it gets tougher from here and
I’m really looking forward to stepping it up
and playing at the next level," she said.
(AGENCIES)
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