Zeecric Bureau
Adelaide, Jan 26:
A defiant stand by Mathew Hayden and Phil Jacques saw Kangaroos make solid start in opening session of Day 3 at Adelaide ‘The Oval’. Both batsmen kept Indian bowlers at bay with their careful shot selection. Hayden in particular was the man leading the charge scoring 86 not out on an uneven getting pitch. Australia scored 158 for no loss when lunch was taken by Umpires Billy Bowden and Asad Rauf.
Supporting the burly batsman was Phil Jacques. Jacques also completed a well deserved fifty after surviving some close LBW shouts. However, just when it looked that India with five bowlers would be raring to go for the kill against Kangaroos, Indian team was put on back foot as RP Singh who got a hamstring injury on Day 2 was ruled out for the third days play. Australian openers who started the proceedings on Day 3 at Adelaide were in early trouble as Harbhajan Singh bamboozled the two southpaws with his sharp turn and uneven bounce.
Mathew Hayden played the sedate innings as he completed a well compiled fifty bringing his half century facing 102 balls. A cut shot from the back foot brought Hayden’s fifty as Australia managed to get past 100 runs without losing a wicket.
Earlier, Australian openers Matthew Hayden and Phil Jacques kicked off the home team’s reply to the mammoth Indian total on a positive note as the pair added up 50 quick runs. They ensured that the Indian seamers did not get early breakthroughs as they defended the tearing fast deliveries with panache and punished the loose ones. The day ended with great batting performances by Tendulkar, Kumble and Harbhajan Singh.
India had posted a mammoth total of 526 runs against Australia in their first innings on the second day of the final Test match at Adelaide. The last wicket to fall for the visitors was of the skipper Anil Kumble who got out to a Mitchell Johnson delivery for a score of 87 runs. The Indian batsmen did a wonderful job to give the team a good position which the bowlers could improvise on, putting pressure on the Australian line-up.
At one stage, the Australian team seemed to be clueless on how to handle the Indian tail as the last wicket partnership between Anil Kumble and Ishant Sharma looked rock solid with the two adding up more than fifty runs between them.
Prior to this, Kumble hit a well crafted half-century as the visitors lost the penultimate wicket in the form of RP Singh. Tweaker Michael Clarke claimed the tail-ender’s wicket for a duck. India managed to cross the average first innings total of 461 runs at Adelaide, giving them an edge over Australia on the second day of the Test.
Australia spinner Andrew Symonds claimed his arch rival Harbhajan Singh’s wicket after the latter had scored 63 runs and put India in the driver’s seat in the post lunch session. The Indian tail enders performed superbly as the duo of Bhajji-Kumble added over a hundred runs for the 8th wicket.
India built up a strong first innings total of more than 450 runs as Harbhajan Singh contributed a priceless half-century to the team’s total. The ‘Turbunator’ looked on top of his game and bludgeoned the Aussie pacers all over the park. He was given solid support by Anil Kumble who stood like a rock for his partner.
The unlikely India batting duo of skipper Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh put on a valiant performance and took the Indian total to 405 runs at lunch against Australia. Both the batsmen chipped in with valuable boundaries that spiralled the run rate, keeping the visitors’ hope to have a big first innings total alive.
Prior to this, Australia pace spearhead claimed the prized wicket of India’s batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar soon after he hit an inspiring 150. The batsman got out on a score of 153 runs as he lobbed the ball in high the air due to a mistimed pull. Brad Hogg made no mistake in plucking the cherry, sending shock waves down the Indian camp. India were 360 runs for the loss of seven wickets as Harbhajan Singh walked in to bat.
Australia seamer Mitchell Johnson struck the first blow of the morning as he claimed the wicket of MS Dhoni. The batsman looked in fine nick before he played a lofted a ball into the hands of the deep fielder Andrew Symonds at a score of 16 runs.
India had gotten off to a solid start as the duo of Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni kept the tempo up for their team. They hit some beautifully executed boundaries and looked at ease on the crease.
