Zeenews Bureau
Perth, Jan 20: It was a sweet revenge for India as they beat world champions Australia in their den on Saturday. After the Sydney Test fiasco and lot of bad blood, India beat Australia in the third Test match at Perth by 72 runs, halting for a second time the Oz’s march towards a world record 17th consecutive Test win. “No body gave us a chance but here we are,” said a proud Kumble, the winning captain. Kumble also thanked all his supporters for supporting the team when Team India was in turmoil after Sydney game. Irfan Pathan was declared Man of the Match. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar termed the victory as India’s “greatest in 40 years”.
WACA, the home of ‘Retravision Warriors’, witnessed something very unusual, as India came out victorious against Australia in their den, putting an end to Kangaroos’ sixteen match winning streak. India are the first team in the last five years to beat Australia in their own backyard. The win at Perth is India’s fifth Test match victory in Australia. The win came, though not before Stuart Clarke and Mitchell Johnson ensured that Indian bowlers and fielders were sent for a leather hunt.
India breathed a big sigh of relief after dismissing Stuart Clarke for 35. Earlier, at the start of day four, it was Ishant Sharma who started the Indian campaign by getting rid of dangerous looking Ricky Ponting. Soon it was Michael Hussey who saw the rub of the green going against him as Asad Rauf ruled him LBW on a RP Singh delivery. The Perth Test also saw Kumble crossing the 600-wicket mark -- the first Indian to do so. Sehwag and Kumble proved to be the chief architect of the Indian demolition drive, getting rid of Adam Gilchrist and Michael Clarke respectively. India at that moment needed just two more wickets to create history at Perth, which many thought ‘impossible’ four days ago.
Just when it looked that Gilchrist would threaten Indian chances of registering its first victory at Perth, India’s comeback man Sehwag dismissed the south paw. Soon, Brett Lee also departed giving Sehwag his second wicket of the day. Kumble was not far behind as he got rid of a stubborn Clarke.
Earlier, Australia were 257/8 in their second innings post tea. Believe it or not it was the duo of Kumble and Sehwag who threaten the Kangaroos most on the world’s fastest pitch at Perth.
Ponting, Hussey and Symonds were all back in the dressing room, cooling heals as India saw the best of Australian batting only in the end. Ishant Sharma, RP Singh and Anil Kumble were the wicket takers in the morning. Last time India managed to do so in Kolkata, when Ganguly’s men halted the progress of Steve Waugh’s team.
It was advantage India in Perth as Australia lost Michael Hussey post lunch session, LBW to RP Singh. With six wickets in hand Kangaroos had a tough task cut out for their world record victory but they failed to do so.
Ricky Ponting’s agony finally ended as Ishant Sharma got the vital breakthrough for India. Ishant Sharma induced Ponting’s edge as Rahul Dravid completed the catch. Ponting survived almost a half a dozen of LBW appeals before nicking one to the lanky tall Delhi bowler. Ponting and Hussey added 74 runs to Aussies total of Day 3.
Ricky Ponting survived a close shout early in the innings as Billy Bowden turned Ishant’s appeal while the batsman was not offering any shot. The hawk eye clearly suggested the ball was heading for the off stump.
Australia`s most successful run-chase in the fourth innings is 404 for 3 recorded against England at Leeds in 1948 and with the hosts having already lost two wickets the target looks even more daunting.
On day three the final session of play saw two wickets falling for Australia, after which the pair of Ponting-Hussey added valuable runs to elevate the home team’s total to 65 runs. They still require 348 runs more to clinch a victory while India are just eight dismissals away from crafting a historic win. Irfan Pathan and VVS Laxman proved to be the stars of the day with sublime performances.
Indian seamer Irfan Pathan struck a fatal blow to the Australian batting top order as he claimed opener Phil Jaques for a score of 16 runs with a jaffa of a delivery. Wasim Jaffer took the catch that saw the Australian scoreboard reading 43 runs for the loss of two wickets. Mike Hussey walked in to give support to Ponting as both the openers were back into the pavilion. Pathan took three wickets in the second innings and contributed with useful 48 runs.
