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Page last updated at 03:40 GMT, Saturday, 11 October 2008 04:40 UK

India v Australia day three as it happened

FIRST TEST, Bangalore (day three, stumps):
Australia 430 all out (149.5 overs), India 313-8

LATEST ACTION (ALL TIMES BST)

By Tom Fordyce

606: DEBATE
e-mail tms@bbc.co.uk (with 'For Tom Fordyce' in the subject), text 81111 (with "CRICKET" as the first word) or use 606 (after 0900 BST). (Not all contributions can be used)

BAD LIGHT STOPS PLAY

Bad light stops play

1243: India 313-8
Kumble the new man in, but he won't get the chance to get started - the light's being offered, and they'll take that any day. Decent day's cricket, that - Australia clambering all over the match for the first two sessions before a spicy fightback from Harbhajan and Zaheer. Catch you early-doors on Sunday for more of the same.

1236: WICKET - Harbhajan c Haddin b Watson 54, India 312-8

Wicket falls
...although maybe it's on pause. Bhaj tries to bash a bouncer into Bangladesh and succeeds only in thinning a top edge behind the timbers. Super knock, and huge relief in the Aussie ranks as the dasher returns to the pavilion.

1228: India 309-7
Clarke tweaks away furiously and nearly yorks the adventurous Zaheer. The fun's not over here.

1224: India 307-7
Miserable ball from Watson - short, wide and slow, and Zaheer clouts it high over point for a rapturously-received four. Next ball up it's more of the same - a flaying straight down the ground. This is now the biggest partnership of the innings - 75 and counting - and Zaheer is up to 31. 210-6 at tea, don't forget...

1219: India 298-7
Yup - it's time for a change - Clarke returns to apply the twirly brakes. Deficit now 132, with Shane Watson warming up for a zip at the other end.

1212: India 297-7
And now Zaheer's on the flay - he cracks Clarke over midwicket for two, and then smashes him behind square for the full bundle. Cacophonous cheering, and Ponts is letting this slip away from him here.

1208: India 290-7
Enormous cheer again as a thrashing drive from Zaheer off Lee clears cover and is seemingly pulled back on the boundary rope by White - only for the third umpire to signal it a four anyways. Good shout, on the replays. The partnership goes to 58. The way the crowd are reacting, it could be 158.

1203: India 286-7

That's 50
That's what he was waiting for - a dab for two behind square and a monstrous mow over mid-on for the four that takes him to his half-century - 85 balls, five fours and a whisper of chance for the home side.

1200: India 280-7
Brakes are applied by a glowering Lee as long shadows stretch across the ground. Harbhajan watches from the non-striker's as Zaheer plays the partner role perfectly.

1154: India 279-7
Stuey Clark gets the summons from Ponting, riled by this extravagance from the flashing blades. Bhaji strolls down the track to drive for two and then misses a leg-stump spearer which also shoots past Haddin. Four more byes, and chants of "Singh is king!" echo round the rafters.

1149: India 273-7
Finally some fun for the Bangalore masses - Harbhajan leans back to lean and crunches him high over midwicket for a three-bounce four. Lee winds it up and fires in another lifter - which is top-edged high over Haddin for four more. Harbs races to 44 not out.

1143: India 262-7
Johnson tears in too, drops short outside off and is thrashed through point by a grinning Zaheer. Sniffing immediate revenge, he crashes a short one into the throat region and is fended off with hopping skill.

1139: India 257-7
Cherry it is, but the hardness surprises even Lee - he slams in a short one and watches in disbelief as the ball flies past Harb's grill and over Haddin's grasping gloves for four byes. There's a pop away to midwicket for one and hoots of derision from the emptying stands as Lee strides down to deep square leg. Bright sunshine overhead again.

1135: India 251-7
Nice from Zaheer and Harbhajan, creaming away outside off-stick as Johnson toils with the old egg. Looks like Lee will have first joust with the cherry from the other end.

1131: India 247-7
Lee canters in to Bhaji from round the wicket, still sticking with the old ball, and ships a single off a squeaky inside-edge. Zaheer stays watchful for the remainder.

1127: India 246-7
Ponting pushes the field back still further to protect his cushion as Johnson canters in, and there are just two strollers of singles. Big yawn from Pup Clarke as he flings the ball to the returning Brett Lee.

1122: India 244-7
Sloppy from White - a dragger down leg stump which misses the entire shaboodle, including Haddin's gloves - four byes. Harbhajan on 28, Zaheer marooned on three.

1116: India 239-7
Decent derring-do again from the Bhajimeister, crashing Mitchell J away through point for a brace. The field is spread as Punter aims to keep the brakes on ahead of the new ball.

1112: India 235-7
We're back - twas indeed a mere shower. White strolls in to Bhaji and is crashed away extravagantly - but with a man sweeping on the cover fence, it's only an uno.

RAIN STOPS PLAY

1042: India 234-7
It's now started to rain - only a shower at the moment, but the wind's got up too. They're coming off, just as Zaheer and Haddin exchange some chirp. Huge plastic sheets are dragged across the outfield. I'll keep you posted.

1038: India 233-7
White's dander is up - he rips out a googler and screams a lusty appeal as Zaheer prods forward. Sun has disappeared behind some threatening clouds overhead.

1031: WICKET - Ganguly lbw Johnson 47, India 232-7

Wicket falls
Goodness me - another debatable shout from Rauf - he's thrown his finger up there with Ganguly's front pad outside off when he's struck. Ganguly can't believe it, but Johnson doesn't care - he's struck again with another of the big scalps.

1026: India 232-6
Ganguly's called for the trainer. He's now flat on his back, with a wodge of cotton-wool being forced up his left nostril. After an age he climbs back to his feet and re-lids with a grimace.

1022: India 231-6
White's got as much of a cutting edge as James Blunt at the moment. Bhaji sweeps him for two, strolls a single and then watches his pardner cut late for two more. Follow-on avoided with ease.

1016: India 225-6
Yup - Johnson the Destroyer it is, going left-arm round to Harbhajan. Three balls sail harmlessly wide of the off-stump after a loosener is slapped away square.

1011: India 221-6
Crazy appeals from the Aussie in-fielders - the ball balloons off Bhaji's front peg, miles away from the blade, but Haddin and White go up like his middle stick's been splintered. Looks like a return for Mitchell Johnson at the other end as this pair pain Punter.

1007: India 218-6
Ganguly scampers uncharacteristically as Bhaji takes a rapid two and clatters into bowler White at the non-striker's. Not much threat from the strawberry-blond leggie so far.

1003: India 214-6
Strange one there - Haddin has a chance to run out Bhaji, but as his gloves come through to catch the ball he dislodges a bail. Close shave. Just 17 needed now to avoid the follow-on.

TEA

0939: India 210-6
Sweep and dab from Gangools, Bhaji staying watchful. And that's tea - marginally better session for India than this morning, but they're still on the rack. Time for beverages all round - catch you in 20.

"Mrs Boycott was in fact an accomplished spinner who was given a Test cap by England after Phil Tufnell threw a hissy fit and refused to take the field when somebody stole his cigarettes. She is known to have achieved a first of sorts for English spinners in the 1990s by actually getting the ball to turn from off to leg."
Alok in Oxford (deeply missing my hometown, Bangalore)

0934: India 207-6
Harbhajan has faced many spinners more taxing than White in the past and, eyeing up the vacant long-on boundary, he fetches an inviting delivery from outside off-stump into that area and collects four more.

"I don't understand why Warne struggled against the Indians and yet a part-timer seems to work like a charm against them!"
Old Regret on 606

0930: India 201-6
Harbhajan's on the sweep against Clarke - and some welcome runs come India's way. The first sweep sails down fine for four, the second is a bottom edge and they grab a couple to bring up the 200.

0927: India 195-6
Oddly, skipper Kumble has sent Harbhajan out ahead of him. White bowls a maiden at Ganguly and the pressure is squarely on the hosts now. Who would have thought it after Australia played so poorly in the warm-up?

0921: WICKET Dhoni b Clarke 9, India 195-6

Wicket falls
The Bangalore crowd are stunned - Dhoni prods with minimal foot movement at a tweaker which bites and turns, and his off-stump pings backwards. Delight for Clarke, who high-fives Haddin before being engulfed by his laughing compadres.

0918: India 193-5
Lack of control from White - Ganguly sweeps fine for the first four in an age and then strolls a single.

0916: India 188-5
Big hoicky pull from Gangools off Pup, but the ball flies high and drops short of the boundary for two. There's another single apiece as the brakes come off a fraction.

0912: India 184-5
Clarke and Dhoni keep each other circumspect before White rips one at Ganguly and nearly has his stumped down the leg-side. Interesting banner in the crowd: "Cameroon White spins the ball like my mum - pole-vaults Boycott." Answers on an email please.

0906: India 180-5
That won't have helped Punter's mood - the ball after White straightens one past Dhoni's off-peg, the skipper lets a soft drive sneak through his legs at cover to toss away a mis-field. 39 balls and 24 minutes since the last boundary.

0902: India 178-5
Ganguly waits for a leg-side loose one from Pup and tucks away a two, and then stays watchful for the duration. Cameron White readied for the other end, long-winged kites still dipping and swooping around the stadium.

0857: India 176-5
Dhoni leaves Pup's tweak alone before Lee slams one past Ganguly's patrician pate. India still 254 in arrears, with a mighty mountain to climb.

0849: India 174-5
That's good running from Dhoni and Ganguly, strange though those words are to type, and Lee doesn't like it. Something's tickling Ponting's pants too - he's tearing a hefty strip off Rudi Koertzen. Rudi stares blankly back from behind his shades, and Punter's tirade blows itself out as he strides off to slip.

0843: India 168-5
Big spit and turn from Pup, the ball jumping past Ganguly's chest and Haddin's rearing snout. Ganguly responds by charging down the pitch and thunking a half-hit drive down the ground for four. Delight in the stands.

0835: India 160-5
Pup Clarke on for some gentle left-arm round tweak. Ganguly skips down the track but mis-hits to mid-on, and then slashes at the one drifted across him and almost thins to a leaping Haddin.

0831: India 159-5
Brett Lee's now getting some swing out there, although the majority of it after the ball has passed the bat. Dhoni fences and misses, but Haddin can only get a gloved fingertip on it and the ball dribbles away for a bye.

0825: India 158-5
Just watched that replay again - Dravid got an enormous stride in there. He's now fuming in the shade of the dressing-room. Dhoni into the breach, 73 more needed to avoid the follow-on.

0816: WICKET Dravid lbw Watson 51, India 153-5

Wicket falls
Big, big decision from Umpire Rauf - two balls after Dravid goes to his half-century, he's slapped on the knee-roll by a big in-dipper from Watson. The finger is up in a flash, but Dravid doesn't like it. Looked a touch high at first glance, although replays show it might have clipped the absolute top of the middle stump. There might even have been an inside edge there - enough to make some umpires keep their hands holstered.

0813: India 153-4
Two sweet drives from Ganguly, but Punter knows the arc the old stager likes and fielders are ready and waiting. Clark stands at the end of his follow-through and puffs out his chest.

0808: India 151-4
Good little battle here between Dravid and Watson. The Aussie man zips one into his pads but a skinny edge stifles the appeal, but a shorter one sits up with its tongue hanging out and is flicked away fine for an easy four.

0803: India 147-4
Big step forward from Ganguly and a dreamy drive from under his eyes through extra cover for two, Lee haring after it and hauling it back as his sunhat flies skywards in his slipstream.

0759: India 144-4
That's a tester from Watson, angling them in now and getting a fraction of shape the other way. Just a single apiece, and Ganguly gets lucky with a flashy cut that skims just short of Hussey at a predatory gully.

0755: India 141-4
Clark slipping into his role as container for Ponting. Not even a scrap for the batsmen there, with a cunning slower one almost inducing a leading edge from Dravid. Conditions heating up in Bangalore.

0750: India 141-4
not getting much life out of this dead old dog yet. Dravid tips one with timing through leg for two and then drives square as the bowler does the overcompensator. Lovely four.

0744: India 134-4
Clark takes the 43-over-old cherry for the first six balls after the interval. Elements of reverse swing are noticeable. After Dravid's single, Ganguly goes fishing yards outside off-stump - and fortunately for him fails to make contact.

LUNCH

"Meanwhile, Bangladesh are mullering New Zealand again in Mirpur. Joy unconfined in the Paul in Lancs residence."
Paul in Lancs in TMS inbox
Bangladesh v New Zealand - latest score

0700: India 133-4
White it is, and Dravid steps back to casually crack his first one to deep square leg for two. A shorter one is cut away fine for four before another is tucked away off the pads for one. And then - goodness - Ganguly nearly spoons a return snag back down the pitch, the ball dropping just short of the bowler. Australia's morning, and India are still 297 behind with just six in hand...

0655: India 126-4
Gentle dab through gully from Dravid to move to 28, with Ganguly creeping along to 7. Looks like Cameron White loosening up for his first bowl in Test cricket.

0650: India 125-4
10 minutes until lunch, and Haddin comes up to the timbers for Clark as Punter Ponting tries to squeeze another wicket from the session. Dravid sinks deeper into watchful mode.

0644: India 124-4
That's nice from Dravid - a touch off the pads for two, and then a rolling-wrists glance from Clark's wayard one to pick up four fine. Big cracks now snaking across the track, and it's not going to get any easier out there.

0641: India 117-4
Ganguly reels away at the last moment after one of the many kites circling overhead dips low into his eyeline just as Watson steps into his delivery stride. He then creams a back-foot drive square for a strolled two after slashing at another no-ball and picking up a streaky four to third man.

0636: India 110-4
Breather at last for Johnson, with Stuart Clark coming on to replace him. Rock-solid start for the NSW man - maiden as Dravid erects the brickwork.

0631: India 110-4
Not much joy there for Watson - a no-ball and a whole heap of toil. Ganguly yet to get off the quacker after seven balls.

0627: India 109-4
Mitchell, being a Queenslander, looks as happy in this sunshine as a crocodile at a kindergarten. Dravid dabs him behind square for two as Lee hurls the ball in from the ropes. Ganguly yet to face a ball.

0622: India 107-4
Dravid stares unblinking down the track as Watson canters in. Right on the cash from the bleached-haired seamer.

0617: WICKET - Laxman c Haddin b Johnson 0, India 106-4

Out for a duck
It's Johnson again! Laxman pushes feebly at one outside off-peg and skinnies an edge through to the caterwauling Haddin. No foot movement at all from VVS, but Johnson's been on fire this morning - Sehwag, Tendulkar and now Laxman all sent packing. Australia are clambering all over this match, and you've never heard an Indian city so quiet.

0612: India 105-3
Shane Watson replaces the perspiring Lee. Steady Eddie it is for his first joust of the day, and there's only a tickle off the pads for a Dravid single.

0605: India 104-3
Jabber from Dravid on another Johnson slower one, but this time the edge falls shy of the clutching Haddin and races away fine for four.

0558: India 99-3
The pitch is starting to misbehave both ways out there - some balls dropping dead, others jumping like a parkour runner. Tough times for the bladesmen.

0553: WICKET - Tendulkar c White b Johnson 13, India 94-3

Wicket falls
Calamity for the home side, rampant happiness for the Aussies - Johnson fools Tendulkar completely with a slower one and White takes the simplest snag at point. A horrified silence falls across the Chinnaswamy stadium, and that could be a key moment in this contest.

0549: India 90-2
Lee to Dravid, and it's a silent staring stalemate.

0542: India 90-2
This is getting spicy. Dravid has a slash at Lee and picks up a streaky four past slip, before Sachin blasts a dreamy drive through the covers. Next ball he's almost gone, jabbing at a slower one and watching aghast as the ball drops just short of the prowling Clarke at cover.

0536: India 81-2
Lordy - an appalling misunderstanding between two men who share about 200 Tests. Michael Clarke has all the time in the world to line up the direct hit to remove Tendulkar, but throws far too early and wildly - Tendulkar survives.

0532: India 81-2
And so, the great man - Tendulkar of course - arrives to the standard standing ovation, just 77 runs away from setting a new world record for total runs scored in Test cricket. He's off the mark, and that's a gorgeous shot - he waits and waits on the back foot and pings the last ball of the over behind point for four.

0525: WICKET - Sehwag c Hayden b Johnson 45, India 76-2

Wicket falls
A lot of Ian Healy about Brad Haddin's snout - the same squinted eyes just above it too. Sehwag aims a big drive at a slingy one from Johnson and misses by a fraction - but next ball he's gone! Terrible shot too - an eyes-shut mow at a ball so wide he needed two bats to middle it, and the massive pouch of Hayden snags the edge at first slip. Joy unconfined in the tourists' ranks.

0520: India 76-1
Dicey times here for Sehwag too. He plumps forward to a teaser from Lee, thins an edge behind but breathes again as it bounces just short of Haddin's greedy gloves. Lee then over-pitches and is driven away through cover for a saucy four.

0515: India 72-1
In comes hometown boy Dravid, and he jabs away at the eyes-blazing Lee to get off the mark. He then gets double-lucky against Johnson, first surviving one that shoots along the ground past his off-stump and then edging just shy of Hayden at first slip. Woof.

0510: WICKET - Gambhir lbw Lee 21, India 70-1

Wicket falls
Delight for the Aussie spearhead - he angles one in from round the wicket, Gambhir plays early down the wrong line and that's bang in front. Asad Rauf raises the fatal finger.

0500: India 70-0
Mitchell Johnson tearing in, and Sehwag angles one down to third man to lively-up the scoreboard. Gambhir waits for a leg-side help-yourselfer from Johnson and pops it away to deep square leg for a single of his own. Demons absent from the track so far.

0440: Good morning everyone. Play due to start in 20 minutes at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. It's a flat wicket, India have all 10 wickets in hand and Sachin Tendulkar is within 76 runs of Brian Lara's Test runs record. It's all happening in Bangalore.


see also
Australia in India 2008
09 Apr 08 |  Cricket


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