India regroup to overcome Australia by 7 wkts: T2, D5

India 495 & 3/207 (45 ov, C Pujara 72, S Tendulkar 53*) beat Australia 478 & 223 by 7 wickets: T2D5 at Bangalore. India win series 2-0.

After getting to a competitive position yesterday today Australia offered scant resistance to India and were heavily defeated as their bowling deficiencies were ruthlessly exposed by debutant Cheteshwar Pujara 72/89b (7x4) and, once again, Sachin Tendulkar 53*/77b (2x6, 7x4).

Scorecard .

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Indian batting suffers from Post-Tendulkar Stress Disorder as balance swings : T2D4

Australia 478 & 7/202 (65 ov, R Ponting 72) lead India 495 (114.5 ov, S Tendulkar 214, M Vijay 139) by 185 runs with 3 second innings wickets in hand: T2D4 at Bangalore.

Given their plight at the start of play Australia did very well to get back into the match by taking the last 5 Indian wickets for 9 runs, though once again inconsistent batting against good bowling on a pitch which was starting to show its age diminished their advantage.

First Sachin Tendulkar. After a near death experience on 199 he took the 200 which was there for the taking but, perhaps not surprisingly as this was the third day he'd been batting, he didn't go far beyond that milestone. At 214 he dragged one from Peter George onto his stumps.

214/363b (2x6, 22x4) pretty much speaks for itself but if you'd watched the innings develop you'd have appreciated that this was a master batting.

6/486 became 10/495 as the Indian tail didn't wag and some Australian bowlers, notably Nathan Hauritz who added 2/0 to his overnight 0/153, improved their figures. A pity that Ben Hilfenhaus wasn't among them: 1/77 (from 31 overs) was a poor reward for his persistence.

As now seems to be their custom Shane Watson and Simon Katich opened with a good stand, though both were out at 58 as the Indian spinners started to take control. Over everyone except Ricky Ponting that is.

Ponting's 72/117b (1x6, 7x4) was, with all due respect to Tendulkar (who'd played the innings of the match) , the innings of the day. In what might well turn out to be his last Test innings in India he took the game right up to the bowlers. Neither Harbhajan Singh nor Pragyan Ojha and it was Zaheer Khan who eventually dismissed him lbw.

But Australia was, at 6/181, only 160 ahead. Tim Paine who'd batted quite well for 23 followed at 185 leaving Mitchell Johnson and Hauritz to hold the fort until stumps.

Even though the wicket isn't easy to bat on a lead of 185 isn't, given the respective strengths of India's batting and Australia's bowling, enough. 220- perhaps- and 250 - better still- might be enough for the visitors to effect a remarkable turnaround.



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Australia's advantage lost as Tendulkar and Vijay hammer Australia: T2D3

India 5/435 (122 ov, S Tendulkar 191*, M Vijay 139) are 43 runs behind Australia with 5 first innings wickets in hand: T2D3 at Bangalore.

If you get a chance, watch the highlights of this day's play, in which Sachin Tendulkar played a masterly innings of 191*and with Murali Vijay 139 added 308 for the 3rd wicket.

The day's proceedings began with Tendulkar hititng two fours from the hapless Nathan Hauritz's first four balls. India didn't continue in this vein but there were flurries of aggression against the Australian bowlers, Ben Hilfenhaus excepted, intermingled with quieter passages of play.

For the third consecutive day no wicket fell in the first session as India added 96 from 26.4 overs and Tendulkar, to nobody's surprise, passed his - 49th in Tests -century. Nor did a wicket fall in the second session as Vijay passed his - 1st in Tests -also.

Eventually Mitchell Johnson had a tired looking Vijay caught behind for 139/310b (2x6, 14x4). 3/346: still some way for India to go but it was hard to imagine Australia clawing back from there.

Spare a thought for Cheteshwar Pujara . After waiting for so long to bat (and for his Test debut) he got off the mark with an elegant cover drive to the boundary only to be given out lbw to a ball which Hawkeye confirmed would have hit leg stump.

Suresh Raina, as the situation demand, made a breezy 32/43b (5x4) before holing out to mid on off Michael Clarke, who like Simon Katich bowled a few overs. I couldn't understand why Marcus North, who after all dismissed Tendulkar for 98 in T1, didn't get a bowl.

Back to Tendulkar. For a 37 yo showed few signs of fatigue let alone lapses of concentration. He stayed with MS Dhoni, who must fancy his own chances of getting a few runs on this track against this attack, until close of play when he was 191*/319b (2x6, 20x4) and India clearly with the upper hand despite the 43 run deficit.

Sachin will no doubt be looking at posting a personal 200... and more, and giving India a substantial lead. It's almost impossible to see how Australia can win from here: An India victory or a draw are the likeliest outcomes.

If you can, watch Sachin bat today.

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Times of India report

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Tendulkar passes 14k Test runs and overshadows North century & Australia's 428: T2D2

India 2/128 (34.2 ov, S Tendulkar 48*, M Vijay 44*) trail Australia 478 (141 ov, M North 128, R Ponting 77, T Paine 59, S Watson 57, Harbhajan Singh 4/148) by 350 runs with 8 1st inns wickets in hand: T2D2 at Bangalore.

Marcus North and Tim Paine saw Australia to a comfortable total, which India, after losing Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid early, made look less comfortable. For Australian supporters the highlight of the day was North's welcome return to form, yet for many of the large local crowd present it was Sachin Tendulkar passing the 14,000 Test runs milestone: the first to do so.

For the second day running Australia batted through the opening session without losing a wicket. North solidly fluent and Paine, generally solid but with a slice or two of luck (he was caught behind off a no-ball from an atrocious shot), added 99 from a slowly delivered 24.1 overs before the interval. In the second session they took their partnership to 149 and the total to 405 before Paine was stumped off Pragyan Ojha for 59/133b (8x4).

The Indian spinners persisted and worked their way through the tail. North hit out and was caught in the deep for 128/240b (1x6, 17x4): the others followed soon after. 478 looked an OK total, especially after the early innings wobbles.

Sehwag began with his customary pizzazz but he played a cameo when a longer innings was needed. He was caught in the deep off Ben Hilfenhaus for 30/28b (1x6, 4x4) and was soon followed by Dravid, caught off Mitchell Johnson for 1.

Murali Vijay and Tendulkar have so far added 90 for the third wicket. Sachin has batted well for his 48*/88 (6x4) but he obviously needs to add many more. The Australian attack looked a bit threadbare: debutant Peter George sprayed the ball round more than a bit, while Nathan Hauritz, despite bowling some good balls, didn't trouble the batters much.

Are, I wonder, India prepared, after only two days, to settle for a draw?

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India peg back Australia after good start: T1D1

Australia 5/285 (85.5 ov, R Ponting 77, S Watson 57) v India T1/2, D1/5 at Bangalore.

Australia, mirroring their first innings at Mohali, prospered in the first session then wobbled before regrouping to reach a total which needs augmenting on D2 to set the strong Indian batting a stern challenge.

The sun wasn't out in Bangalore (aka Bengaluru) when Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bat It didn't emerge for the rest of a day and contributed, together with India's decision to take the new ball, to an early finish.

Both sides were weakened, though India for whom VVS Laxman, Gautam Gambhir and Ishant Sharma were unable to take the field, were more so. For Australia Doug Bollinger was unfit and was replaced by Peter George, the first South Australian to appear in a Test since, I believe, Darren Lehmann in 2004 .

Once again Shane Watson and Simon Katich laid a good foundation by batting through the first session. The Indian bowling was generally steady without, as 0/95 from 27 overs suggests, often looking threatening.

But good times for India were just around the corner. Immediately after lunch (if that's an apt term for an interval starting in the late morning) Harbhajan Singh had Katich caught at slip for 47/95b (7x4), then Pragyan Ohja spun one which Watson gloved to MS Dhoni. His measured 57/88b (9x4) seemed, after T1, almost a failure, but of course it wasn't, even if 2/113 was a reality check.

The Indian spinners persisted. Ricky Ponting was positive, especially against his longstanding adversary Harbhajan, but Michael Clarke didn't settle in and was well caught by Suresh Raina (an excellent allround fielder) at backward short leg off Harbhajan for a modest 14. Ponting and Michael Hussey, both looking good, restored some equilibrium,moving the total from 132 to 189 at tea without further loss.

In the first two sessions the Indian frontline spinners bowled 19 0vers apiece (and Sehwag had already turned his arm over). But then it was Zaheer Khan's turn. At 198 he had Hussey caught in the gully for a pugnacious 34/45b (4x4). Enter Marcus North whose reputation and career were on the line.

North looked good by his recent standards, but I, not that I wished him ill (quite the contrary) was waiting for him to slip up. But I'm pleased to say he proved me wrong, batting through the rest of the day for a solid 43*/89b (4x4) .

The real surprise was that Ricky Ponting was the only other wicket to fall, and the great disappointment was that it was taken by the occasional offspinner Raina. Ponting drove and pulled well. He hit some balls in the air but I only noticed one that went near a fielder. His 77/147b (12x4), classy as it was, and given the manner of his dismissal (Hawkeye showed the ball barely clipping leg stump, which a UDRS appeal might have disallowed) , was disappointing.

It was also disappointing that there was a lot of booing from the considerable (at least compared to Mohali and most Commonwealth Games events) crowd when he was out.

5/256 was a modest total; 5/285 at stumps only marginally less so. Ravi Shastri, presenting the pre-match TV pitch report, opined that the wicket would be at its best on D2. If he's right, or even if he's not, Australia need at least another 120 runs.

Scorecard

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Times of India report

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