Australia on verge of series-levelling win  - Scorecard
Melbourne, Dec 29: Australia was on the verge of squaring the Test series against India despite another valiant batting effort from Rahul Dravid at the end of the penultimate day's play of the third cricket Test here today. Sachin Tendulkar finally made some runs before succumbing again outside the off-stump for 44 and Sourav Ganguly scored a gritty 73 to back up Dravid's patient 92, but this effort may not be enough to save India which made 286, leaving Australia to score 95 runs for a victory on the final day.

The target should not pose much of a problem for the formidable Australian batting line-up determined to make amends for the Adelaide debacle. Brad Williams was the pick of the Australian bowlers with four for 53 while the others, Brett Lee, Nathan Bracken and Stuart MacGill grabbed two wickets each. India were once again undone by a late order collapse that doomed them in the first innings. The tourists, 253 for four at one stage, lost their last five wickets for 33 runs.

If Dravid played a rare loose shot, poking at a wide delivery with bat away from the body, Ganguly might have got carried away by his success when he played on. The shot that got the Indian captain to Bracken was not questionable but the lefthander seemed to have made his mind to go after the bowlers with the second new ball and make as many runs as possible while he was at the crease. Ganguly was particularly severe on Lee as he clobbered him for two scorching fours twice in successive overs.

But when he fell, the flaws of his tactics were exposed. For, India needed to bat out the day, and given the matured way in which Patel tried to marshall the tail towards the end, the team would have been in a far better position with fewer runs had Ganguly been batting at stumps. As it were, India would now be looking up for Divine interruption on the morrow. The weathermen have forecast showers in the afternoon, but the target might be a little too small to deny Waugh's men a deserving victory.

The Aussies, at the receiving end after their shock loss at Adelaide, stuck to their game plan of bowling outside the off-stump and cutting out on the range of Indians' strokes. This in itself was a remarkable improvement for the Australian bowlers who had looked ordinary in the previous Tests but the same bowlers came together well here. Williams, although lacking the express pace of Lee, was immaculate in his line and length, and his cricketing brain was at work in the dismissals of Tendulkar and Ajit Agarkar.

Nathan Bracken, coming around the wicket, effectively dried up the run flow and successfully induced the errors in batsmen. And although he bagged only two wickets, his plodding at one end did contribute to wickets at the other. Tendulkar, keen to break his bad run, looked edgy throughout and was lucky not to be out early when his thick edge of Bracken kissed the gloves of wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist and sped to the third man boundary. But he then gradually gained confidence and smacked two boundaries off MacGill with a late cut and square drive on the back foot. Just when it seemed he would get his first half century of the series, he went forward to Williams and Gilchrist this time took the edge easily.

V V S Laxman stayed for less time by his standards but MacGill might have found the right line against his tormentor. In a replay of the first innings dismissal, the crafty right hander pushed his bat a little too far from his body and edge a perfect leg break to Matthew Hayden at first slip. Williams had bowled his heart out in the first two sessions with the old ball. Now that he had the second new ball in his hand, he was beginning to speak with the red cherry. Zaheer Khan, batting with a hamstring injury, did not promise much. Williams put an end to his agony with a series of deliveries pitched short of full length and the tail-ender eventually snicked one behind.

Parthiv Patel then tried to play the saviour's role for India. He effortlessly turned Bracken to third man boundary twice and then pulled Williams bravely to midwicket. But with three balls of the penultimate over to negotiate, Nehra produced a typical tail-ender's snick to give MacGill his fourth wicket of the match. India's impending defeat, which only rain and a miraculous Australian batting collapse could prevent, could be traced to the first innings late order failure rather than the second. Scorecard (Agencies)

Published: Friday, December 29, 2003

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