Records go for a six at Sydney - Scorecard
Sydney, Jan 3: Sachin Tendulkar and V V S Laxman kindled hopes of a historic series win with a record-breaking 353-run partnership to put India firmly in the driver's seat in the decisive fourth cricket Test against Australia here today. Tendulkar broke his lean patch with a magnificent unbeaten 220 and Laxman struck a classy 178 as the duo plundered runs at will during their marathon association to put India in a commanding 650 for five at close on the second day. The Indian maestro gave glimpses of his vintage batsmanship to not only record his 32nd Test century but also throw a dampener on Steve Waugh's farewell party as the world champions struggled to stem the run deluge.

Parthiv Patel (45) was giving Tendulkar company at stumps on a highly productive day for the visitors which saw a number of records fall by the wayside. The Indians piled up 366 runs, one of the highest totals in a day, to ensure themselves against a defeat and thereby strengthening the chances of retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Tendulkar's long-anticipated century, coming after a gap of 14 months, has now put him in the second position in the list of century-makers, with Steve Waugh with Sunil Gavaskar (34) being the only players ahead of him.

Tendulkar certainly did not find his form at the right time for retiring captain Steve Waugh and in the company of Laxman might have presented the Indians a perfect New Year gift. The 353-run association between Tendulkar and Laxman was the highest ever for the fourth wicket by any team on Australian soil, surpassing the 341 put on by Graeme Pollock and Eddie Barlow of South Africa at Adelaide. It was also the highest ever for India against any opposition, bettering the 281-run stand between Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly against New Zealand at Ahmedabad in 1999. Besides, it also eclipsed India's previous best for the fourth wicket against Australia, which was held by Dilip Vengsarkar and Gundappa Viswanath who made 159 runs between them at Bangalore in 1978-79.

It was Laxman's third triple century partnership against the world champions while Tendulkar, undefeated with a career-best 220, became the highest scorer for India at the SCG. Amidst the tumbling of various records, Australians were feeling the heat of chasing the leather for two full days. Bowlers were feeding the batsmen with loose balls and catches were dropped, and TV cameras once caught Waugh questioning the commitment of his teammates by pointing his finger to the baggy green cap. Lee was either too short or too full in his length. Only when he had the new ball swinging a bit, as it did during the dismissals of Chopra yesterday and Ganguly today, did he look capable of taking wickets.

Jason Gillespie kept plodding a lonely furrow while leg-spinner Stuart MacGill stuck to a defensive line and length. Whenever he did attack the stumps, the batsmen put him away to the boundary with contempt. It was ironical that the team, which prides itself on playing attacking cricket, should resort to negative tactics to curb the opposition. Waugh instructed his bowlers, not for the first time in the series, to operate a line outside the off-stump so as to cut down stroke-making. Yet, runs did flow from the time Laxman, on an overnight 29, cracked five boundaries off Lee's two overs early in the day to race to his half-century. Throughout the day, the Indians kept scoring at a rate of more than 3.5 an over and in the last session the spurt grew to above five.

First to reach his century was Tendulkar who was mightily relieved to reach the milestone as he threw up his arms and thanked the heavens. His hundred came off 212 balls and contained 16 hits to the fence. He showed little lapse of concentration and there was not one false shot from him today. Obviously, building a big partnership was the task on hand and the champion batsman stuck to it with tremendous determination. His third 200 in Tests came after 536 minutes of stay at the crease during which he faced 395 balls and hit 29 fours. While Tendulkar was focussed on playing percentage cricket, Laxman at the other end was playing a virtuoso. His class was stamped on the wrist on-drives, the checked push to the cover fence and the elegant glides through the slips.

A nudge to backward square-leg off Nathan Bracken gave Laxman his seventh Test hundred which came off just 167 balls and contained 16 fours. The Hyderabadi, who has become the chief tormentor of Waugh's men after notching up his fourth century in eight Tests against Australia, was coasting towards his double hundred when MacGill floundered his straightforward pull shot at midwicket. Gillespie, the unlucky bowler, however nipped one back in the same over to break through the tiring defences of Laxman. After 103 runs were added in the morning session to the overnight total of 284 for three, another 108 came in the post-lunch session. Ganguly came and went back in the same speed but there was more despair for the hosts as Parthiv Patel showed more gumption to slash Lee over the packed slip cordon repeatedly.

The Indian total kept swelling and soon it bettered the 636 of England at the same venue in 1928-29 for the best total by a visiting team Down Under. (Agencies) Scorecard

Published: Friday, January 3, 2004

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