Roadblock to Indias Pak tour

India's tour of Pakistan early next year continues to draw apprehensions from the government on account of security as it is reluctant to risk the lives of its players in the nation which has seen a series of terror attacks in the last one year.

The government is apprehensive about the security of it players and the source said, ''if even a scratch comes to Sachin, what would happen to the bilateral relations.'' ''The risk is not worth running,'' they added.

With the prevailing situation in Pakistan, ''no government would take a decision which would risk the lives of its players,'' sources said.

The final decision on the tour, scheduled from January 6 to February 19, will be taken within two weeks on the basis of the assessment by a high-level team of officials that will be going to Pakistan shortly.

The source cited the recent terror attack on a national sporting event in Peshawar to cite the example of the security situation in Pakistan.

Pak coach says Shoaib crucial against India

Pakistan cricket coach Intikhab Alam feels controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar still has a lot to offer and could play a crucial role when they take on arch-rival India early next year.

"He can play a very important role against India and we will be relying on him to deliver the goods with experience and pace. I don't think he is finished. If nursed properly and he takes care of himself, Shoaib can do more for Pakistan than he has done in recent times," Intikhab, who guided the team to a clean sweep in ODI series against West Indies in Abu Dhabi recently, said on Sunday.

"Shoaib is certainly not finished as an international player as yet and he still has a few years to give to Pakistan cricket," he added.

The former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Lt Gen (retd) Tauqir Zia recently advised the PCB to tell the fast bowler to go home and retire as he was finished as an international cricketer.

Intikhab, a former international cricketer, said that Shoaib had been told to follow a rigorous rehabilitation and training programme under the supervision of the team's Australian trainer David Dwyer.

Shoaib regained his berth in the national team recently and went to Abu Dhabi with the squad but didn't play in the series due to a calf strain.

"He is working very hard and doing what he has been asked to do to lose weight, become fitter and sharper and get the match fitness. He was fit for the final match (in Abu Dhabi) but we decided to not risk him on the advice of the trainer," he said. Speaking on the coming home-series against India, the coach insisted, "The series is very much on and we have to start serious preparations for it. All the players have already been given individual programs to keep themselves fit for the series as it is big for us." Intikhab also lauded Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men for their stupendous performance in the recent series against Australia and the ongoing England series.

"India has done really well in recent months and against Australia they were the better side but I think one of the reasons for their success is also the cricket balls they use in domestic cricket and against touring sides.

"The Indian players are well versed with the SG cricket balls and know how to use them well. Compared to the Kookaburra, the SG has a more prominent seam that does not die down after a few overs and is a big help for the spinners and pacers alike. It allows them to take a strong grip and use it effectively," he said.

Johnson leads clinical Australia to victory

It took Australia only 48 minutes on the fourth day to wrap up New Zealand's final four wickets and claim a 149-run win in the first Test at the Gabba. Mitchell Johnson finished with his first five-wicket haul in Tests and Stuart Clark ended up with four victims as New Zealand's collapsible tail lived up to its reputation and they were bundled out for 177.

The match finished so early - it was not yet 11am in Brisbane - that it gave the satisfied local spectators plenty of time to head off for a Sunday brunch. They had filed into the stadium knowing that a long day was improbable but the swiftness of the finish was still rather startling.

New Zealand began the day needing 184 runs for victory with six wickets down but the already unlikely scenario became completely unfeasible when they lost Daniel Vettori and Ross Taylor to Johnson for the addition of 18 runs. Vettori fell in almost identical fashion to the first innings when he drove to point and Andrew Symonds jumped to take a one-handed catch above his head.

Taylor followed in Johnson's next over when he drove at a ball that moved across him and edged behind to Brad Haddin for 75. When Clark added Iain O'Brien, who lobbed a simple chance to Michael Clarke at point, the score was 9 for 164 and the only remaining points of interest were whether Johnson would collect his fifth and Chris Martin would make his 24th Test duck.

The answers were yes and no. Martin managed to squeeze a single off Clark - and then watched as Tim Southee pounded a pair of sixes straight down the ground - but his bat returned to near hologram status when he was bowled from the first straight ball he received from Johnson. The stumps rattled, Australia celebrated and it left Johnson with 5 for 39, match figures of 9 for 69, and the Man-of-the-Match award.

He was perhaps fortunate to receive the honour ahead of Simon Katich, whose unbeaten 131 was a matchwinning effort on a pitch where only two other batsmen posted half-centuries. Johnson was Australia's leading wicket-taker on the tour of India but he was still pleased to return to more familiar and friendly conditions after the lifeless surfaces he had encountered recently.

"It is good to get back on a bouncy fast track," Johnson said after the match. "I felt pretty good over in India. I just try and hit the deck as hard as I can and that's what I did out here, so I'm feeling pretty good about my bowling at the moment."

The challenge for the fast bowlers will be greater on a flatter pitch at the Adelaide Oval, where the final match of the two-Test series begins on Friday. Australia will likely squeeze the offspinner Jason Krejza into the side while New Zealand have serious questions over their batting and could bolster the line-up by including Peter Fulton.

England struggle to build momentum

Virender Sehwag slammed a stroke-filled 57-balls 69 to take India to 166 for four in 22 overs in the rain-curtailed fourth One-Day International against England, setting the tourists a tough task of getting 198 runs for victory (on Duckworth-Lewis Method) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday.

Sehwag, who hit a superb half-century, was in terrific form and treated the English bowlers with disdain slamming nine fours and three sixes before being caught by James Anderson on the long-on boundary off spinner Graeme Swann.

The dashing Delhi opener added 79 runs off 62 balls for the second wicket with Gautam Gambhir, who was dropped down to number three to accommodate Sachin Tendulkar to open the batting with Sehwag.

After the game was reduced to a 22-overs-a-side contest due to rain interruption twice, India resumed play at 106-1 in 17 overs. Hence with the overs running out for the hosts, Sehwag and Gambhir went for runs. But soon both fell while trying to accelerate.

Gambhir held out to Anderson at long-on off Swann for 40, which came off 37 balls with seven hits to the fence.

Man-in-form Yuvraj Singh and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni then resorted to some lusty hitting to try and take India to a fighting total before the later was bowled by Samit Patel for nine.

Yuvraj remained not out on 25 off 11 balls with three sixes while Yusuf Pathan hit the only ball he faced off Patel for a six to post a competitive total.

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Raman appointed CEO of Champions League

The Governing Council of the Champions League Twenty20 has appointed Sundar Raman, the Chief Executive Officer, and Dhiraj Malhotra, the Tournament Director, for the inaugural tournament to be held from December 3 to 10.

Champions League Governing Council also appointed the entire management team with the best of talent from across the founding member boards, a release said here on Tuesday.

Australian Dean Kino, was appointed Director Legal and Business Affairs and Michael Brown, General Manager Cricket Operations and South African Brian Bassson, Cricket Programming and Logistics.

Other appointments include Radhika Moolraj, Assistant to the Chairman, Poorna Patel, Manager Hospitality, Leila Mallya, Public Relations Manager, Nidhi Chaudhary, Operations Director and Venue Manager, and Preeti Mehta and Russell Adams, both venue managers, the release added.

Lalit Modi, Chairman of the Champions League Twenty20, while making the announcements said, "It gives me great pleasure to make the appointments to these important positions for the Champions League Twenty20.

"The organisational infrastructure for the Champions League Twenty20 has taken shape. They constitute a highly resourceful and talented team and have done a wonderful job managing cricket for the respective boards. I am confident that they will bring to bear all their experience to make the Champions League Twenty20 a huge success," he added.

Sundar Raman, is currently the Chief Operating Officer of the Indian Premier League and played a crucial role in the highly successful organisation of the IPL earlier this year. He has been working on Champions League ever since IPL inaugural edition concluded. He will take on this responsibility in addition to his role with IPL.

Dhiraj Malhotra an ex army officer was also the Tournament Director for IPL and has been with the International Cricket Council for the last 3 years. He has worked on the inaugural T20 world cup in South. Africa and also the world cup in West Indies. In addition he has worked on various Champion Trophies and under-19 world cups

Eight teams, consisting of the reigning winners and runners-up from the domestic Twenty20 competitions in India, Australia and South Africa, plus the reigning Twenty20 champion Sailkot from Pakistan, and the reigning Twenty20 Cup champion from England, Middlesex, have been invited to contest the 2008 Champions Twenty20 League.

The tournament offers teams US$6 million of prize money, the biggest prize money in the world for cricket at a domestic competition level. The prize money, including US$3 million for the winning team, will be shared equally between the teams and their players.

The Governing Council of the event and its founding cricket boards believe the significant prize money to be paid to teams and players will ensure that the benefits of the event will foster cricket’s development by injecting new funding into domestic-level cricket and at the same time will handsomely reward domestic-level cricketers and provide a unique opportunity for a higher public profile for players at the level below international cricket.

Vettori made the difference

Bangladesh came close to clinching their first Test victory against New Zealand but, despite being in control for the majority of the match, the hosts slipped to defeat by three wickets in Chittagong. Mohammad Ashraful, the Bangladesh captain, said that his team played "really well" but added that New Zealand's ability to avoid their first-innings mistakes made the difference during their chase of 317.

"We had a pretty good chance of winning and, on an individual level, I thought Shakib Al Hasan bowled and batted wonderfully well, Mushfiqur Rahim made runs in both innings and Tamim Iqbal got starts in both innings," Ashraful said. "The difference between the two sides was Daniel Vettori who was brilliant with the bat and ball. Also they [New Zealand] planned their second innings really well and did not repeat the mistakes they did in the first innings."

Unlike his counterpart Vettori, who took nine wickets and scored two vital half-centuries, Ashraful had a poor match, scoring 2 and 0, and fell to Vettori in both innings. "I have played match-winning knocks in most of Bangladesh's big wins in one-day cricket but it hasn't happened for me in Tests yet. I tried my best but wasn't successful," Ashraful said. "There is another Test in this series and I will continue to try and hopefully it will happen in the future.

New Zealand began the day needing 172 to win with eight wickets in hand. At one stage they needed 101 with only five wickets remaining but Vettori steered his team home with a calm 76. Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach, felt that the visitors had "learned their lessons pretty well" after being dismissed for 171 in the first innings.

"They [New Zealand] planned well, didn't play any unnecessary shots and made us [work] for every wicket," Siddons said. "They batted with discipline and didn't give us any chances. Hopefully our guys can learn a bit from that, especially our top-order.

"Having outbatted them and bowled so well in the first innings makes me happy. Everything's looking good with young guys like Mehrab [Hossain jr] and Shakib, and we'll get Ashraful and Zunaed (Siddique) to play well. I need all the guys to play well in the one game but at the moment we are a little inconsistent."

Siddons praised left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak's performance in the second innings. Razzak bowled 50 overs and took 3 for 93. "He tied up an end beautifully for us and bowled at two an over," Siddons said. "He stretched the game out which you have to do when you have 300 on the board. He made them work very hard for their runs. He got a couple of wickets but we didn't quite get enough from the other end."

Siddons hoped that his team would be able to catch New Zealand "on the hop" in Dhaka where the pitch "stays low and plays tricks". The second Test begins on October 25 at the Shere-e-Bangla Stadium.

Harbhajan apologises for Ravana act

Under attack for taking part in a TV reality show dressed as mythological character Ravan, cricketer Harbhajan Singh apologised and vowed “never to do anything that could hurt religious sentiments of any community”.

"I apologise if my actions have hurt anybody. It was not my intention to hurt sentiments of anyone which includes members of my own community," the off-spinner told reporters in Chandigarh.

"It will be my sincere endeavour not to repeat such things in future," said Singh, currently playing in the first Test match against Australia at Mohali.

India's winning habit

Trucks in the Punjab are famous for the one-line messages they carry. One of the typically earthy ones is, "Vekhi ja, par chedi na [Keep watching my truck, but don't fiddle around]." For four days and a bit in Mohali, India were the runaway truck that Australia could only watch and do nothing about.

It is a rare happening: When was the last time a team toyed around with Australia? When was the last time Australia were so dominated? One has to go back more than 10 years, to the same opposition and country, to Eden Gardens 1997-98. So long ago that only four players, on both sides, from that Test played in this match. Between Eden Gardens and Mohali, Australia played 117 matches, losing 15, without being so completely outplayed even once.

What would be more satisfactory for India, though, is that this win didn't come on a crumbling dustbowl; home advantage counted for nought this time. It was a good batting track, looking like any Australian pitch, with a little less bounce, on the first day. Contrast this with Eden Gardens 1998, when India played with three spinners, and Sourav Ganguly opened the bowling. Over the last five days, though, and on the same pitch, the ball would lose all potency the moment it was handled by Australian bowlers.

To be fair to the Australians, this isn't the same team that dominated the world over the last decade. Some of the best players in that side - Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer - have gone. Also, they embarked on this tour - possibly their toughest assignment of recent times - without Andrew Symonds; discipline problem or not, it's a mistake they may yet come to regret. Even so, it would take a special effort to put the boot in, simply because of their winning habit and the belief that they can pull themselves out of any kind of strife.

It's perhaps fitting that this defeat has been inflicted by India, who have stood up to Australia, competed against them more consistently than any other team in the past decade. And India are the only team who constantly threaten to outskill them: once it was their mysterious spin bowling and imperious batting, here the biggest difference between the teams was the quality of the pace bowling.

While Australia struggled for any disconcerting movement, the Indian bowlers got prodigious swing, both conventional and reverse. A TV split-screen visual of the six-over-old ball being used by both the teams told a story. While the one Australia used was scuffed up all over, the one India used had two markedly different sides, shiny and rough. That meant the ball started reversing as early as in the ninth over at times, a sensational phenomenon. And since it's still hard and new that early, as MS Dhoni suggested, it was all the more difficult to face. "The ball [from Ishant Sharma] that got me would get me 95 times out of 100," Ricky Ponting confessed.

The batsmen and the spinners did their job too. Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag gave India two fiery starts, putting Australia on the back foot right away. The middle order revived them after a brief blip. Amit Mishra's debut was phenomenal, a throwback to the old days of classical legspin bowling. And Harbhajan Singh fast-tracked Australia to their demise in the second innings.

Right from the toss, India did little wrong. The one potentially distracting period was when Tendulkar moved towards his record but India regrouped well. They were aggressive throughout, and there wasn't a single player in the side they needed to hide. You could say they had nine potential Man-of-the-Match winners, something we rarely see with the Indian team. Perth, earlier this year, was a team performance, but not nearly as destructive.

Shakib helps stretch lead to 258

Shakib Al Hasan once again stepped up for his team, this time with the bat, as Bangladesh seized the advantage on the third day of the first Test against New Zealand in Chittagong. The day started with Shakib bagging the best innings haul by a Bangladesh bowler to restrict New Zealand to 171, before his first Test half-century helped his team to 184 for 8, a formidable lead of 258.

Overnight on 155 for 9, Daniel Vettori started with the intention to reduce the deficit, but Shakib bowled Iain O'Brien through his legs to hand his team a 74-run first-innings lead. Bangladesh then began their second innings far more positively than their first. They looked to score runs and kept their run-rate above three for most of the morning. It was in direct contrast to the first innings, where the run-rate hovered around one for 40-odd overs.

After the early loss of Junaid Siddique to Kyle Mills for 6, some excellent spin bowling by Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel choked the runs, which led to a spree of wickets before lunch. Patel had Rajin Saleh caught in front of his stumps by bringing the ball back from well outside the off stump. In the next over, Vettori claimed the prize scalp of Mohammad Ashraful, who got an outside edge to a ball he was trying to dispatch over mid-off and was brilliantly caught at point by Aaron Redmond.

The hosts were reduced to 48 for 4 when Patel took the wicket of first-innings hero Mehrab Hossain jnr just before lunch. After the fall of Tamim Iqbal - the only batsman to reach double figures among the top five - soon after the break, Shakib joined Mushfiqur Rahim at the crease with his team facing the prospect of being scuttled for an embarrassingly low total.

Just as Vettori had done the previous day, Shakib looked composed from the beginning. He hit the bad balls to the boundary and pushed for singles from the good deliveries. He put on a valuable 56 with Mushfiqur and 48 with Naeem Islam, two stands that could prove vital. He was finally caught by Ross Taylor in the slips off Vettori for a well-compiled 71. He hit 12 fours and faced 151 balls.

The hosts ended the day at 184 for 8, a lead of 258. Vettori finished with 4 for 39 and Patel 2 for 52. Before the day began, chasing between 250 and 300 might have seemed beyond the New Zealanders, but the pitch began to lose its venom as the day progressed. The ball stopped turning and didn't bounce as much as it did on the first few days. The cracks didn't open up in line with expectations, and the lack of turn and bounce was why Vettori used fast bowlers Jacob Oram, Kyle Mills and O'Brien in the final session of the day. However, the heat made it difficult for them to bowl long spells, with the temperature hovering around 37º C.

After the day's performance, Bangladesh look favourites for a second Test win, but with the pitch easing out, New Zealand would hope conditions stay the same for their fourth-innings chase.

We are in good position to win from here: Mishra

Leg-spinner Amit Mishra's maiden five-wicket haul on debut put India in a commanding position by the end of the third day's play of the second Test against Australia in Mohali on Sunday.

By close, India had raced to 100 for no loss with an overall lead of 301 runs with Virender Sehwag unbeaten on 53 and Gautam Gambhir batting on 46, after Australia were bowled out for 268 despite a valiant 78 from Shane Watson, his maiden Test fifty.

India chose not to enforce the follow-on despite a 201-run lead, with signs of wear on the Mohali surface becoming all too evident after the spinners' first innings exploits.

Haryana spinner Mishra's 5-71 capped off India's splendid display with the ball on day three, which began with Ishant Sharma nailing overnight batsman Michael Hussey (54) seven overs into the day.

Hussey, who reached a well-compiled half-century — his 10th — was sent back after being troubled frequently by the tall right-arm paceman, with the bowler beating the left-hander often before finding an edge that was easily taken by captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Harbhajan Singh, who went wicketless on the second day, bowled Brad Haddin through his defence for nine before leg-spinner Amit Mishra castled Cameron White with a classical googly for his third wicket in the innings with the Aussies staring at a massive deficit at 174-7.

Tendulkar becomes leading Test run-scorer

It was about 15 minutes into Sachin Tendulkar's press conference. He had answered wide-ranging questions, not all pertaining to the match or his record. Before the next question came his way, the media coordinator asked him if he would like to continue. Tendulkar moved away from the mike, and although he could not be heard, it seemed he said something to the effect of "Why not?" The press conference continued for the next 11 minutes, way longer than the ones at the end of a day's play.

Tendulkar was in that kind of mood. He looked animated, spoke in three languages - English, Hindi and Marathi - and looked relieved and happy, and was subtly funny. He started off by admitting that although the record was not a big distraction, the anticipation around it did mean something. "During all the talk about the record, I concentrated on how to score runs for the team, but everybody I used to meet would talk about only one thing. Now that it is done, I know I wouldn't be asked the same question again and again."

On a personal level, he doesn't have a "what next" now? "I started as a 16-year-old, and there was no targets then," he said. "I just wanted to go enjoy every moment. That is what I like to continue with - not to think of too many things and complicate my game in the process.

"I have not played for records. I can't be running after every record [answering a query about breaking Brian Lara's 400]. I would be looking after what the team needs. The team obviously needs it. If it comes my way, I will take it. If it doesn't come, there will be no regrets."

Despite that attitude there must have been moments when he would have realised he could end up the leading run-getter in both Tests and ODIs. "As the career progresses, there is sub-consciousness mind starts thinking about it," he said. "You know that people start talking about it the records. That is how you are aware of all these things.

"There have been occasions that I didn't know how many runs I needed [to get to the record]. A couple of team-mates did not believe. I was willing to swear on anyone that I don't know. That is when they believed. The beauty is just to go out and play, and while doing that the records were meant to be broken and various milestones achieved."

What was he thinking when it happened? The steer towards the third-man boundary that got him past Brian Lara? "When I looked up, obviously I had two thoughts in my mind," he said. "One was I thanked the almighty and the second, I thanked my father. Today I miss him. He would definitely be a proud man, and I just thought of him."

Sourav Ganguly was a special partner to have when the record happened. He reminded Tendulkar of the fact that he was his partner when Tendulkar got his 35th century. "If you can remember that in the middle of all that ..."

He also dedicated the record to Ramakant Achrekar, his childhood coach, his family who have been by his side "whether or not he did well", and especially "my mother".

Almost in paternal manner, he subtly put his critics in their place. "I don't need to prove anything to anyone," he said. "I have been around for 19 years, and those 19 years I did not play cricket to prove anything to anyone, whether it was first year of my cricket or 10th, or 15th, or 19th.

"I'm not here to answer to what x, y and z is writing or saying about me. It is their opinions, and I don't take all those opinions seriously ... But sometimes I don't know how they can figure out what's going on in my mind when sometimes I myself can't figure that out."

That was the only time he sounded mildly sour, but only mildly. The talk eventually went back to the celebration when he got the record. "The duration [of the fireworks] was bit worrying." When a journalist informed him they had planned 11,954 crackers, he said, "Eventually I figured out it was 11,954 crackers or something like that."

Injury makes Jaques to return to Australia

Australian opener Phil Jaques will miss the rest of the Indian tour because of a back injury, Cricket Australia (CA) announced on Friday.

Team bosses said the 29-year-old left-hander, who has not played on the tour so far, was being sent home to help him recover in time for the upcoming domestic season.

"Phil has had a long-standing problem with his lower back that has been manageable up until now," team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said in a CA statement.

"The point has come where the injury is significantly limiting his ability to play, so he will return to Australia to seek specialist opinion on the best course of action."

Chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said Jaques' replacement for the final two Tests against India would be named soon.

"This is obviously disappointing news for Phil," said Hilditch. "We're hoping the treatment is successful and he can return to cricket as soon as possible.

"The selectors will be making a decision in a few days' time as to Phil's replacement on this tour."

Jaques, who made his debut in 2005, has so far played 11 Tests and scored 902 runs, at an average of 47.47 with three centuries. He has also scored 125 runs in six one-day internationals.

Jaques is the second player in the squad to have his tour cut short through injury. Leg-spinner Bryce McGain also went back to Australia and was replaced by Cameron White.

The first Test in Bangalore ended in a draw, while the second Test opened in Mohali earlier on Friday. The remaining two Tests will be played in New Delhi (Oct 29-Nov 2) and Nagpur (Nov 6-10).

Tendulkar puts India on track

The lead-up to this Test had been full of distractions - Anil Kumble's injury, the players still fighting like children over who brought forward moral victories from Bangalore, the unseasonal rains in Mohali raising doubts over the match going the distance. Around a quarter past one on the first day more distractions were about to unfold. When Rahul Dravid played Brett Lee onto his stumps, the Test sort of took a back seat and another aside started: Sachin Tendulkar's progress towards Brian Lara's record.

It was a pretty edgy hour and a quarter - so edgy it was surreal - that followed, during which Tendulkar made his way to the record and India lost two more wickets. What followed immediately after was more distraction from Test-match cricket: fire-crackers went off at the PCA Stadium and continued for three minutes. The Australians rushing to congratulate Tendulkar was expected but when it happened it felt unreal coming from a team that plays its cricket hard.

There would be other milestones to follow, too: Tendulkar would go past 12,000 runs and Sourav Ganguly past 7000. But when Tendulkar bats as he did for the next two hours, distractions don't matter. Effortlessly, he brought people back to the actual game and, with Ganguly's help, India into the match.

India had a confident, brisk start on a pitch conducive to one; the bounce was true but not big and there was no sideways movement. The immediate assessment was a total close to 500 would be par for this track. Gautam Gambhir and Dravid looked to put India on the way, but failed to score centuries - crucial for both of them, for different reasons - that appeared there for the taking. This was a pitch on which a batsman, once settled, would kick himself for not reaching three figures.

Gambhir is due a big score. He has done well since forcing his way back to the Test side following his limited-overs success, and has been a good foil to Virender Sehwag at the top. He has scored 427 runs in nine innings on comeback, against tough opposition and in trying conditions, but his best has been 72. That he gets starts points to his form - perhaps the best of his career - but he also leaves the team in a spot of bother by not converting those starts into big innings, as he did today and during the first innings at the PSS in Sri Lanka this summer. In 19 Tests Gambhir only has one century, against Bangladesh. That should be enough to rile and inspire him.

The way he batted in the first session today, it seemed certain Gambhir would end that century drought. For some reason, despite being an excellent rotator of strike in limited-overs cricket, he got bogged down when the field spread and the bowling became accurate. Having eased to 25 from 39 balls, Gambhir slowed down. He went into lunch on 53 from 90 balls and in the next hour or so he faced 50 balls for just 14 runs.

If this was uncharacteristic, so was Dravid's innings. Instead of the patchy starts he's had recently, Dravid began, instinctively speaking, the way he did when at the top of his game. But this was his 11th score between 30 and 100, to go with one century, in his last 15 Tests. When scoring was made difficult, Dravid didn't seem to show the kind of patience one associates with him. Once he went after a delivery wide outside off stump, and missed. In his prime Dravid would have left such deliveries alone for the next half hour; today, he went for the next delivery and failed to connect properly. Three overs later he went to cut another wide one, which was marginally too full, and chopped it onto his stumps.

At this point Australia had taken three wickets, only one of them earned. A fourth followed, amid the frenzy around Tendulkar, but Mitchell Johnson should consider himself lucky to dismiss a quality batsman like VVS Laxman with a leg-side ball that didn't deserve a wicket. Suddenly India had lost three wickets for 13 runs and were in danger of getting bowled out for a below-par total on a good batting track.

Thankfully for India Tendulkar, once he'd acquired Lara's record, batted with fluency. There was nothing circumspect about the way he played after tea. Ganguly took the initiative, but it was Tendulkar who showed Australia how hopelessly unhelpful the pitch was on the first day. There was no discrimination: no bowler nor shot escaped Tendulkar. Ganguly, in distinct patches of quietness and aggressive intent, was solid throughout. The difference in India's approach after tea was clear: the first time Tendulkar faced the new ball he deposited it to the cover boundary.

Australia were reduced to being honest witnesses who relied on the batsmen's mercies and mistakes. And a mistake is what they drew from Tendulkar towards the end of the play. As a result, while they didn't have any say in the way the game progressed, they ended the day pretty much even. India need a big partnership tomorrow morning to take a clear advantage. And tomorrow, there won't be as many distractions from Test cricket.

Naeem set for Test debut

Naeem Islam is set to earn his first Test cap for Bangladesh in the first Test against New Zealand starting Friday at Chittagong. Having made his ODI debut in the recently-concluded three-match series against the same opposition, he will become the 51st Test player for Bangladesh.

"Once I heard that I would be in the Test team, I was very happy. It is like a dream for me," Naeem said. "There are no personal goals for me but to bat for a long time. Although I like batting between four and six, I would stick to whatever the team tells me to do."

Primarily a middle-order batsman, his useful offspin will give Bangladesh the option of an additional allrounder as they look for their first series win against New Zealand. "I am used to bowling 15-20 overs so and if the captain asks me to bowl more than that, I must try to do that," said Naeem.

Though run out without facing a single ball in his very first innings in the second ODI at Dhaka, Naeem put up a much better show with an unbeaten 46 in the next match at Chittagong. He also contributed with the ball picking up three wickets at 34.66.

This apart, the 21-year-old who plays for Rajshahi in Bangladesh's domestic circuit, has been in good form for the last two seasons and his time in the Bangladesh Cricket Board Academy and the Bangladesh A team has admittedly helped his chances of staking a claim in the Test team.

"I have been playing with the Academy and A team in foreign conditions so probably I felt much calmer because of that," said Naeem, who captained the Academy team in their 2-1 ODI series victory against the Sri Lanka Academy XI last month.

Rajshahi captain Khaled Mashud backed Naeem's inclusion and felt the player deserved his chance. "He has the quality of playing in the longer version and he deserves to play for Bangladesh given his domestic performance. I think he is a rare breed among offspinners because he can read a batsman and not just bowl offbreak for the sake of bowling."

Mushtaq 'uncertain' about England offer

England's head coach Peter Moores who has close ties with former Pakistani leg-break bowler Mushtaq Ahmed from their time together at Sussex, believes the Pakistani can play an important role for England.

However, the 39-year-old Mushie, as affectionately he is being called, is unceretain about accepting the offer. "I am yet to decide on the issue," he said from Hyderabad where he is on an ICL assignment.

"The offer had not directly come from the coach. Only it came through my agent. Coach (Peter Moores) had just expressed passing remarks about myself."

The leg-spinner with googlies aplenty, Mushtaq Ahmed is styled on his hero Abdul Qadir. However, he will decide about England spin coach offer only after the battle between BCCI and ICL is resolved.

"I am more inclined to be associated with the Pakistani team (rather than England)," he stressed. His services were utilised by the former PCB bosses.

In fact his services were declined once by Dr. Nasim Ashraf when he was about to board a flight to India. "I was not allowed to come with the team at that time," Mushtaq recalled. "But once Nasim Ashraf realised about my dedication towards work, I was again assisting the Pakistani team."

Mushtaq Ahmed was a member of the supporting staff to the Pakistan squad for the last World Cup in West Indies, where coach Bob Woolmer lost his life.

Clark to miss second Test

Australian pacer Stuart Clark, nursing an elbow injury, lost his race against time and would miss the second Test against India, paving the way for rookie Victorian right-arm fast bowler Peter Siddle's debut here on Friday.

Clark, who sustained the injury in the first Test at Bangalore, did come for the practice session but could still feel the pain, which prompted the team's think-tank to rule him out and blood Siddle in.

"Stuart Clark bowled about 30 balls yesterday and still had the elbow pain, which which he had sustained in the first Test. Consequentially, he is ruled out of this Test. Peter Siddle will make his debut tomorrow," a spokesman of the Australian team told reporters.

"(Physio) Alex Kontouris will continue to monitor Stuart Clark's progress in the coming days," he added.

Clark's stifling accuracy has often straitjacketed the Indian batsmen and his absence would surely ease the pressure on them in the Mohali Test.

Twenty three-year-old Siddle has not played any Test or ODI so far and despite his abundant talent, the youngster might find it a baptism by fire when he bowls at what is arguably the most illustrious middle order batting line-up in contemporary cricket.

Siddle, however, can take heart from the fact that his captain Ricky Ponting has full faith in him. Ponting does not read too much into Siddle's inexperience and believes the rookie would not let him down.

"A lot was made of our experience leading to the first Test but if you look at the performance of those guys there it was very good. So that will be there when you play your first game.," Ponting said.

"Siddle will make his debut and he is a very lively right-arm fast bowler from Victoria. He is a very simple bloke and enjoys bowling. He would enjoy the contest of bowling to the Indian top order. There are some very good players in that top order and I'm sure he is up for the challenge.

"He keeps it pretty simple and is a good exponent of reverse swing as well. Hopefully in this game if he can find the rhythm early and nicely, it would be surplus," Ponting added.

Asked if Clark's absence would be a disadvantage for his side, the Aussie skipper said, "I don't think so. Eleven players would be giving their best for Australia and we know that we are competitive against any side in the world."

Fitness worries and weather take centrestage

After the attritional cricket in Bangalore, where one team dominated much of the contest and the other refused to give in, Mohali - where the pitch isn't as slow as Bangalore - holds the prospect of a more lively encounter. Both teams will, however, need to rework their plans of attack to land the first punch in the series.

The challenge for Australia will be not only to get into a commanding position against India, like they did in Bangalore, but also to close out the match, which they failed to do in the first Test. All of their batsmen, however, with the exceptions of Matthew Hayden and Michael Clarke, made runs: Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey scored maiden Test centuries in India, while Shane Watson and Brad Haddin allayed concerns about an untested lower-middle order. Their fast bowlers, Mitchell Johnson and Watson in particular, showed that inexperience in Indian conditions was not a hurdle that couldn't be cleared.

Although India's batsmen played out the fifth day to secure a draw in Bangalore, the match was really saved on the third evening because of plucky batting from Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan. Their batting, however, isn't a major worry since most batsmen made contributions at some stage of the Test. India's biggest problem is the fitness of their captain Anil Kumble. He had a poor match in Bangalore, where he bowled 51 overs without a wicket, and struggled with a shoulder injury. He bowled during an indoor net session on Thursday but will decide on his participation in the Test only on the morning of the match.

The build-up to the first Test in Bangalore was unusually quiet. By the end of the match, however, tensions were simmering: Zaheer said the Australians were defensive; Ponting brushed aside the comments; and Kumble was writing indignant columns in response to media speculation about his future. Normal service, it seems, has been resumed.

Mohali is like my home ground: Brett Lee

Media back home may have dubbed Sourav Ganguly a 'serial offender' but Australian speedster Brett Lee insists his team-mates have no issues with the abrasive left-hander and said they have not lost their respect for Anil Kumble either despite the India captain's mundane show in the Bangalore Test.

Though no more at the helm of Indian team, Ganguly continues to rub the Australians wrong way and the Aussie media dubbed him a "serial offender", accusing him of indulging into delaying tactics in the Bangalore Test to ensure that India walked away with a morale-boosting draw in the series opener. Lee, however, didn't find anything grossly wrong with Ganguly.

"See, he has got a role to play in the side. I mean he plays his game and obviously has a job to do. We play the game our way. We play a Test match to win it. But of course there was lot of doubt about the light thing (in Bangalore)..." Lee said.

Lee also made it clear that despite Kumble's lacklustre show in the Bangalore Test, the Indian captain remained a great bowler in the eyes of the Australian batsmen.

"Look, he has got 600 Test wickets. We respect him both as a captain and also as a class bowler. He is a great bowler, who has been around for long and we will treat him just the way we would treat a great bowler," Lee said.

Despite leading the side to the draw, Kumble was flayed for his lacklustre bowling and unimaginative captaincy in the Bangalore Test.

The Indian skipper was so hurt by the comments about his lack of fitness and demand for his retirement that he hit back, rather uncharacteristically, at his critics and vowed to make a mark soon in the series.

The Bangalore Test also witnessed occasional sparks fly around and both India pacer Zaheer Khan and Aussie wicket-keeper Brad Haddin were fortunate to escape a reprimand after their on-field brawl there.

Lee, however, believes not a single player from the either side overstepped the line in the first Test. "I think the first Test was definitely played in the right spirit. There was lot of passion and controlled aggression. A few words were exchanged indeed but that was well within the right spirit. You cannot take away the passion, after all we are not playing tiddlywinks," Lee argued.

"We'll play the game fairly and squarely," he added. Oozing charm and welcoming the media with the 'Sat Sri Akaal' greeting, Lee, who donned the Kings XI Punjab colours in the Indian Premier League, said the second Test would be quite a home match for him.

"It's going to be a home game for me. It's a great place and hopefully the wicket will have enough carry, especially because this is traditionally a bouncy track. In Bangalore, it was pretty low and slow. The pitch here looks pretty hard and hopefully there will be enough carry for the young pacers," Lee added.

He said it was disappointing not to win the first Test but felt the team should be happy with their game in Bangalore.

"I mean it was really disappointing not to win there, for we came out to win the match. But in hindsight, we can be happy with the way we played and created chances. Personally, I'm really happy with the way I bowled. I mean you look at the scoreboard and you don't see too many wickets (against my name) but I'm happy that I created chances. I would be pretty confident going into this Test," Lee said.

Almost inevitably, Lee was asked to comment on Sachin Tendulkar overtaking Brian Lara as the highest run scorer in Test in the Mohali match and the Australian said he was looking forward to bowling to the master blaster.

"It would be nice if he does not get those 15 run in this series. But he is a world class player and deserves the honour...I love the challenge of bowling to the Little Master," Lee said.

2009 Champions Trophy date finalised

The ICC will hold the postponed Champions Trophy between September 24 and October 5, 2009, it was decided during the second day of its board meeting in Dubai. The announcement ends months of uncertainty about the event which was originally scheduled for September this year in Pakistan but was postponed after several participating countries refused to travel over security fears in the country.

The new dates were formalised after detailed discussions between Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, and officials of various national boards, many of whom will have now have to adjust their international programme to accommodate the event. The ICC, too, has had to make an adjustment of its own to accommodate the event, shortening its duration from the original 17 days to 12, including a reserve day for the final.

The ICC also said the event will be held in one city, possibly to ensure foolproof security arrangements, though Pakistan's fate as host will be decided only after a review following India's tour of the country in early 2009. Lahore and Karachi were the original venues. David Morgan, the ICC president, welcomed the decision to find a place for the tournament despite an increasingly packed Future Tours Program (FTP) and Lorgat thanked the participating countries for their cooperation. "I'm hugely encouraged by the spirit of togetherness and teamwork shown by our members in ensuring we have found a place for the Champions Trophy in next year's calendar," Lorgat said.

The ICC board's decision means the BCCI, which had originally refused to adjust its international programme to allow the postponed event, will have to reschedule the second edition of the Twenty20 Champions League, which had originally been slotted for September 25-October 10. India has also tentatively scheduled a seven-ODI home series against Australia to start from October 13 next year.

N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary, said that "there will be no clash of dates". "The new programme takes into account a provision for the Champions League also," Srinivasan told Cricinfo.

According to Lorgat, for whom the result of today's decision is an achievement of sorts considering the initial opposition to the new window, the tournament needed to be held as it is "vitally important for the world game".

The Champions Trophy is expected to rake in around USD 40 million, most of which will be redeployed for the development of the game. "The tournament, with its new format of the top eight teams playing in a short, sharp event, is vitally important for the world game because it allows those members, as well as the developing cricket world, to grow the sport," Lorgat said.

BCCI president to meet ICL representatives

The Indian board has agreed to meet officials of the unsanctioned ICL, the first time the two sides will have met since the league was set up in April 2007. This was one of the two major decisions taken on the first day of the ICC board meeting in Dubai, the other being the selection of four Test series where the umpire review trials will continue.

ICL officials have welcomed the proposed meeting with Shashank Manohar, the BCCI president, and said they hoped for an "early resolution" to their quest for official recognition. However, a senior BCCI official said that nothing much should be read into the ICC board's decision, "because it does not in any way indicate a result".

The ICL has sought official sanction under Rule 32 of the ICC operations manual which pertains to authorised unofficial cricket. But siginificantly, Manohar and Lalit Modi, a BCCI vice-president, are on a five-member ICC sub-committee that has worked on "new regulations governing official and unofficial cricket" that were discussed at the board meeting today. ICL officials, however, indicated that they expected Manohar to meet Subhash Chandra, the chairman of Essel group that owns ICL, "very soon". "We will be in dialogue with BCCI and we hope the outcome suits all," Chandra said. "The ICL has always worked towards promoting the game and players," Himanshu Mody, the ICL's business head, told Cricinfo. "We hope the outcome of discussions between the BCCI and ICL will benefit players at large. We look forward to an early resolution."

The BCCI, apparently, views the situation differently. "The only resolution that can be looked at is one where the ICL agrees to operate within the BCCI's parameters," the official said. "Till then, the announcement of the meeting is just a statement of fact, and nothing more. It's not as significant as it is being made out to be." Manohar will provide a written report of his discussions with the ICL to the ICC board.

Since its inception, the ICL has been vehemently opposed by the Indian board, which has banned players associated with the league from all forms of official cricket and barred them from using any of its facilities. The ICL has, meanwhile, been pressing the ICC unsuccessfully for official recognition of their unsanctioned venture for several months. Subsequently they requested the ICC for a meeting, and Chandra met David Morgan, the ICC president, in London last week to present the Twenty20 league's case for recognition. The ICL is hoping for a status similar to the one that has been granted to the Stanford venture in the West Indies, but the crucial difference is that the Caribbean tournament has been endorsed by its home board, the WICB.

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India's attack best in a long time

Did the speedometer slip the quality checks? Sounds a little bitter but that was the joke during the India-Australia One-Day series. Many eyes turned beady when Rudra Pratap Singh and S Sreesanth clocked the high 140s constantly, the former nudging the pace meter up to 148 kph.

It has had Aaqib Javed, India's nemesis at Sharjah in the '91 finals, gushing over in praise.

"Of all the Indian attacks I have seen in the past, the present lot comes across as supremely skilled. I would go to the extent of saying that this attack is the best they have had in a long time," beams one of Pakistan's greatest exponents of swing bowling.

Not too long ago, he had suggested that India's new-ball bowlers would be better off eating meat. For now, Singh and Sreesanth seem to have altered his views.

What is more, he expects India to prepare seaming tracks for the razor-toothed series against Pakistan. We remind that Pakistan's bowling arsenal too looks piping hot, not to forget that Shoaib Akhtar is likely to be drafted in.

In this regard he says, "Both the teams have strong batting line-ups. From the look of it, India seem to be a better bowling unit this time. Sreesanth can mix high-velocity with movement, while RP and Khan (Zaheer) are different bowlers. Then you have variety in spin bowling in the shape of Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble. This should be one heck of a series."

He holds that it is the system that breeds fast bowlers and India, finally, seems to be embracing a different culture.

"India always had a flat-wicket mindset to minister to their spinners. It was quite evident in the country's domestic cricket. Somewhere down the line it had to change."

Furthermore he says, "Fast bowling is not only about pace. I remember Javagal Srinath was express. When in full rhythm, he too could hit the 145-150 mark. However, like RP Singh and S Sreesanth, he wasn't aggressive mentally."

Fast bowlers, he believes, should be nurtured at an impressionable age. He insists that Pakistan never invest on peace brokers who just turn up and roll their arm over. "It is not in our style," Aaqib says, "we goad our boys to run in hard, bowl with passion. Umar Gul and Sohail Tanveer are products of such a culture."

Aaqib finds it refreshing that the Indian cricket is drawing from a fresh pool of talent; he feels they are ready to take the country's cricket forward once the old guards stow away their kits.

Finally, how would he assess the captains (MS Dhoni and Shoaib Malik) from their brief stints in the job?

After a long pause he remarks, "Although both Dhoni and Malik have displayed commendable temperament, I have noticed that Dhoni has handled the high-pressure situations extremely well. It is not for nothing that India are the Twenty20 World Champions."

Taylor century grabs series

Bangladesh had a bright start to the 100th ODI in the country, but hopes of a possible series win dimmed once two of New Zealand's emerging talents, Ross Taylor and Jamie How, stepped up to the challenge, and Bangladesh's top order capitulated. Although they failed to pull off their first series victory over a major Test-playing nation, Bangladesh, who'd lost several regulars to the ICL, gained in confidence during the contest.

That confidence showed as their new-ball bowlers - Mashrafe Mortaza and Syed Rasel - accounted for both openers, reducing New Zealand to 13 for 2. The New Zealand top order had collapsed in the first two one-dayers but How and Taylor averted a repeat by putting on a century stand.

Taylor scored his third ODI century while How provided the early momentum during his 73 to help New Zealand reach 249, their highest total of the series. How sparked off the recovery, scoring quickly to put the pressure back on the bowlers. Mortaza's first four overs went for just five runs, but How opened up with two fours in each of the next two overs.

Taylor took time to get his eye in, but neither batsmen let Abdur Razzak, the left-arm spinner, settle. In his third over, Razzak was hit over long-on by Taylor; How followed up with a four through the same region. Nor were the other spinners allowed to bowl too many tight overs.

How was lbw to offspinner Naeem Islam after putting on 125 for the third wicket and Taylor then took charge to ensure the scoring-rate was kept above six. Two quick wickets, however, hampered their chances of pushing the run-rate in the third Powerplay (overs 35-40). Taylor fell in the 47th over to Mortaza soon after reaching his hundred; only 44 of his runs coming in boundaries. Daniel Vettori and Kyle Mills maintained the momentum, adding 30 in the last three overs.

Chasing 250, Tamim Iqbal, the local boy, raised Bangladesh's expectations with a brisk 35. His partner Junaid Siddique fell early to Mills, but Tamim and debutant Imrul Kayes built the innings patiently. Bangladesh had moved to 49 after 11.5 overs when the innings fell apart. Oram, who failed with the bat, struck in his first over, having Kayes caught behind for 12. Bangladesh lost Tamim on the same score when he nicked Jeetan Patel to McCullum. An ambitious shot from Ashraful led to his downfall, and a slog-sweep from Shakib Al Hasan reduced Bangladesh to 59 for 5.

Naeem, who's played a vital part with his offbreaks in his debut series, saw off more deliveries (106) than the top five combined and remained unbeaten on 46 to delay New Zealand's celebrations till the 50th over. The lower order gave him good support, but a professional New Zealand side ended Bangladesh's hopes of pulling off another upset win.

Clark battles injury ahead of Test

Stuart Clark's elbow injury continues to be a concern for Australia ahead of the second Test, which starts in Mohali on Friday. Clark will not bowl at Wednesday's training session and Australia will make a decision on his fitness for the Test only after seeing him in action on Thursday.

The inflamed right elbow joint troubled Clark during the first Test in Bangalore, where he regularly under-armed the ball in from the boundary and was restricted to 17 overs in the first innings. Although he did bowl during the second innings, the problem was still niggling Clark and Australia are keen to give him time to recover.

"He's not going to bowl at training tomorrow, just so we can maximise his recovery and give him the best chance to be able to play on Friday," Alex Kountouris, the team physio, told the Age on Tuesday. "We will see how he pulls up and if he feels okay we will play him."

The loss of Clark would be a major setback on the Mohali pitch, which has assisted seamers in the past. Should Clark be unavailable Australia would likely hand a debut to Peter Siddle, the inexperienced Victoria fast bowler who has impressed the squad on his first tour, or Doug Bollinger, the left-arm fast man.

Zimbabwe thrash lowly Canada

Canada may lack the might and skill of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, but Zimbabwe don't often have the opportunity to rout opposition. That's exactly what they achieved today, however, thrashing Canada by 109 runs and, in doing so, winning the third-place playoff in the T20 Canada. It was an important win for Zimbabwe, not least because their opponents today forced a bowl-out in their last game.

No need for such footballesque antics this time, however. Hamilton Masakadza again propped up the batting with a brutal 79, and he was well supported by useful contributions from Chamu Chibhabha (40), Elton Chigumbura (25) and Keith Dabengwa, lifting Zimbabwe to the lofty heights of 184 for 5. It was by 31 runs the tournament's highest score, and comfortably Zimbabwe's best in this format - all the more impressive given the juicy, overcast and bowler-friendly conditions.

After the early loss of Cephas Zhuwawo, Chibhabha and Masakadza put on 89 for the second wicket at a rollicking rate. Much as he did yesterday in his entertaining but futile 53, he was savage on anything too short - of which, from Canada, there was plenty. Four crunching boundaries off the usually economical Harvir Baidwan propelled Zimbabwe before he took Abdool Samad for two huge sixes over the bowler's head. Samad removed him after the second crashing blow, stumped by Ashif Mulla, but the damage had been done.

Impressively, Zimbabwe didn't let their foot off the gas, with Chigumbura launching Samad for six, four, four in a blistering 25 from just 10 balls. Likewise, Dabengwa iced the cake with three more boundaries in the final over, taking advantage of Canada's obvious lack of experience.

A target of 185 would challenge better sides than Canada, and they were immediately put on the back foot with the early wickets of Mulla and Rizwan Cheema, whose thrilling strokeplay yesterday made Sri Lanka sweat. When Sandeep Jyoti was stumped off Ray Price, Canada had fallen to 10 for 3; at the halfway point, they had crawled to 27 for 4, still needing 158 to win. They avoided the ignominy of the lowest Twenty20 total (Kenya's 67 against Ireland in August), but only by a whisker. Prosper Utseya, with 3 for 26, was the pick of the bowlers, ably supported by Price's remarkably economical return of 2 for 6, as Canada sunk without trace.

Tendulkar and Laxman save the day

In time, the innings played by Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman today will be forgotten among their more glamorous conquests. It shouldn't be so; their contributions, though humble in purely numerical terms, are immense when seen in context - they helped India save the Test - and will rank among their more significant.

Tendulkar is the elephant in the fourth-innings room. His repeated failures in the final leg of a Test have forced admirers to look towards Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag for a saviour. He averages 33.60 in the final innings with three half-centuries. His hundreds are so rare that they are easily recalled: Old Trafford 1990, Chennai 1999.

Tendulkar had started the tour of Sri Lanka needing 172 runs to break Brian Lara's record but after six innings he was still 77 short. He wasn't clueless against Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan, like some of his team-mates, for he often began confidently only to get out in unorthodox ways or to soft shots. It was the same in the first innings in Bangalore, when a spooned drive to short cover off a slower ball brought about his dismissal.

The situation when he walked out this morning hinted at India's bugbear: a calamitous final-day collapse. Sehwag and Dravid had been dismissed and 74.3 overs remained. Tendulkar received his routine rousing welcome from the crowd but the half-empty ground, on a day when he needed only 64 runs to become Test cricket's leading run-scorer, was perhaps a sign of the times. If this was 1998, the Chinnaswamy Stadium would have been packed, irrespective of it being a Monday.

Tendulkar did not face Stuart Clark in the first innings. When he did in the second, Clark had Haddin stand up to the stumps, a tactic he used successfully in Sydney. Tendulkar was immediately bowled on that occasion while coming forward but today he negotiated Clark primarily from his crease, using his wrists to open the face and steer the ball through point for his first boundary.

Mitchell Johnson operated with the first-innings trap in place: a slip, two men at short cover and a point waiting for the lofted drive or the outside edge. Tendulkar was able to slip right through it, square-driving his first ball from Johnson through point for four. He then fended a couple of short balls awkwardly towards leg gully but, when Ponting moved himself into that position, Tendulkar found other ways to counter that line of attack.

Apart from one ambitious appeal from Michael Clarke, the bowlers barely had a chance against him. His three-hour vigil spanned the decisive passage of play - the post-lunch session - and included partnerships with Gautam Gambhir and Laxman that virtually ensured India's safety.

The Australians don't sledge Tendulkar because they think it fires him up. Watson, though, had a go at Laxman after bowling several short balls. Laxman didn't respond but Tendulkar walked towards Watson and had a word. He was in a mood for battle.

Tendulkar's well-knit innings began to fray as the light deteriorated during the final session. He played out 11 balls on 48 and talked with umpires, presumably about the conditions. His concentration lapsed moments later and a lofted drive to cover gave the debutant Cameron White his first wicket. His contribution was immense but he had left the job of saving the Test, and the quest for the world record, incomplete.

Until then Laxman had batted in Tendulkar's shadow but now he was critical to India's chances. He had found scoring opportunities difficult against a strong leg-side field in the first innings. They remained hard to come by in the second for Ponting had two men at short midwicket, a leg gully, a silly mid-on, a conventional mid-on, and a square leg at various times but patience underlined Laxman's approach.

He wore down the fast bowlers with terrific defence and, once the fading light ensured only the spinners could operate, Laxman was at ease. Four men hovered around the bat - leg slip, first slip, silly point and short leg - for Clarke and White but Laxman's supple wrists and swift footwork nullified the threat.

Between them, Tendulkar and Laxman scored only 91 runs but they blunted Australia's attack for 268 balls and spent nearly six hours at the crease. Their gritty, unfashionably restrained efforts are the reason why the series is still level.

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Injured Kumble may miss out rest of series

Indian captain Anil Kumble is not likely to bowl during Australia's second innings as he is suffering from a shoulder injury. He will probably miss the second Test starting from October 17 in Mohali. In fact there is a slim chance that he might be ruled out of the rest of the series.

Kumble, who usually bats at No. 8, dropped himself down the order to No. 10 after taking painkilling injections on Saturday, but didn't take the field when India came out to bowl.

Kumble had to take painkilling injections on Saturday night after he complained of pain in his shoulder. With Kumble approaching the end of his career this injury may just be another dampener. On what is a turning track, this injury could affect India badly as it may leave them with just one specialist spinner, Harbhajan Singh.