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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

India fight

Australia's cricket on the fourth day was not pretty but the final result - a 263-run lead - was a fine outcome on a day when India harassed them intensely in all aspects of the game. Led by Zaheer Khan with the bat in the morning and Harbhajan Singh with the ball in the afternoon, India fought and thought, tested and pestered, and still somehow found themselves facing a tough final-day chase. At least they shortened the odds of a draw.

For Ricky Ponting it was a delicate balancing act. He needed to give his men enough hours to dismiss India and the timing was even more important with the news that Stuart Clark was nursing an elbow injury. It prevented him from bowling in the morning and threatened to leave the attack thin if it carried into the final day.

Australia also needed enough runs to ensure safety from a powerful India batting line-up that featured at its top Virender Sehwag, a man who frightens opponents with an urgent and potentially lethal approach to target-chasing. How could Ponting decide on a suitable total? The last time the teams met in a Test in Bangalore Australia set a hefty fourth-innings target of 457 and India were dismissed for 239. On a tricky surface with only 240 runs scored on the fourth day, 239 could have been a good enough buffer.

Luckily for the visitors, Brad Haddin and Shane Watson found the going smoother than their more fancied colleagues and built a hugely important 65-run stand late in the day. They took their cue from India's lower order and played their shots, took some chances and reaped the benefits. Playing for survival was a risky tactic on a pitch that was gradually wearing away, as Simon Katich and his top-order friends discovered.

Facing up to a fierce examination from Harbhajan, Katich looked about as comfortable as Indiana Jones in a snakepit. But if problem number one for Ponting is Clark's elbow, problem number two is that he doesn't have a Harbhajan in his armoury.

Having had little impact in the first innings Harbhajan, who carried most of the spin load as Anil Kumble battled a shoulder injury, found turn and bounce and exploited the breaking pitch. Michael Hussey fell to a top-spinner that hit a crack, transformed into a Shane Warne-like legbreak, and hit his off stump. Katich fended a high-bouncing top-spinner to silly mid off. Only when Haddin and Watson attacked and hit over the top did Harbhajan look vulnerable.

For much of the innings Australia's batsmen, led by Katich, seemed to think scoring was done by composers, not cricketers. Katich had problems getting off strike and at one stage when he and a slightly more confident Hussey were both on 10, Katich had faced 75 balls to Hussey's 18. Sensing the tension, India attacked at every opportunity, with Mahendra Singh Dhoni often calling the shots as Kumble rested off the field.

Ponting was targeted by Harbhajan with men crowded around the bat and despite a couple of edgy moments he survived - at least long enough to fall to his other developing nemesis, Ishant Sharma. Ishant tried to lure Ponting with the offspinning slower ball that had earned him two first-innings wickets but Australia's captain was alert to the ploy. However, with the next delivery Ishant tried a different style slower ball - he simply didn't roll his arm over as quickly - and Ponting, on 17, obligingly prodded to the short midwicket placed for that purpose.

Ishant's more conventional slower one did account for Michael Clarke, who nudged a drive to short cover just as Haddin and Cameron White had done on day two. That India's fast men succeeded might have buoyed Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson, who watched on as Matthew Hayden battled extravagant swing from Zaheer and was trapped lbw for 13.

Hard as it was for Hayden and friends, the 70-run first-innings advantage Australia had secured was vital. It could have been so much greater but for terrific lower-order resistance from Zaheer and his bowling mates. After Harbhajan started the batting fightback late on the third afternoon, Zaheer continued it on the fourth morning.

His unbeaten 57 was his second Test half-century - his first had come against Bangladesh - and he combined in useful partnerships of 31 with Kumble and 27 with Ishant. Following India's top-order struggles, it was a magnificent result for their final three pairs to add 128 of the team's 360.

They batted for nearly an hour and a half in the first session, grinding out 47 valuable runs that frustrated an Australia attack that had been on top for most of the previous day. Zaheer played in a more restrained fashion than on Saturday and justified his promotion ahead of Kumble, who gave him an appreciative hug when Zaheer's fifty came up with a clip behind square leg for two off Johnson.

Eventually Australia finished the job. Watson ended up with 3 for 45 when he jagged one back to trap Kumble in front and Clarke bowled Ishant to secure his second wicket. But the successes were a long way apart. Australia must significantly shorten the gap between their celebrations on the final day if they are to avoid a disappointing result.

Clarke sets up big Australia total

Michael Clarke continued his blistering form on the second morning, dashing West Indies' hopes of restricting Australia after they picked up a couple of early wickets. Australia went to lunch at 360 for 5 with Clarke on 85 and Brad Haddin on 33, and the hosts were running out options with a five-man pace attack on a dead, flat pitch.

Clarke launched some truly punishing drives as he galloped along at a strike-rate around 70 for much of the session, building on the solid platform set down by Simon Katich and Ricky Ponting on the first day. He leant into his strokes beautifully, timing the ball perfectly and finding gaps where there looked to be none.

His best shot of the day came when he pierced the miniscule hole between the extra cover and the short extra cover with a cracking drive that flew away for four off Daren Powell. Clarke's cover-drives were the prettiest but he also timed his cuts terrifically and scampered through for quick singles that built the frustration for West Indies.

While Clarke was revelling in his role as vice-captain and refreshed after two months away from the game, Haddin was also enjoying his new position as Australia's permanent No. 7. He wanted the runs to keep flowing, matching Clarke with a couple of cover-drives and punishing anything short with pulls, cuts and a willingness to go over the top.

Their 64-run partnership subdued West Indies after they managed two wickets early in the first half of the session; a good result following an opening day on which they only picked up three. Katich had not added to his overnight score of 113 when he got a slightly misdirected inswinger from Jerome Taylor, the movement taking it down leg and as Katich tried to glance he feathered to Denesh Ramdin, who took a good catch moving to his right.

Andrew Symonds also fell to a leg-side caught-behind for 18 after Fidel Edwards pushed him onto the back foot with a couple of short deliveries that found some extra bounce. Symonds tried to flick some easy runs through but the ball ran off the face and Ramdin completed another nifty take, this time moving to his left.

But the leg-side chance that could have meant most to West Indies came in the next over when Clarke, who had 63 at the time, made better contact with a stray Taylor ball and Ramdin fumbled a tough but gettable opportunity. Clarke immediately made West Indies pay with one of his best shots of the day when he walked at Taylor and turned a good ball into half-volley to send a cover-drive rocketing to the boundary. By lunch the miss had already been costly; the remainder of the day will determine just how much Ramdin will regret the dropped chance.

Ponting scores 10,000th Test run

Ricky Ponting has become the seventh man to join the 10,000-run Test club, moving alongside Steve Waugh and Allan Border as the only Australian members of the elite group. Ponting, 33, reached the milestone by advancing to the part-time legspinner Ramnaresh Sarwan and cover-driving for two, taking him from 59 to 61.

He acknowledged the achievement with a subdued wave of the bat and accepted the congratulations from his partner Simon Katich. There was a standing ovation from the Australia players in the dressing room and from a contingent of Australian spectators at the ground, but the small crowd at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium made it a muted occasion.

Ponting was unable to move far past the mark and finished the innings with 10,004 runs after getting a thick edge to slip on 65. He achieved the feat in his 118th Test, making him the second-fastest man to five figures behind Brian Lara, who arrived there in his 111th game.

"It's taken 13 years of international cricket to get 10,000 Test runs," Ponting said after play. "Everyone growing up wishes they could do it, but the thing I'm most proud about is my longevity in the game. To play so many Tests, I'm proud of that record. As a top-order batsman, if you play that many games, you're probably expected to get close on 10,000."

The other three men to have scored so heavily are the Indian trio of Rahul Dravid, who joined the club two months ago, Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar. Ponting expects Tendulkar's record to remain out of reach.

"I'm continually chasing Brian (11,953 runs) and Sachin (11,782)," he said. "Brian has finished but Sachin has got a few years left. Right now, my body has been sound for a few years. I've had some niggling back things, but I am working pretty hard to keep out of harm's way."

Ponting credits his fulltime move to No. 3 behind his run-scoring surge over the second half of his career. Since his elevation during the 2001 England tour he has scored 7362 runs at 68.80 in 74 games.

"There has been a bit made of the fact that I've been able to average more after being captain than before, but early in my career I struggled with batting down the order," he said. "Batting at No. 6 was something I'd never done before. Everyone thinks it's easier down there, I found it harder.

"I didn't know what to do sitting around the changeroom for all that time, and coming in after all those great players. Batting at No. 3 was where everything changed in my career. When I have more responsibility in the batting order is when I play my best cricket."

Ponting backs Katich as opener

Simon Katich has won the backing of the captain Ricky Ponting and one of the selectors, David Boon, as he aims to settle into the Test opening role after Matthew Hayden was forced home from the Caribbean due to injury. When Hayden missed the first Test in Kingston because of his achilles tendon problem, Katich opened but he failed to have much impact, scoring 12 and 1.

The Sabina Park match was Katich's first Test following two and a half years out of the team and an extended run in Hayden's spot might allow him to calm his nerves. Ponting said Katich deserved another opportunity after he started well in the first innings against West Indies only to flash at a wide one outside off stump and drive a catch to gully.

"He seemed to get a bit carried away in the first innings of the first Test," Ponting wrote in the Australian. "He was back in the Test team, sighting the ball well and he struck a few boundaries early and he just went for one that he should have left alone.

"I had a good chat with him yesterday and he said he felt as good as ever at the crease in the second innings but he got one that surprised him a little with a bit of pace and a bit of inswing. He's riding an incredible wave of confidence. He's seeing the ball well and hitting it well and I am sure we will see him make some runs in the next game."

Katich's recall came after a stunning 2007-08 domestic campaign in which he broke the record for most runs in a Pura Cup season. Although he generally bats at No. 3 for New South Wales he has opened for them on occasions. Justin Langer became a successful Test opener after jumping from No. 3 and Boon, who did the same, believes Katich can do a good job replacing Hayden.

"I wouldn't say it's like versus like, but if you bat in the top three you should be able to open if required," Boon told the paper. "It's easier for an opener to go back down the order than it is for someone to go up and open, but if you bat in the top three, as long as you get it in your brain that you want to do it, it's fine."

Katich also knows that he could be auditioning for an eventual full-time opening role after Chris Rogers, who made a one-off appearance against India at the WACA in January, lost his Cricket Australia contract. Hayden, 36, wants to play until at least next year's Ashes tour, providing his fitness holds out.

Learning from Pigeon

Maharoof It is never easy to approach a new person, but it was easy to gel with McGrath. Off the field he is an amazing guy, joking and making everyone relax. Outside the ring, the kid in him comes alive.

He has been a hero for me, and I've always wanted to be as consistent as him. Lucky to have him, and he is always nice and helpful to share anything about cricket, or life in general.

He is just an icon for the team - the way he reacts, the way he behaves, there's always something to learn from him.

Yo Mahesh He's always friendly. He never makes you feel he is such a star. He is always joking around off the field. That releases all the pressure.

I was a bit reluctant to talk to him when I first met him - I was in awe of him. But as days went by I started to ask him questions -about my bowling, his bowling, preparation ...

Asif I played my first game against Deccan Chargers. I was pretty nervous about playing in front of such a big crowd and with such legends in the team. He was at mid-on and sensed my anxiety, and he came to me and calmed me down and encouraged me throughout that over. That gave me a lot of confidence, a belief that I belonged over there, especially if a guy like McGrath comes up and chats with me.

What they've learned
Maharoof He suggested a few technical adjustments about the variations and the grip when bowling the slow ball. Those should help. I have more control over my slower ball now. Cricket is all about doing the simple things right. If you get the basics right, you will succeed. That's the biggest lesson he has taught me.

Just watching him has been a big learning experience - the way he changes his pace, employs variations, his preparations before a game.

That and all the advice he gave me about cricket and life - he spoke about the importance of taking a break once in a while, considering the stressful lives we lead - will be a treasure.

Yo Mahesh I tend to get excited easily if I take a wicket or if I get hit. What I've learned from McGrath is that in those moments you've got to be really focused on what you're supposed to be doing, rather than thinking about what has happened or what will happen.

Once, I asked him how he prepares the day before the game. He said, "I just want to get a great feel. If I want to bowl here and if I do it, I feel good about it. I'm done for the day. I carry that to the next day for the game." That helped me a lot.

We discussed Aussie batsmen. Guys like Simon Katich move across the crease and make you bowl on the stumps. Effectively, he makes you bowl to his strength. McGrath pointed out that it is better to bowl just outside off stump in such cases. Things like that have helped me read batsmen better.

Struggling Australia miss stable Hayden

Matthew Hayden offers Australia many things, but in this Test they have missed his stability at the top of the order. Strong starts are expected by the team when Hayden is involved and after a disastrous opening to their second innings they need him to recover from his heel injury for the second Test in Antigua on Friday.

In the first innings Phil Jaques and Simon Katich had departed by the time the score was 37 and as Australia attempted to set a match-winning total there were more early losses, with the team slumping to 12 for 4. In less than nine overs West Indies had done much more than merely stay in the game.

The same results could have occurred with Hayden at the crease, but there was a distinct lack of the control that Hayden usually provides. Most importantly, the bowlers sensed they had a chance against the two opening batsmen without the self-belief and intimidating attitude Hayden carries with his bat.

Jaques has struggled to regain his purposeful footwork and head position following the long break between Test series. He was tentative when he pushed at Fidel Edwards in the second over and was caught behind for 4, adding to his 9 on Thursday. The last time he made such small contributions was when Australia were defeated by India in Perth, ending their winning streak at 16. Hayden was out injured for that game too. His presence helps his team-mates along with his runs.

Australia have grown used to settled contributions from their regular opening pairs, and when it does not happen the pressure moves to the rest of the order. Ponting was able to deal with the concerns with a fine 158 in the first innings, but he was slightly off-balance when he drove at Daren Powell and edged to Dwayne Bravo. Michael Hussey also got too far across and was bowled, leaving the Australians to spend the night wondering how the situation got so bad, so quickly.

In between those dismissals Katich, who went flailing in the first innings, got stuck and was lbw to a full delivery from Edwards. Thrown in at the top, Katich scored 12 and 1 and will be vulnerable if both Hayden and Michael Clarke return.

Hayden spent time in the nets during the second day in a sign he was feeling more comfortable about his injury. How he pulls up from the increase in workload will determine whether he is ready later in the week. Australia need him more than ever.

Dhoni urges team to stay in line

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India's captain in the limited-over formats, has urged his team-mates to respect the international guidelines for on-field behaviour in the wake of the Harbhajan Singh-Andrew Symonds controversy. He said there would be some allowance for "chit-chat" between players as long as there was nothing untoward being uttered.

"Whoever the players are, they know the international guidelines that are set out to be followed," he said, when asked about the importance of player behaviour in the forthcoming limited-over games. "Each and every player should respect it. It is the responsibility of an individual more than their skipper to know the limitations and to know where they stand."

It was reported that the Australian players were unhappy over Harbhajan's reprieve, given that he had been handed a three-match ban in the first hearing. Dhoni would also remember the World Twenty20 match in Durban last year, a match that marked the start of the fractious relationship between the two sides.

"We don't really care about whatever has happened so far," he said a day before the Twenty20 international in Melbourne. "It's a fresh start and we're going to play some good cricket. There's always chit-chat going on between the players. If nothing controversial is said, I think both the teams will be happy with it. We can't just shut up and play. It's cricket and you've got to do lots of things with the bat and the ball and there should be chit-chat out on the ground."

Dhoni preferred that contentious catches be referred to the third umpire, a procedure which was used in the final two Tests of the series. Before the first Test in Melbourne, Anil Kumble and Ricky Ponting had agreed to take the fielders word but reviewed the pact after the controversial Sydney Test. "I believe in referring it to the third umpire," Dhoni said. "A fielder can mislead so it's important that it's referred to the third umpire."

Was he expecting a hostile reception from a crowd that's expected to be close to 90,000? "If they are not on the field it does not really matter," he said. "We don't care whether we receive a hostile reception or not. In Eden Gardens there are 100,000 spectators, in Kochi there are 80,000 spectators. Still, this is a huge ground and playing in front of such numbers would be exciting."