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.

Karthik falls early as India chase 203

Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

India got off to a nervy start in pursuit of 203, reaching 3 for 1 at lunch on the fourth day after Pakistan's batting obligingly collapsed to leave the first Test tantalisingly poised. India's best run-chase at the Ferozshah Kotla was 190, against Zimbabwe in 2000, and this pitch while appearing benign was nevertheless posing problems for batsmen.

Dinesh Karthik found this out early enough, driving away from his body to a Shoaib Akhtar delivery that moved away just enough after being pitched on a good length. The thin edge was comfortably pouched by Kamran Akmal and Rahul Dravid was out in the middle with just 2 on the board, in the second over of the innings.

Dravid was up against the awkward angle of Sohail Tanvir and the raw pace of Shoaib earlier than he'd have liked, but he was up to seeing off the tricky passage of play that ushered in the lunch break. Wasim Jaffer too ensured that he was unbeaten, and India had put the smallest of dents in the target, still needing 200 to win.

Pakistan's batsmen had every chance of putting themselves in a genuinely strong position, but beginning with Akmal, they wasted the opportunity. Akmal chose to chase a wide one from Zaheer Khan, hitting it straight to Yuvraj Singh, temporarily fielding at point, at perfect catching height.

Tanvir, who is regarded to be something of a handy lower-order batsman, was cagey at the crease from the first ball he faced, playing and missing and even edging between the slip cordon and gully. Zaheer kept up a probing line and when he dropped one short, wide outside the off, Tanvir went for a pull shot that should never have been attempted and ballooned a catch to Harbhajan Singh at square leg.

Misbah-ul-Haq was entirely assured at the crease, playing Anil Kumble with confidence, but he just didn't get the support he needed at the other end. He too fell to recklessness once the new ball was taken, giving Sourav Ganguly the charge. Ganguly was good enough to shorten his length and the attempted heave over long-on was miscued and Karthik took a well-judged catch. With Misbah gone for 45, the end was near and Ganguly winkled out another wicket. Mohammad Sami, who had blocked so determinedly in the first innings, tried to slap Ganguly over midwicket and only managed a top-edge that Jaffer settled under.

Danish Kaneria was never going to pose a massive threat but he ran himself out in circumstances that summed up the Pakistan innings. He played the ball to point and set off down the pitch without much purpose. Sachin Tendulkar returned the ball to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who, facing away from the stumps, bent over and flicked the ball onto the wickets, dislodging the bails and ending the Pakistan innings on 247. Pakistan's batsmen had played with no application whatsoever, and literally thrown away their wickets on the final morning, adding only 35 runs for the fall of the last five wickets.