Mon, 26 Dec 2011 - Australia vs India, India Tour of Australia 2011-12,1st Test Match

Day 4: Final Score: India: 282 - 169 / 10 in 47.5 overs RR: 3.53, Australia: 333 - 240 in 76.3 overs RR: 3.14

Clinical Australia take 1-0 lead at MCG

The much vaunted Indian batting offered no resistance against a relentless Australian pace battery as the visitors were shot out for 169 while chasing 292 on the fourth day at MCG. James Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle and James Pattinson put together a sizzling bowling performance on a sporting track to hand over India a 122-run defeat in the first Test. Pattinson’s figures of 6 for 108 earned him the man of the match. He shone not only with his bowling but batted calmly on the fourth morning to take Australia’s lead to 291.

After Australia batted for more than an hour in the morning, the Indian openers walked in with a clear brief, to safely negotiate the thirty minute period before Lunch. Accordingly, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir started off cautiously but it was not long before natural instincts took over. In the third over, Sehwag drove loosely at a Pattinson outswinger only for the ball to fly through the packed the slip cordon.

For India to surpass what was a daunting 292-run target, they needed Sehwag to fire at the top. But, he lasted only twelve deliveries as a wide Hilfenhaus delivery was smashed straight to Hussey at gully. After Lunch, Gambhir’s poor run of form continued and the dismissal was a familiar sight. The left-hander fished at a Peter Siddle delivery to edge it to the waiting Ricky Ponting at second slip.

At 39 for 2, India had fallen back a bit but they still had two of the game’s highest run getters ever, batting together. The visitors needed a repeat of the first innings’ effort by Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar when the two veterans had added 117-runs.

However, that was not to be. Dravid got peach of a delivery from Pattinson that went through his bat and pad to peg back the middle-stump. With ‘The Wall’ breached, India desperately needed a significant contribution from their fourth innings specialist to make a match of it.

VVS Laxman’s prolific scoring in Australia is well known but his struggles at MCG are equally well chronicled. He faced thirteen deliveries for one run before playing his favorite flick shot straight into the hands of Ed Cowan at square leg. His match tally read a dismal three runs in 36 deliveries.

The quick wickets meant that a fired-up Australian bowling line-up now went all-out in search of wickets. And, the Indian batsmen obliged. Virat Kohli was trapped leg-before for a first ball duck.

All the while, wickets had tumbled around him Sachin Tendulkar had played positively, hitting four boundaries in his 32 before he attempted to drive an away going Siddle delivery to be caught at gully. With his dismissal, India hopes evaporated as the scorecard summed up India’s feeble batting in the second innings.

At 81 for 6, only the formalities remained. Even though, MS Dhoni and R Ashwin reduced the margin of defeat but the contest had been more or less settled when the so called ‘might’ top-order had fell like nine pins in the face of some hostile and relentless pace bowling by the Australian quicks.

The fact that the last four Indian wickets added 88 runs was enough of a proof that the pitch wasn’t a snake-pit. Some diligence and determination from the batsmen would have lent the contest evenness and it was disappointing to see the one of biggest draws of the year end in little more than three and a half days.

For the record, India made 169 and the margin of defeat was a huge one in the context of the game, 122 runs. The Australian pacers shared nine wickets in the second innings with James Pattinson leading the way with four for 53.

Earlier, India once again failed to polish off the tail as James Pattinson’s unbeaten 37 helped Australia add 61 runs to their overnight score and extend their lead to 291. Resuming on 179 for 8, first boundary of the morning was an imperious cover drive from Pattinson off Umesh Yadav.

Having added only one run to his score, Michael Hussey was lucky to survive a caught behind appeal as the umpire failed to pick up a faint tickle. In the next over, he targeted Zaheer Khan and the resulting two boundaries took Australia’s lead past 250 and his individual score to 89. But, Zaheer replied with a snorter, a short of a length delivery that reared up to take the edge en route to Dhoni. Hussey walked back disappointed but knew he had done his job.

With last man Ben Hilfenhaus for company, Pattinson played his shots to pile on the agony for India. Having been reprieved by Zaheer Khan in the deep on 15, he added 43 crucial runs for the last wicket to remain undefeated on a career best 37. When Hilfenhaus fell on the bowling of Ishant Sharma, India’s target had swelled to 292.

Day 3: Bulletin on next page