Ravichandran Ashwin (30 not out) and Ravindra Jadeja (24 not out) played sensibly in the end to help India beat Sri Lanka by 4 wickets in the second ODI as they opened their account in the tri-series at the WACA in Perth.

Chasing 234-run target, India lost Virat Kohli (77), MS Dhoni (4) and Suresh Raina (24) in quick succession to put pressure on themselves in the final 15 overs of the match.

India were still 53 runs behind the modest target when top-scorer Kohli ran himself out trying to steal a cheeky single off the last ball of 36th over after hitting previous ball for a massive six.

Ashwin and Jadeja added unbeaten 53-run stand for the seventh wicket to steer India to an important victory with 19 balls to spare.

Ashwin hit three boundaries in his brilliant unbeaten 38-ball 30 whereas Jadeja hit a four in his sensible 28-ball 24 innings.

Kohli ran himself out trying to steal a cheeky single off the last ball of 36th over after hitting previous ball for a massive six. Kohli hit a six and eight boundaries in his 94 balls sensible knock before one wrong decision ended his innings.

Dhoni top-edged Dhamika Prasad delivery as Lasith Malinga took a sharp running catch at mid-on soon after Angelo Mathews dismissed Suresh Raina in the previous over.

Raina played an aggressive 24 runs knock off 27 balls and hit three boundaries as he tried to steady India run chase with Kohli after losing Rohit Sharma (10).

Dilshan took a brilliant catch at point to dismiss Sharma off Thisara Perera’s ball to reduce India to 122/3 in 25.5 overs.

Sharma added 33-run for the third wicket with Kohli, with the later scoring his 19th ODI fifty off 66 balls with the help of seven boundaries.

Sachin Tendulkar, who was playing well and looked destine for 100th ton, was bowled by Angelo Mathews for 48.

The master blaster played a sensible knock of 48 off 63 balls, which included five hits to the fence, before Mathews got better of him in the 19th over.

Tendulkar added valuable 75-run for the second wicket with Virat Kohli to revive India run chase after they lost Virender Sehwag (10) early.

Chasing a modest 234-run target, India lost opener Sehwag in the third over to be reduced to 14/1 in 2.3 overs.

Sehwag started in a typical aggressive style as he hit two fours in his short 8-ball stay on the crease before Kulasekara took a running catch at the third man area off the bowling of Lasith Malinga.

Asked to field first, Ravichandran Ashwin (3-32) and Zaheer Khan (2-44) led a fine bowling display by India as they restricted Sri Lanka to 233/8 on Wednesday.

Ashwin dismissed three crucial Sri Lankan middle-order batsmen as the Islanders failed to increase their tempo in the entire match and set a modest 234-run target for the Indians. Ashwin finished his ten overs spell with impressive figure of 3 for 32 runs.

Zaheer started Indian attack on the right note as he took two early wickets after Sri Lanka decided to bat at the bouncy WACA pitch.

Dinesh Chandimal was the top scorer for Sri Lanka with a steady 81-ball 64. The right-hander slammed four boundaries in his innings and added valuable 52-run stand for the fourth wicket with skipper Mahela Jayawardene (23).

Sri Lanka lost Chandimal, Thisara Perera (7) and Jayawardene in quick succession to spinner Ashwin as India controlled the proceeding in the match.

Half-centurion Chandimal was stumped by India keeper Dhoni off Ashwin as the right-hander tried to attack the spinner to increase the scoring rate.

Ashwin struck again to dismiss Perera and reduced Sri Lanka to 172/5 in 39.4 overs soon after he got rid of Lanka skipper Jayawardene and put a halt to the decent partnership between Jayawardene and Dinesh Chandimal.

Jayawardene hit two fours in his 34-ball knock as he put on a 52-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Ravindra Jadeja struck to dismiss Dilshan to reduce Sri Lanka to 100/3 in 24.3 overs soon after Zaheer Khan gave India second breakthrough after dismissing Kumar Sangakkara (26).

Dilshan failed to complete his fifty after playing a patient innings of 48 in 79 balls, which included seven boundaries.

Sangakkara was caught behind the wicket after Indian skipper MS Dhoni dived to his left to pouch a fine catch. Sri Lanka lost their second wicket at the score of 74.

Sri Lanka crossed their 100-run mark in 23.4 overs. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara added 62 runs for the second wicket.

Sri Lanka were 46 for 1 after the mandatory powerplay of 10 overs as their first 50 runs came in 63 balls. Zaheer Khan gave India first breakthrough after he dismissed Lankan opener Upul Tharanga in the second.

Earlier, Sri Lanka lost their first wicket at the score of 12 after skipper Mahela Jayawardene elected to bat against India in the second one-dayer. Tharanga edged Zaheer Khan’s delivery straight into the hands of Sachin Tendulkar at first slip.

Virender Sehwag, who had been rested from the first game in order to play Rohit Sharma, returned to the final XI. Sehwag replaced Gautam Gambhir who has been rested for the second ODI.

Veteran pacer Zaheer Khan, who missed out the opening match like Sehwag, also made his way back into the team as he replaced injured Rahul Sharma.

The Sri Lankans went with five fast bowlers – Dhammika Prasad, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thisara Perera and Angelo Matthews – on a pitch which already has cracks.

In Australia, the two teams have clashed five times and India have an advantage of 2-1 over their southern neighbours, with two matches finishing with no result.

Teams:

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (captain), Angelo Matthews, Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lasith Malinga, Dinesh Chandimal, Thisara Perera, Lahiru Thirimanne, Upul Tharanga, Dhammika Prasad and Nuwan Kulasekara.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan.

Source: Times of India

The home team humbled India by 65 runs in the opening tri-series international at MCG . The tourists were bowled out for 151 chasing 217 runs.

Australia overwhelmed India by 65 runs in the opening tri-series international at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The tourists were bowled out for 151 – another unimpressive batting performance – chasing 217 under Duckworth-Lewis method.

The contest was reduced to 32-over-per-side following the loss of more than three hours of play due to rain.

India got off to a horrific start with both their openers – Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir – back in the pavilion for just 13 runs. Mitchell Starc did the cleaning work for Australia in his first two overs.

However, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma dealt positively with the best of the Australian attack before being undone in a spectacular fashion by Clint McKay – who took two wickets in three balls. The pitch suddenly came to life, runs dried up and boundaries almost disappeared after the twin blow in the 12th over.

Suresh Raina came and left as if he had some unfinished business left in the dressing room. Needless I say – it was that short ball again.

It was now left on the responsible shoulders of MS Dhoni and million dollar man Ravindra Jadeja but the Indian duo had no answer to the swing variations of Australia’s four-pronged pace attack, backed by the subtle tweaking of Xavier Doherty. Together they managed 37 runs for the sixth wicket in 49 balls. The required run-rate had climbed to 10.98 and it was only a matter of time before they folded like they have for a long time now.

McKay was Australia’s chief destroyer taking four for 20 off 4.4 overs.

Earlier, Australia were 35 for two after 11 overs when rain came down. But the home team came out blazing after the weather interruption adding 181 runs in 21 overs.

India, after recording their first victory of a miserable tour at the same venue on Friday, started on a positive note. Vinay Kumar rocked the home side early with two quick wickets – David Warner (6) and Ricky Ponting (2) – with the scoreboard reading 19/2 in 7.5 overs. Vinay, who fetched $1.0 million from Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2012 IPL auction yesterday, dismissed Warner and then accounted for Ponting in his hostile five-over first spell.

Left-handed Warner fell to an irresponsible shot, trying to force a good length delivery from Kumar and missing it completely. Soon after, the young paceman produced a sharp rising delivery that caught Ponting in two minds as the right-hander played it straight to Suresh Raina, who had no trouble in gathering it in the cover region. Vinay’s figures read 5-0-8-2 before the rain interval.

U-Turn

However, the break was all the home side needed. They came back with vengeance and gathered runs at will. Matthew Wade and Hussey brothers flicked the switch, ran quick doubles and scored boundaries as often as possible. The Australians specially targeted Gautam Gambhir in the outfield – who doesn’t have the strongest of arms.

The visitors took only 21 deliveries to get rid of in-form Michael Clarke (10) but Wade – making his debut – and senior Hussey put together 73 runs for the fourth wicket with aggressive strokeplay. Wade followed up his big-hitting in the Twenty20 series with a belligerent 67 off 69 balls with two sixes and four fours before edging one on to the stumps.

Michael then joined by David continued to pile misery on Indians with impressive running between the wickets and scored boundaries at will before falling to Vinay at deep square leg. David followed the suit in the run-gathering stakes and blasted a quickfire unbeaten 61 off just 30 balls, including two sixes in the final over off Ravindra Jadeja to have the Australians scoring at 6.75 runs an over.

The home team brought up their second, third and fourth fifty came is 30, 33 and 35 balls respectively. The first fifty runs came in 14.6 overs.

As many as eight bowlers were used by Dhoni – with spinners going for plenty in damp conditions. Only Vinay returned with impressive figures of 3 for 21 in seven overs.

India made one change to Friday’s eight-wicket Twenty20 win over Australia, resting opener Virender Sehwag and including Sachin Tendulkar in the line-up – who is still searching for his elusive 100th international century.

Wicket-keeper Matthew Wade and all-rounder Dan Christian made their ODI debuts for Australia. The second match of the tri-series between India and Sri Lanka will be played in Perth on February 8.

Source: Yahoo Cricket

India finally broke through for their first win of the tour thanks to a dazzling display in the field. Ravindra Jadeja provided the spark – and did no harm to his chances in Saturday’s IPL auction – with a pair of run-outs as Australia’s batsmen were constricted by intense pressure from the fielders, and were dismissed in the 20th over for 131.

That was always going to be hard to defend and so it proved, India reaching the target with two balls to spare and eight wickets in hand to draw the series 1-1. They began the chase needing only a fraction above six an over and as a result spent much of their innings in cruise control, Gautam Gambhir able to amble along at less than a run a ball without ever letting the pressure build.

The only time a hint of worry might have entered the Indian camp was when five dot balls came towards the end of the chase, and George Bailey had all his fielders in the ring in the final over with one run required. But Gambhir found a gap at midwicket to strike a boundary off Clint McKay and finished on 56 from 60 balls, with MS Dhoni also unbeaten on 21.

Virender Sehwag provided some excitement with one enormous six back over the head of the bowler Xavier Doherty but it was the only one in India’s innings. They didn’t need any more. Sehwag was caught at cover off a Brad Hogg full toss for 23 and Virat Kohli, who made a quick 31, was brilliantly caught when Matthew Wade dived to his right off the bowling of Mitchell Marsh, but they were Australia’s only two moments to celebrate in the field.

Australia needed to build more pressure and while their work with the ball and in the field was not bad, it lacked the zip shown by their India counterparts. Four Australia batsmen were run out and another was stumped, the younger men brought in for the limited-overs games providing the energy that India lacked in the Tests.

It all started with Jadeja, who got rid of two of David Hussey’s partners with run-outs and then picked up the wicket of Hussey off his own bowling. The big wicket was that of Aaron Finch, who was sent in alongside David Warner at the top of the order and showed his power with six fours, five of which were through the off side.

Finch launched drives and cuts at anything wide of off and at one stage he had aggregated more than 100 Twenty20 international runs without being dismissed, but that changed quickly. Finch was caught short when Hussey pushed into the off side and tried for a single that wasn’t there, Jadeja’s throw getting rid of Finch for 36 from 23 balls.

The captain George Bailey departed soon afterwards when he overcommitted as Hussey steered the ball to backward point, where Jadeja collected and threw to the bowler’s end with Bailey (3) a long way short. Jadeja then induced a leading edge off Hussey, who made 24 from 29 balls, and that wicket left Australia in trouble at 5 for 93.

The fine work kept coming from India. Mitchell Marsh was stumped off Rahul Sharma, Dhoni collecting the ball close to the stumps and with no give in his gloves, he hardly had to move to whip the bails off and find Marsh just out of his ground. That was followed by what was effectively a knockout blow for Australia, when Matthew Wade was run out for 32 off 29 balls.

Wade had slog-swept a six and after his outstanding innings on Wednesday, he seemed like the man who might carry Australia to a competitive score. But he pushed to cover and took off only to be turned back by Brett Lee, and Rohit Sharma’s direct hit had Wade short despite his full-length dive.

Australia were dismissed with two balls to spare, when Doherty was run out thanks to sharp work from Suresh Raina. They had lost 4 for 10 since the start of the 19th over.

Australia’s innings had got off to a poor start with the early loss of David Warner, who was caught at deep midwicket for 8 when he skied a ball off Praveen Kumar. Shaun Marsh’s miserable summer continued with a second-ball duck, his limp prod outside off resulting in an edge to first slip, where Sehwag parried the ball up to Dhoni to give Praveen his second wicket.

It was an excellent way for India to begin, and they didn’t let the advantage slip. Now the question is whether they can carry some of this spark into the one-day series.

Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo.

Matthew Wade’s 72 and David Hussey’s all-round performance propelled Australia to 31-run victory over India in the first Twenty20 international of the two-match series at Sydney.

Daniel Christian removed Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja in his successive overs to take Australia into commanding position the first Twenty20 international against India.

Chasing 172 runs target, India crumbled as they lost five wickets inside 75 runs in the first Twenty20 international of the two-match series against Australia at Sydney.

Bowling change got the early reward for Australia as David Hussey struck in his first two overs to scalp Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma and left India struggling at 53/4 in 7.1 overs. Brad Hogg joined the party as he dismissed Virat Kohli for 22.

Gambhir and Kohli resurrected Indian innings as they have added 41 runs in 30 balls for the second wicket.

India got off to poor start as they lost Virender Sehwag in the first over. Sehwag, who smashed a boundary in his 3 balls stay, got a thick leading edge off Brett Lee that went to David Hussey at first slip.

Earlier, Matthew Wade’s 72 and David Hussey’s 42 powered Australia to post 171/4 in the first match of the two-match series.

Wade has been the star of Australian innings, who smacked five boundaries and three huge sixes in his swashbuckling knock that came in just 43 balls. Part time bowler Suresh Raina ended Wade’s blistering innings to give India vital breakthrough.

David Hussey also played useful knock, scored 42 runs in 30 balls with the help of one four and three sixes.

Australia lost Wade early when the play resumed after the rain has stopped play when the hosts reached 131/2 in 14.4 overs.

Matthew Wade reached his maiden Twenty20 international half-century with a six that also brought up Australia’s hundred in the 13th over.

R Ashwin had Travis Birt caught by Suresh Raina in the covers as Australia lost their second wicket in the tenth over in the first match of the two-match series.

R Vinay Kumar gave India the first breakthrough when he had David Warner caught by Raina in the covers.

Vinay bowled a fullish length delivery angling into the batsman, at 128.4 kph, Warner hopped back a bit to the leg side for the heave across the line but got a top edge. It flew high in the air and Raina took a regulation catch at covers.

Warner smashed two sixes and a four in his 14-ball 25.

The breakthrough came after Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and chose to bowl.

After winning the toss, Dhoni said that the pitch looked like a good wicket and it was good to know the target.

Australian skipper George Bailey said that he would have batted anyways and added that they are a very balanced side. Three debutants for Australia – Bailey, James Faulkner and Xavier Doherty.

The Indians would look to turn the table in their favour after a mediocre Test series and Dhoni has a talented pool of youngsters at his disposal.

Dhoni would be hoping for lady luck to smile on him in the first of the two T20 matches ahead of the tri-series, featuring hosts Australia and Sri Lanka.

Teams:

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Capt.), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, R Vinay Kumar, Praveen Kumar.

Australia: George Bailey (Capt.), David Warner, Matthew Wade, Travis Birt, David Hussey, Mitchell Marsh, Daniel Christian, James Faulkner, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Xavier Doherty.

Source: Times of India

Indian team media manager GS Walia read out the statement in the post-match press conference saying – “The team management categorically denies this. Reports about senior players retiring are baseless”. He refused to answer questions on the matter, saying that there was simply no truth in the reports.

Stand-in-captain Virender Sehwag who was also part of the post-match briefing rejected the reports. “Some reports have said that senior players will retire after this series. No such thing has happened and this is a decision that they will take. These are rumours created by the media,” said Sehwag.

On Friday, news agency PTI had reported that Dravid was likely to retire and that he was believed to have told some of his teammates that he had decided to hang his boots. The report was picked up by almost all Indian media outlets and quickly fuelled the rumours.

Source: Yahoo Cricket

Australia wrapped up a 298-run win over India to sweep the series 4-0 early on the final day of the fourth Test at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday.

The end was swift with the Australians snapping up the final four wickets in an hour to dismiss India for 201 and inflict a fourth heavy defeat on the demoralised tourists.

It was India’s eighth consecutive away Test loss after a 4-0 series loss in England last year and the Indians have not won a series in Australia in 10 visits.

Australia’s dominance over India comes a year after their Ashes series humiliation at home to England and their significant improvement under new skipper Michael Clarke, who replaced Ricky Ponting.

Australia won by 122 runs in Melbourne, an innings and 68 runs in Sydney and an innings and 37 runs in Perth before their final Adelaide annihilation.

Australia’s bowlers, led by pacemen Ben Hilfenhaus (27 wickets) and Peter Siddle (23), dented the reputations of India’s decorated batting lineup with the eight-Test youngster Virat Kohli topping the side’s batting averages with 37.50.

Sachin Tendulkar, who failed to bring up his 100th international century, has now gone without a century for 25 Test and one-day innings. His last hundred (111) was in the World Cup last March.

Tendulkar finished the series with 287 runs at 35.87, but it was sorry reading for the other batting luminaries.

Test cricket’s second all-time highest run-scorer Rahul Dravid finished with 194 runs at 24.25, Virender Sehwag 198 at 24.75 and VVS Laxman just 155 at 19.37.

India were set an improbable 500-run target for victory in the Adelaide Test off 146 overs after Clarke’s second declaration of the match at 167 for five in their second innings shortly after Friday’s lunch.

The highest winning chase at the Adelaide Oval is Australia’s 315 against England in 1902, while India’s highest-ever run hunt was 406 against the West Indies in Trinidad in 1976.

But the beleaguered tourists never got close and crashed to 166 for six by stumps leaving the final day’s outcome as a formality under sunny skies.

Nightwatchman Ishant Sharma was out on the eighth ball of the last day, caught behind off Ryan Harris for two and he was followed in the next over by Wriddhiman Saha also caught behind off Siddle for three.

Zaheer Khan hit out lustily for three fours before he was caught by David Warner at short cover off Hilfenhaus for 15.

The final wicket came when Umesh Yadav (1) was caught behind by Haddin for spinner Nathan Lyon’s fourth wicket of the innings. Ravi Ashwin remained 15 not out.

Siddle was announced man-of-the-match for his six wickets.

Source: Times of India

Rahul Dravid may end his international career after India’s likely defeat in the Adelaide Test, unconfirmed media reports said on Friday.

PTI reported that Dravid, who has had a torrid time with the bat in Australia, may choose to announce his retirement on Saturday.

India are six-down and are certain to lose the Adelaide Test on the final day and with it, lose the series 4-0, having lost by the same margin in England.

Sections of the media reported the BCCI as saying that they were not aware of any plans Dravid may have to announce his exit.

The 39-year-old Dravid averages 24.25 in eight innings on the tour. He’s been out bowled in six of those innings, bringing his famed technique under the scanner.

He is believed to have told some of his team-mates after another failure against Australia in the final Test that he had decided to hang his boots, PTI said.

Dravid has played 164 Test matches, making 13,288 runs. He’s the second-highest Test scorer in history with Ricky Ponting now only 88 runs behind him.

He has made big contributions to some of India’s biggest Test wins, including a 180 in Kolkata against Australia in 2001 which set up an against-all-odds win for India.

His 233 and 72 in the Adelaide Test of 2003 handed Australia another famous defeat. Dravid’s highest Test score of 270 — against Pakistan in the Rawalpindi Test of 2004 — helped India complete their first Test series win in that country.

Where previous generations of Indian batsmen struggled, Dravid made big runs in bowler-friendly conditions. The two innings which stand out are his 148 in the Leeds Test of 2002 and the twin knocks of 81 and 68 on a minefield of a wicket in Jamaica. Both helped India score landmark Test wins.

Dravid also has a world record 210 Test catches. In 2011, Dravid had formally announced his retirement from India’s limited overs squad after a surprise recall during the England tour.

The batsman nicknamed The Wall for his hard-to-breach defense had made his Test debut in England in 1996, having made his ODI debut a few months earlier.

Dravid made 95 on Test debut at Lord’s before scoring 36 Test hundreds.

Source: Yahoo Cricket

Whitewash, clean sweep, shutout. Whatever you like to call it, Australia were on track for a 4-0 series victory over India by stumps on the fourth day in Adelaide. Four wickets stood between Michael Clarke’s men and the completion of a remarkable feat. India finished the day needing a further 334 for victory, but a comeback from Kapil Dev is more likely than one from India in this match.

At stumps India were 6 for 166, having been set a target of 500. To put that in perspective, the highest successful chase in all of Test history was 418 by West Indies in Antigua nine years ago. The best in Adelaide was the 315 that Joe Darling’s Australia chased down against England 110 years ago. In the past century, the highest Test chase in Adelaide was less than half of what India required in this innings.

Ishant Sharma was at the crease on 2 and Wriddhiman Saha was yet to score when India walked off, any minuscule hope they had having disappeared along with VVS Laxman and Virat Kohli in the dying stages. Laxman and Kohli had steadied, relatively speaking, with a 52-run partnership when Laxman fell victim to his own wristy tendencies.

Clarke set a leg slip, a short leg and a short catching midwicket for Laxman facing the offspin of Nathan Lyon, and on 35 the batsman complied with a flick straight into the hands of Shaun Marsh at short midwicket. The ball had rocketed off the bat but Marsh’s reflexes were good enough, and Laxman was left to wonder if it would be his final act in Test cricket.

But even more remarkable was Kohli’s departure. India had sent in Ishant as a nightwatchman, traditionally a position that requires a lower-order batsman to maintain the strike and protect the specialist. Instead, Kohli wanted so desperately to face the last over of the day that he pushed the final ball of the penultimate over wide of mid-on and raced off for a risky single.

The ball was collected by Ben Hilfenhaus, whose momentum was carrying him away from the stumps, but his fast throw hit the stumps and Kohli was run-out for 22. It was a wonderful piece of work from Hilfenhaus, hardly the nimblest of Australia’s fielders, and as Kohli walked off he thumped his fist on his own helmet in frustration at his ill-judged run.

Already Australia had seen the backs of Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. It was the wicket of Tendulkar that really got the hosts going, as it left India at 4 for 110 and ensured that despite Tendulkar’s greatness, he had had no serious impact on the series, finishing with 287 runs at an average of 35.87.

Tendulkar was caught for 13 at short leg when he inside edged onto his leg off Lyon and the ball bobbed up to Ed Cowan. Tendulkar walked off to a standing ovation, but at least Australian fans will see him bat again, during the one-day series. Another all-time great, Dravid, almost certainly walked off an Australian ground for the last time a short while earlier.

On 25, Dravid’s thick edge off the bowling of Ryan Harris was snapped up by Michael Hussey at gully. Australia were making good progress after Sehwag gave Indian fans a brief glimmer of hope with a brisk half-century. He was so aggressive to anything wide of off stump that 54 of his 62 runs came through the off side, including all 12 of his boundaries, as he gave little regard to the risk of being caught.

Eventually his downfall came when he miscued an attempted slog off a Nathan Lyon full toss and was caught at cover. Already India had lost Gambhir, who will finish the series with a disappointing average of 22.83 after he pushed at a Harris delivery and was caught behind for 3.

India had come to the crease after Clarke allowed his own batsmen to play for three overs after lunch in order to set the target of 500, before he declared with Australia on 5 for 167. Ricky Ponting finished unbeaten on 60 and Brad Haddin was on 11.

As Homer Simpson once pointed out after observing that it was time to play the waiting game, “the waiting game sucks. Let’s play Hungry Hungry Hippos!” Such was the case in the first session as Australia accumulated more and more runs without any sense of urgency, despite already having ample to defend, with both teams waiting patiently for Clarke’s declaration.

Australia added 104 in the first session for the loss of two wickets. Clarke had just started to lift his tempo against the spin of R Ashwin when he feathered a catch behind for 37 off Umesh Yadav, and Hussey was adjudged lbw to Ishant Sharma for 15.

As the innings moved on, India’s batsmen could see that some runs remained in the pitch but the surface was only going to become more difficult, perhaps another reason why Clarke delayed his declaration. Whatever the case, India knew they would have to completely rewrite history in order to escape with a victory.

By stumps, any slim hopes they had were gone.

Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo.

With a lead of 382 runs, Australia were still calling the shots despite R Ashwin and Zaheer Khan took three wickets in three overs on the third day of the fourth and final Test at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide on Thursday.

Ricky Ponting and captain Michael Clarke took the Australian second innings to 50/3 after losing three wickets in three overs.

R Ashwin gave India the first breakthrough when he dismissed David Warner by making him play across the line to a delivery but the opener ended up giving a simple catch to Ashwin.

Zaheer Khan struck in the next over when he trapped Shaun Marsh plumb in front of the wicket for a duck.

Ashwin then took his second wicket in the next over when he trapped Ed Cowan plumb in front of the wicket.

Earlier, India were bundled out for 272 runs in their first innings but with a lead of 332 runs, Australia did not enforce a follow-on.

The Indian innings ended when Virat Kohli (116) was trapped plumb in front of the wicket by Ben Hilfenhaus, who in his previous over had clean bowled Ishant Sharma.

Kohli’s hundred is the first century by an Indian batsman in this series.

Peter Siddle registered his fifth five-wicket haul as he dismissed R Ashwin and Zaheer Khan off successive deliveries.

Ryan Harris clean bowled Wriddhiman Saha to reduce India to 225/6 at tea.

Saha (35) played well to add 114 runs with Virat Kohli for the sixth wicket.

This is only the third hundred-run partnership for India in this series.

Kohli hit his fourth half-century, his second of the series, to lend some respectability to the Indian total.

Kohli and Saha played well after resuming the Indian first innings after lunch.

Trailing Australia by 482 runs, India were struggling at 122/5 at lunch.

Nathan Lyon had VVS Laxman (18) caught behind by Brad Haddin as India lost half of their side with just over hundred runs on the board.

It was a good length delivery from Lyon that did the trick. The ball was just a bit short outside off and shaped in slightly after pitching. Laxman remained on the back foot and tried to run it down to third man, but failed to do it cleanly and nicked it into the gloves of Haddin.

Peter Siddle gave Australia crucial breakthrough as he first got rid of Sachin Tendulkar and then Gautam Gambhir in a span of just nine runs. India lost their four wickets inside 90 runs.

Siddle banged in a bouncer to Gambhir who couldn’t negotiate and the ball just popped up in the air at gully where Michael Hussey held on a great diving catch to seal Gambhir’s fate.

Gambhir contributed 34 runs that came off in 94 balls with the help of four boundaries.

Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who resumed India’s battle alongwith Gautam Gambhir to save the fourth Test on Day 3, could not do much despite being in good touch.

Tendulkar, who scored only 25, started of well but edged Siddle’s full-length delivery which went to second slip where Ricky Ponting grabbed a fine low catch to send Tendulkar back to the pavilion. India lost their third wicket at the score of 78.

On Day 2, India lost two early wickets in their first essay in the form of Virender Sehwag (18) and Rahul Dravid (1) after Australia rode on double centuries by skipper Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting to declare at a mammoth 604/7 on Day 2.

India were at a shaky 61/2 in reply from the 21 overs possible bowled by Australia on the second day of the fourth Test.

Gautam Gambhir (30*) and Sachin Tendulkar (12*) were at the crease with India had still 543 runs in arrears.

Clarke, resuming on 140, made 210 and was out immediately after lunch when a Umesh Yadav delivery flicked his pads and crashed on to his stumps.

Ponting departed much later for 221 when he pulled Zaheer Khan firmly but straight to Sachin Tendulkar at deep mid-wicket.

The two put on 386 runs for the fourth wicket which is the second best ever by an Australian pair. Sir Don Bradman and Bill Ponsford put on 388 runs together against England at Headingley in 1934.

Replying to Australia’s monumental effort, Sehwag (18) and Dravid (1) were the two early blows India suffered in their innings and neither the pitch nor the deliveries merited their dismissals.

The first ball of Peter Siddle was a low full toss on Sehwag’s leg stump. Sehwag aimed to play it on the onside but closed the face of his bat too early.

He thus miscued on the right of the bowler who somehow stuck his right hand out and caught it splendidly while still in his follow through.

Sehwag already had a slice of luck in his favour when he was dropped by Ed Cowan on five at the total 13 for no loss.

The opener had aimed to flick Hilfenhaus off his pads and the ball had gone in the air, low to Cowan’s left at mid-wicket but the fielder floored the chance.

Earlier Australia, resuming at the overnight score of 335/3, batted till half an hour after tea before declaring their first innings on 604/7. In all they played 67 overs on the second day.

It was a Ponting-Clarke show yet again as they improved upon the best-ever partnership at Adelaide Oval which belonged to Graeme Pollock and Eddie Barlow of South Africa – stand of 341 runs managed during the 1963-64 series.

Source: Times of India

Michael Clarke entered this Test with a whitewash on his mind. After two days, he could hardly have hoped for Australia to be in a stronger position to push for it. A day that started with Clarke and Ricky Ponting both bringing up double-centuries and producing the highest Test partnership ever recorded at the Adelaide Oval ended with India two wickets down, and still 543 runs in arrears.

Of course, Australia lost three top-order men in the first session of the match and it didn’t hurt them, but after nearly 11 hours of roasting in the field, India’s batsmen must find some energy on the third day to match Australia. At stumps, Sachin Tendulkar was on 12 and Gautam Gambhir had reached 30, with India on 2 for 61, and on the best batting pitch of the tour India needed someone to bring up the team’s first century of the series.

Already they had lost Virender Sehwag, who was brilliantly caught by Peter Siddle off his own bowling on 18. Flat-footed and stuck to the crease, Sehwag toe-edged a ball high to the right of Siddle, who thrust his hand up and pulled in one of the best catches of the summer, and nobody was happier than Ed Cowan, the man who dropped a regulation chance at midwicket when Sehwag had 5.

India were 2 for 31 when Rahul Dravid (1) was bowled for the sixth time in the series, the victim of a strange occurrence when a Ben Hilfenhaus delivery ricocheted off his elbow and down on to the stumps. The Australians hadn’t found much swing in the hot Adelaide conditions, but the two breakthroughs gave them a strong start after the outstanding work of their own batsmen.

By pushing the total to 7 for 604 before Clarke declared the innings closed, Australia gave themselves a chance of a third innings victory in the series, something they haven’t achieved in more than 60 years. India haven’t lost three Tests in a series by an innings in more than 50 years. There’s plenty of cricket to be played before such a scenario becomes a realistic possibility, but the groundwork had been laid.

The 386-run partnership between Ponting and Clarke was the fourth-highest of all time for Australia in Test cricket, and all three of the stands above them on the list featured Don Bradman. Clarke became the third player in Test history, after Bradman and Wally Hammond, to score a triple-hundred and a double-century in the same series.

For the sixth time in the series Australia batted through an entire session, this time the first of the day, without losing a wicket. The runs flowed freely as India wilted. Clarke and Ponting went to lunch already having compiled the highest partnership ever recorded in an Adelaide Test, beating the previous record of 341 set by South Africa’s Eddie Barlow and Graeme Pollock in 1963-64. By then, Clarke had his double-ton and Ponting was within touching distance of his.

Clarke brought up his with a clip for two through midwicket off R Ashwin and celebrated another monstrous innings in the series: after his unbeaten 329 in Sydney, he finished this innings with 557 runs already in 2012. All through 2011, he managed 618. He didn’t add to his score after lunch; on 210, Clarke was bowled by Umesh Yadav, who kept at the batsmen, despite leaking runs.

Ponting was on 199 when Clarke departed, and his sixth Test double-century came with a strong front-foot pull to the boundary off Yadav. For a while, it looked like Ponting would go on to register his highest Test score, which stood at 257, but eventually the pull brought him undone when he picked out the deep midwicket, Sachin Tendulkar, who took a well-judged catch jumping to his left.

Already India had removed Michael Hussey for 25 with a very sharp piece of work from Gambhir at silly point. Hussey pushed the ball and took off anticipating a single, but Gambhir was good enough to collect the ball cleanly and aware enough to flick it onto the stumps, catching Hussey short.

It was an example of how India needed to field; half-chances had to be grabbed. There weren’t always. Ponting was put down on 215 when VVS Laxman at midwicket grassed a chance off the bowling of Ashwin and Ishant Sharma had missed the chance for a return catch when Ponting had 186, the ball struck back at a catchable pace but the bowler not alert enough to get his hands to it.

In the end, India picked up a few wickets, including one off a good carrom ball from Ashwin that kissed the edge of Peter Siddle’s bat and was taken by Wriddhiman Saha – his first Test catch. By that stage, India had taken 3 for 13, but Brad Haddin (42 not out) and Ryan Harris (35 not out) refused to make life easy for India and batted through until the declaration came after tea.

For India, it was another dreadful day. The film critic Leonard Maltin’s entire review of Police Academy 4 was: “More of the same, only worse”. It could also have been said of India in the field, particularly in the morning. The bowling was too often insipid, and Sehwag’s captaincy uninspiring and conservative.

At times, he did not appear to think taking a wicket was that important. Ashwin was given fields that encouraged him to bowl straight, and both Clarke and Ponting picked off the runs with ease. Ashwin finished with an unwanted record of his own, his 3 for 194 the most expensive bowling analysis ever recorded in an Adelaide Test, but he had his captain to thank – or blame – for much of that.

By stumps, it was all down to India’s batsmen. The pitch had plenty of runs in it. India just needed their batsmen to find them.

Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo.