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It’s all happening at the WACA!

S. Ram Mahesh

Another class act from Laxman; 348 still separates Australia from record 17th win

Irfan Pathan comes good with both bat and ball
Fine cameos by Dhoni and R.P. Singh

Perth: The sun eased over the WACA on Friday, allowing itself to be obscured by vaporous, white clouds, but the third Test stayed in a state of heightened acceleration. Indeed, the only thing lacking urgency in the match thus far has been the rate at which the overs have been bowled. So rapidly has the Test advanced that three innings have been completed in three days — a task known to have taken a week in less frenzied times.

By Friday evening, India had assumed the whip hand. On a tight, tense third day, the touring side found men with the requisite strength of mind to combat Australia. At various stages, the Test lay in the balance, neatly sectioned for the side with greater desire to claim. Australia has, in the past, routinely taken such matches, almost as if by right. But, India was unyielding on Friday.

Silk and steel

V.V.S. Laxman (79) responded again to an Australian challenge with an innings of silk and steel. He was helped by Irfan Pathan, M.S. Dhoni, and R.P. Singh — and not least by Ricky Ponting. The Australian captain, in a strange period after lunch, allowed Laxman and Dhoni precious runs off Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds — 52 in a 16-over period — when the lead had yet to reach menacing proportions.

India prospered to set a target of 413. Pathan then prised out bothopposition openers — Chris Rogers with shallow curve away and Phil Jaques with lift. Australia finished on 65 for two from 15 overs; to break the record for the most wins on the trot, it will need to mount the second-best chase in Test history.

Earlier, Pathan was the one constant in a morning session dense with action. India lost Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, but scored at very nearly five runs an over. Pathan is a curious batsman: for all his natural ability, his style is distinctively starchy. He clearly has an excellent eye — not everyone hits 150 kmph deliveries on the rise through cover. But, in his sloped-back stance, bat held stiffly by the side, ostensibly straight, he reveals a manufactured technique.

Placed in a battle, Pathan raises his game. Described by former coach John Wright as the sort of man to have beside you in a fight, the left-hander more than kept his end up, batting with courage, commonsense, and skill. He was bounced by Brett Lee, but far from camping on the back-foot, he met every full ball with a large stride and a broad bat.

Pathan stayed in the present, reacting to each ball, despite seeing some first-rate bowling from the non-striker’s end (Stuart Clark’s conquest of Sehwag was enough to sway a lesser man, as were Lee’s dismissals of Dravid and Tendulkar).

Sehwag castled

With the cloud cover and a sou’westerly breeze arranging for swing, and the grass breaking through the top surface of the strip providing cut, Clark and Lee were armed sufficiently. The former showed Sehwag several deliveries that left him before castling the opener with one that drifted in and broke back off the turf.

Lee had Dravid touching an outswinger to the keeper (although Snicko didn’t register a nick) and Tendulkar playing across one that was angled in from wide on the crease. When Ganguly edged Mitchell Johnson to first slip without the crucial preliminary of shifting his balance forward, if not actually moving his feet, India fell to 125 for five.

Sinuously resistant

But, Laxman was sinuously resistant, and though he lost Pathan to Clark immediately after lunch, he talked Dhoni into staying with him. The wicketkeeper-batsman has struggled to adjust to Australian conditions, but he put his head down on Friday, much as he had in the second innings at Sydney, and fought the urge to force his bottom hand at deliveries outside the off-stump.

Ponting, under pressure to quicken the over-rate, used Clarke and Symonds when he would have done well to recruit his strikers. Dhoni appeared tetchy as the second drinks break beckoned, but fortunately for India, a pounded six off Clarke bled the pressure. Dhoni settled, extending to the magnificent Laxman the support he deserved.

Dhoni gave in, however, to the temptation of the lap-sweep — Gilchrist doing well to catch the top-edge — and broke the 75-run stand. Anil Kumble fell before tea, but R.P. Singh, sheltered creatively from Lee by Laxman, made a brave, bright 30 to help extend the lead beyond 400.

SCOREBOARD

India — 1st innings: 330

Australia — 1st innings: 212

India — 2nd innings: W. Jaffer c Hussey b Clark 11, V. Sehwag b Clark 43, I. Pathan c Ponting b Clark 46, R. Dravid c Gilchrist b Lee 3, S. Tendulkar lbw b Lee 13, S. Ganguly c Clarke b Johnson 0, V.V.S. Laxman c Gilchrist b Lee 79, M.S. Dhoni c Gilchrist b Symonds 38, A. Kumble c Clarke b Symonds 0, R.P. Singh c Gilchrist b Clark 30, I. Sharma (not out) 4; Extras: (lb-14, nb-8, w-5) 27; Total: (in 80.4 overs) 294.

Fall of wickets: 1-45 (Jaffer), 2-79 (Sehwag), 3-82 (Dravid), 4-116 (Tendulkar), 5-125 (Ganguly), 6-160 (Pathan), 7-235 (Dhoni), 8-235 (Kumble), 9-286 (R.P. Singh).

Australia bowling: Lee 20.4-4-54-3, Johnson 10-0-58-1, Clark 19-4-61-4, Tait 8-0-33-0, Clarke 13-2-38-0, Symonds 10-2-36-2.

Australia — 2nd innings: C. Rogers c Dhoni b Pathan 15, P. Jaques c Jaffer b Pathan 16, R. Ponting (batting) 24, M. Hussey (batting) 5; Extras: (lb-3, nb-1, w-1) 5; Total: (for two wickets in 15 overs) 65.

Fall of wickets: 1-21 (Rogers), 2-43 (Jaques).

India bowling: R.P. Singh 5-1-24-0, Pathan 6-1-22-2, Ishant 3-0-10-0, Kumble 1-0-6-0.

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