17.10.2008
India v Australia, 2nd Test, Mohali, 1st day
India
311 for 5 (Tendulkar 88, Gambhir 67, Ganguly 54*) v Australia
Scorecard
India's
batsmen sandwiched a middle-order wobble in the afternoon
with excellent batting during the first and third sessions
to inch ahead of Australia on the first day in Mohali.
A brief passage of play, during which India lost three
wickets for 17 runs, threatened to undo the 104-run platform
built in the morning but Sachin Tendulkar, who became
Test cricket's highest run-scorer, and Sourav Ganguly
ensured that the initiative wasn't lost by batting the
majority of the final session.
Unlike
the pitch in Bangalore, which had variable bounce from
the start, the surface at the Punjab Cricket Association
Stadium was true. There was hardly any swing or movement
off the pitch; the ball came on to the bat, and sped off
it, allowing the batsmen to drive on the up or hit through
the line. Australia's bowlers, who failed to bowl disciplined
lines during the first session, were more accurate - and
successful - after lunch. At tea, given the outstanding
batting conditions, Australia held the edge having reduced
India to 174 for 4. Another wicket would have made it
their day but they were blunted by Tendulkar and Ganguly,
who scored at nearly four an over without any risks.
Tendulkar
broke Brian Lara's record off the first ball after tea,
steering Peter Siddle to third man, but, once the seemingly
endless fireworks subsided, India needed a much more substantial
contribution from him. It was Ganguly, however, who set
the pace initially. He had taken 17 balls to get off the
mark before tea but after the interval he hit the ball
through gaps in the offside with precision, driving Shane
Watson and Peter Siddle for three boundaries between point
and cover. He milked that region for 41 of his runs and,
apart from a stumping against Cameron White - Rudi Koertzen
did not refer it to the third umpire - and a couple of
uncertain wafts against the second new ball, his innings
was calm.
Towards
the end of the day, Tendulkar was batting so confidently
that he despatched the first delivery with the second
new ball, bowled by Siddle, through cover with a back
foot drive. He tried to repeat the shot the next ball
but inside edged the ball past his stumps. His third attempt
to push the new ball through the offside 15 minutes before
stumps landed in Matthew Hayden's hands at first slip
and gave Siddle his maiden Test wicket. It ended a 142-run
stand and helped even the balance between the teams.
Before
that error in judgement, however, Tendulkar had scored
runs all round the ground and wasn't tied down by any
bowler. He was severe on Siddle, against whom he scored
29 off 20 balls, driving him twice past mid-on for four
and steering him to the third-man boundary. He also scored
at a strike-rate of above 75 against Brett Lee and Mitchell
Johnson, who was once again Australia's best bowler. When
Ponting brought on Cameron White, Tendulkar attempted
to unsettle the legspinner by charging down the pitch
and lofting down the ground. He brought up his fifty -
his 50th in Test cricket - and also became the first batsmen
to score 12,000 Test runs.
Those
records were preceded by a spell in which Australia regained
ground lost during the morning session; though their bowlers
rectified mistakes made earlier in the day, the wickets
were primarily due to lapses by the batsmen.
Johnson
was largely responsible for the fightback. He ended Virender
Sehwag's charge in the morning, caught down the leg side,
and dismissed Laxman in a similar manner after lunch.
In between those wickets he contained Dravid by bowling
full and wide with seven fielders on the off side, and
induced an edge from Gambhir as he tried to drive another
full delivery through cover. Australia picked up 3 for
17 and recovered from the rapid start made by Gambhir
and Sehwag.
Gambhir
was struck on the helmet by Siddle's first ball in international
cricket but recovered to drive the ball through cover,
a stroke that would become a feature of his innings. Sehwag
ensured the run-rate stayed around six an over by piercing
the infield frequently. He punished Siddle when the line
was too straight, nudging him down to fine leg, and flicking
to the square-leg boundary twice in succession.
The
batsmen hit 10 boundaries in the first hour and raced
to 63 in 13 overs. Having tried all his fast bowlers,
Ricky Ponting gave the final over of the session to the
left-arm spinner Michael Clarke. Gambhir took the opportunity
to reach his half-century before lunch by stepping out
to loft Clarke twice in a row over mid-on.
The
Australians came out after the break with different lines
of attack. Watson and Siddle restricted Gambhir's scoring
by aiming short balls at his ribs. Johnson slanted deliveries
full and wide outside off stump and asked the batsmen
to drive with seven fielders on the off side. Dravid chased
one and was beaten, after which he let several go. He
eventually played on while trying to force Lee through
the off side.
India
had two new batsmen at the crease a short while before
tea and had to begin from scratch. Tendulkar and Ganguly
protected the innings from further damage.
George
Binoy is a senior sub-editor at Cricinfo
Courtesy
- cricinfo