India kept the scoreboard moving, except three straight maidens in between, before Sehwag went, trying to fiddle with a ball too close to his body after an enterprising 29;. His opening partner Wasim Jaffer followed immediately to make it five-out-of-five for Lee against him this series.

Pre-lunch, Tendulkar and Dravid slid into the sleep mode but returned with the same hunger.

Tendulkar left Dravid in the 58th over and Sourav Ganguly fell to a gully-trap. Dravid looked good for a three-digit stamp till, seven short of his ton, he swiped a ball outside off towards mid-wicket and Ponting gleefully accepted the chance he didn’t expect. The horrendous shot, coming from a perfectionist, was equally shocking as Laxman’s attempted pull that landed the ball and the initiative straight to an opposition fielder.

Lee looked the best bowler, willing to bend his back when the requirement. He bowled intelligently in the right areas, making the batsman think with his constant rearrangement of the areas where he pitched.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Irfan Pathan, both batting on 8, have another hard spell to survive tomorrow morning with the second new ball, and their success will direct which way the match swings.

Scoreboard

India (Ist Innings)

W Jaffer c Gilchrist b Lee 16

V Sehwag c Gilchrist b Johnson 29

R Dravid c Ponting b Symonds 93

S Tendulkar lbw Lee 71

S Ganguly c Hussey b Johnson 9

VVS Laxman c Tait b Lee 27

MS Dhoni batting 8

... contd.