Clarke was marooned at the other end, and it was clear that he was fighting a lost battle, but he ensured with some sparkling cover drives and straight dashes that his team retained some lustre in the contest. Clarke reached his half-century off 88 balls with seven fours and was severe against the seamers but Kumble produced a perfect leg-break to leave him stranded mid-way through the pitch as Dhoni clipped the bails to curtail his stay to 163 minutes, and contribution to 81.

Thereon, it was some hard-punching from Stuart Clark and Mitchell Johnson — the latter hitting Kumble for three fours in an over through mid-wicket to strokes that resembled a cross between a sweep and a swipe. Kumble rattled his stumps the same over but off a no-ball and it meant more entertainment for the spectators, and more frustration for the Indians with some missed catches, edges not carrying and a huge six that got Australia past 300.

The second new ball was defied 23 times as RP and Pathan tried to bang in and was smartly belted around, before better sense prevailed. Pathan swung in fuller and Clark succumbed by edging to Dhoni, who took the catch and matched Nayan Mongia’s eight dismissals in a Test.

Eleven balls later, the sound of Shuan Tait’s disturbed timber was music to Indian ears. And Indian players came running around from all sides of the park, and beyond from the dressing room to join the celebrations at the center. It’s an upset win —- only because this team has upset many critics and calculations to win a Test in Australia.

... contd.