India push Australia to the wall

In the case of an Australian defeat, many experts and critics will be silenced, and Kumble & Co will celebrate.

It would be huge in the context of the game, and big in impact on the series and on Cricket journals. All of it, though, through little happenings on-field.

Those little away-shaping deliveries that Irfan Pathan managed this evening to make Australia go two down in their pursuit of 413, those little helpings with the bat from Virender Sehwag, Pathan, MS Dhoni and RP Singh in the absence of big scores, and that little extra urge to excel in pressure situations that VVS Laxman showed.

Australia are 65/2 in their second innings at the end of third day’s play, their record-cracking 17th victory a further 348 runs away. India are a little better in the sum total despite the average fare today. Their batsmen had a fat chance of throwing an astronomical figure at Ricky Ponting, but the Aussie captain will come out tomorrow, resuming on 24 in the company of Michael Hussey, batting on 5.

Almost a norm in this Test, one wicket led to a heap. Rahul Dravid edged to Lee and then Sachin Tendulkar didn’t bother to look at the umpire after getting rapped straight on his pads against the same bowler. Sourav Ganguly walked in at number six and left immediately for no score while overnight bat Pathan stood at the other end, looking at the scoreboard moving from 79/2 to 125/5 where just 16 came from the established men. Just when it all smelled of a familiar Indian plot, the climax came with a pleasant twist with Laxman as a superhero. Chastised for his hesitancy to bat along with the tail, Laxman cleared himself of that charge by forging three sizeable partnerships of 35, 75 and 51.

... contd.