India finished the third day of the first test match of the Border-Gavaskar Cup at 313 for 8. Australia lead India by 117 runs after Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan put up a valiant show against the Aussie fast bowlers. Australia kept the upper hand almost throughout the day with the Indian specialist batsmen faltering against the pacemen Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee.

The team which looked very strong at the overnight score of 68 did what it is best at: choking. Sehwag started at 43 and fell to Johnson at 45. Within the first ten overs of the start of day’s play, India had lost Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar. That, for a score that was yet not hundred. The score was 106 when Laxman succumbed to Johnson as the fourth wicket for India.

Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid put up a 49-run stand for the fifth wicket. The duo displayed perseverance and a Ponting-Katich like partnership could have done wonders for the team. However, Dravid’s struggle against the Australian pace attack on his home ground was visible and he finally fell at 51. Ganguly scored an impressive 47, his first innings after he announced his retirement. He played a resilient innings and immense focus. Another or two such innings and Ganguly might be asked to reconsider his decision.

Indian found its saviors in a very unlikely Zaheer Khan-Harbhajan Singh partnership. The two bowlers scored 80 runs together with a feisty half-century from the Turbanator. Harbhajan admitted that he hates losing against the Aussies and in this match where his ball did not spell any magic, he performed with the bat. The pitch that appeared so difficult for the Ganguly-Dravid pair was so amusingly playable for Bhajji and Zaheer. Bhajji struck his third half-century against Australia in the third consecutive test against them. Zaheer will continue his innings from 35 tomorrow.

Australia found relief in Johnson’s performance, who not only displaced four ace batsmen – Sehwag, Tendulkar, Laxman and Ganguly but also registered a thumping comeback after a poor show against West Indies earlier this year.

India escaped a shameful follow-on today and has managed some psychological consolation before the fourth day. However, the match still is tilted in the visitor’s favor, who were being touted as the underdogs before the series start.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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