It's India's day in Chennai

By S. Dinakar

CHENNAI, MARCH 19. The Indian batting was as bright as the clear blue sky after off- spinner Harbhajan Singh had opened up a contest that could eventually turn into a humdinger.

Yet, the biggest winner was cricket... glorious Test cricket with its dramatic swings in fortunes, from session to session, with the hunter becoming the hunted.

From 340 for three, Australia slumped to 391 all out even as the prolific Matthew Hayden progressed to a well-deserved double hundred, and then the Indian batsmen wrested the initiative, producing some scintillating strokeplay in the process.

`The Great Aussie Dream' hangs in the balance.

At close on the second day of the third and final Test at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Monday, opener Shiv Sundar Das and the in-form V.V.S. Laxman held the centrestage with 84 and 59 respectively, as India finished at an imposing 211 for one.

Australia cracked the whip on Sunday, and even as a big door was shutting it out rapidly, India has managed a `jail break' in the nick of time, with a bizarre dismissal - Steve Waugh handling the ball - triggering off the sequence of events.

Harbhajan on song

First Harbhajan picked up six for 33 in a fascinating 12-over spell, teasing and tormenting the Aussie batsmen, with his flight, turn, bounce and an impeccable off- stump line. He has so far scalped 24 in the series, slipping into the role of a strike bowler effortlessly.

And then, openers Shiv Sundar Das and Sadagopan Ramesh (61) raised 123 for the opening wicket, batting positively against both pace and spin, even as the Aussies ran out of ideas on a day when things went horribly wrong.

It was important to consolidate on the gains and there were some splendid strokes from the blades of Das and Ramesh on a pitch which held no threats.

Das' body balance in both offence and defence is impeccable and he did conjure up some scintillating shots, taking on Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie with aplomb, and dismissing Shane Warne ruthlessly, using the pull-sweep to fine effect.

It was an enchanting sight too when he jumped down the track and thumped the leg-spinner through the covers, and followed that with a delicate late-cut that had even Warne applauding.

He did have a stroke of luck early on when an inside- edge off Gillespie missed the leg-stump by a whisker, but it was a day when the technically sound Orissa batsman was in his element. A second Test hundred beckons on Tuesday.

The left-handed Ramesh, under pressure at the beginning of the Test to retain his place, went on his knees to caress Gillespie through the covers, swung off-spinner Colin Miller to the square- leg fence, flicked McGrath with panache to reach his fifty and celebrated the occasion with a stirring straight drive off the same bowler. The home boy had the spectators on their feet.

Ramesh was looking good for more when he was consumed by Warne, Ponting picking up the out-side edge at silly point as the left- hander attempted to work the ball on to the on-side. The 123-run opening stand had come in 41.4 overs.

Laxman in ominous form

Laxman walked out to a rousing reception and, after a tentative phase initially, when he edged a Warne leg-break dangerously close to Mark Waugh at slip, settled down to essay some glorious shots to the delight of the crowd, that swelled as the day progressed.

Signalling his intentions with a majestic flick off Warne, Laxman took Miller apart essaying three boundaries in succession, with two well-calculated lofted blows over mid-on and a square cut that took him to a well deserved half century. His presence in the middle is an ominous sign for Australia. It was surprising that Miller and Warne did not quite extract the turn and bounce Harbhajan and Sachin Tendulkar were able to achieve in the morning, as Australia, in an amazing turnaround, was bowled out before lunch. Gillespie did manage to send down a testing post- tea spell, but, without success.

Harbhajan scalped six in a destructive spell (12.2-3- 33-6), yet it was Sachin Tendulkar's bowling from Wallahjah Road end that first sowed the seeds of doubts in the minds of the batsmen late on the first day.

And the Indian think-tank got it right when Tendulkar began the proceedings with Harbhajan. The Mumbai genius, always attacking in his cricket, maintained the pressure, turning his leg-breaks sharply, and the Aussies had a fight on their hands.

Playing three spinners may have been the right idea, but on the flip side, Tendulkar was underbowled for most part on Sunday; the new boys had to be given their share of overs.

Australia appeared to be coasting in the morning, when Steve Waugh attempted to sweep Harbhajan, survived a confident shout for leg-before, but a greater danger lurked, as the ball, bouncing off the pad, appeared to be heading for the stumps. The Aussie captain, instinctively, stopped the ball with his right hand. Umpire Jayaprakash's finger was up this time, and the Indians were celebrating.

The spring in his step was back, as Harbhajan tormented the Australians, operating to a much better off-stump line, and flighting the ball too, enabling it to spin that much more sharply.

Ricky Ponting, going through the horrors, stepped out to counter the spin, missed the line and, wicket-keeper Sameer Dighe, who had a wretched introduction to Test cricket on day one, removed the bails.

And, soon, Adam Gilchrist, who is finding life in the middle an entirely different experience after the heady high of Mumbai, chose the wrong ball to sweep yet again, as Harbhajan, switching to round the wicket to the belligerent southpaw, straightened one from just outside the off-stump.

From three for 340, the score was now 344 for six. The Indians had a clear look at the Aussie lower order, and Harbhajan was in search of his third five-wicket haul of the series.

He did not have to wait for long. Shane Warne gloved a delivery that turned and bounced for Das to pluck a brilliant diving catch at short-leg, Colin Miller's attacking ways against Harbhajan came to nothing, Bahutule holding the skier at short mid-wicket, and Gillespie perished to a well-judged catch by Ganguly at deep mid-wicket as he aimed for the skies.

Hayden completes double century

At the other end, Hayden had continued in the same vein, first reaching 150 and then opening his broad shoulders, smacking Harbhajan for a six over mid-wicket, following that with a rasping cover drive. In what was a tribute to Hayden's sweep shot, Sourav employed two fielders on either side of the square- leg umpire.

The opener had a stroke of luck though when a sprinting Harbhajan failed to hold on to a clubbed hit at the deep mid-wicket fence. Hayden was on 192 then and Bahutule was the bowler to suffer.

Minutes later, Hayden hammered Harbhajan through the covers to reach his maiden double hundred, a feat fittingly appreciated by the crowd. The Aussie looked set to carry his bat when he fell at 203, attempting to get some quick runs with only No. 11 McGrath for company, providing Harbhajan with his seventh wicket.

As manager Chetan Chauhan revealed in the post match press conference, Sourav Ganguly's men have been a resilient lot in the series, and one witnessed yet another example of this trait as they bucked the odds on a crucial day.

SCOREBOARD

AUSTRALIA - 1st innings:

M. Slater c Laxman b Zaheer         4
(2m, 3b, 1x4)
M. Hayden c Ganguly b Harbhajan   203
(474m, 320b, 15x4, 6x6)
J. Langer c Dravid b Harbhajan     35
(53m, 35b, 6x4, 1x6)
M. Waugh c (sub) Badani b Bahutule 70
(153m, 136b, 7x4, 1x6)
S. Waugh (handled the ball)        47
(176m, 150b, 4x4, 1x6)
R. Ponting st. Dighe b Harbhajan    0
(1m, 1b)
A. Gilchrist lbw b Harbhajan        1
(8m, 6b)
S. Warne c Das b Harbhajan          0
(36m, 23b)
J. Gillespie c Ganguly b Harbhajan  0
(13m, 11b)
C. Miller c Bahutule b Harbhajan    0
(8m, 4b)
G. McGrath (not out)                3
(15m, 13b)
Extras (b-8, lb-10, nb-10)         28
                                  ---  
Total (in 115.2 overs)            391
                                  ---  

Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Slater), 2-67 (Langer), 3-217 (Mark Waugh), 
4-340  (Steve Waugh), 5-340 (Ponting), 6-344  (Gilchrist),  7-374 
(Warne), 8-376 (Gillespie), 9-385 (Miller).

India  bowling:  Zaheer 15-5-57-1,  Ganguly  2-1-11-0,  Harbhajan 
38.2-6-133-7,  Kulkarni 23-5-67-0, Bahutule 21-3-70-1,  Tendulkar 
16-1-35-0.

INDIA - 1st innings:

S. S. Das (batting)                84
(261m, 185b, 10x4, 1x6)
S. Ramesh c Ponting b Warne        61
(154m, 133b, 6x4)
V.V.S. Laxman (batting)            59
(96m, 69b, 10x4)
Extras (b-4, nb-3)                  7
                                  ---  
Total (for one wkt. in 64 overs)  211
                                  ---  
Fall of wicket: 1-123 (Ramesh).

Australia  bowling:  McGrath  14-5-36-0,  Gillespie  12-2-  34-0,  
Miller 18-3-64-0, Warne 20-0-73-1.

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