India wins Chepauk thriller

CHENNAI, MARCH 22. Sport's a strange matter, full of unreason. For, generations to come will celebrate the two precious runs that came off Harbhajan Singh's bat in the raucous cauldron of Chepauk on Thursday afternoon as much as his record-shattering 32 wickets in the India-Australia Test series as the home team won an excruciatingly thrilling, breathtakingly close contest by two wickets to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

After the Australians were dismissed for 264 in their second innings, India scrambled to 155 for eight to sew up the series 2- 1.

In a finish that almost matched the thrill-a-minute sequence of the famous Tied Test of 1986, India, set a meagre target of 155, seemed to be coasting to success before the gutsy Aussies battled back to throw the match wide open.

When a belligerent V. V. S. Laxman (66) was brilliantly caught by Mark Waugh at mid-wicket, with India still needing 20 runs, the Aussies saw light at the end of the tunnel. From 101 for two, India was staring down the barrel at seven down for 135, losing five wickets for 34 runs.

But, for the Aussies, a roadblock loomed in the form of Sameer Dighe. Pilloried for his tardy show behind the stumps on the opening day, Dighe (22 not out) played a heroic cameo that set up victory for India in one of the most absorbing Test matches witnessed in this country in a long time.

The spectacular Indian success halted a stirring series of Australian victories under Steve Waugh, although, the last time the Aussies played in the sub-continent, they ended up losing too - to Sri Lanka in 1999.

Resuming at 241 for seven in the morning, the Australians did not do half as well as they might have expected to. The visitors' chief tormentor, Harbhajan Singh, quickly got rid of the dangerous Steve Waugh and Australia added just 23 runs.

The 20-year-old off-spinner ended up with 15 wickets in the match, most by an Indian at Chepauk since Narendra Hirwani bagged 16 wickets against Vivian Richards's West Indians in 1988.

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