da gbg bet： George Binoy looks back at the turning points of the India-Australia series
da blaze casino： George Binoy11-Nov-2008
He’s trapped: Amit Mishra get Michael Clarke in the final over of the day © Getty Images
Dhoni drops Hussey
India had just broken a 166-run partnership between Simon Katich and RickyPonting, and Michael Hussey was playing his first Test innings in India.Kumble bowled him a straighter one and Hussey prodded and got a thickedge. The ball bounced off Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s thigh and fell short offirst slip. Hussey, on 1 at the time, went on to score 146 inAustralia’s total of 430 in the first innings in Bangalore.Zaheer and Harbhajan’s 80-run partnership
Australia were three wickets away from gaining a massive lead in the firstTest, having reduced India to 232 for 7. Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singhdefied the visitors late on the third day with aggressive strokes thatcleared the infield. Harbhajan scored 54 and, after he was dismissed,Zaheer went on to make 57. They came together with India trailing by198 runs but their partnership whittled the deficit down to 118 and the lastfew wickets reduced it further to 70. It denied Australia the leveragethey needed to put pressure on India in the fourth innings.Ganguly’s let-off
India’s brisk start to the second Test in Mohali was ruined by threewickets falling for 17 runs. The innings needed repair at 163 for 4 andSachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly had just begun building a partnership.Ganguly was on 35, and India were 236, when Brad Haddin appealed for astumping off Cameron White. Rudi Koertzen didn’t refer it to the thirdumpire but replays showed that Ganguly’s foot was just in the air. Gangulywent on to score 102 and shared partnerships of 142 with Tendulkar and 109with Dhoni. India scored 469.A debutant hero
Amit Mishra would not have played in this series had it not been for the shoulderinjury to Anil Kumble. Mishra played his first Test in Mohali and ended uptaking five wickets in the first innings and seven in the match. His mostcrucial strike came late on the second day, when he went round the wicketto Michael Clarke and trapped him lbw with the googly. The strike came inthe final over of the day and was a severe dent to Australia’s hopes.
Harbhajan’s two half-centuries rescued India in tricky situations © AFP
Reverse swing
India set Australia a target of 516 in a little more than five sessions towin the Mohali Test. The chase was already in trouble after the lossof three quick wickets but Ishant Sharma struck a body blow late on thefourth day. During a searing spell in which he got the ball to move late,Ishant swung one delivery through Ricky Ponting’s bat-pad gap and hit thestumps. A few overs later he pinned Shane Watson on the back foot leavingAustralia on 58 for 5 and with no hope of saving the Test.The two double-centurions
Australia’s bowlers had struck early in the third Test in Delhi, reducingIndia to 27 for 2. Gautam Gambhir and Tendulkar consolidated but whenAustralia struck again India had reached only 157. The passage of playthat stretched across the 72.1 overs, however, ensured that Australiawould not win the match. VVS Laxman and Gautam Gambhir both scoreddouble-centuries and their partnership of 278 took India towards theirtotal of 613.Dropped. Not once but thrice.
Australia were 350 for 4 on the fourth morning in Delhi, still trailingIndia by 263 runs. Clarke was batting on 21 and Watson on 14. India neededquick wickets to gain a substantial lead which they could build on in thesecond innings. Clarke obliged, lofting Mishra hard and flat towardsmid-off. The catch flew to Ishant at head height but he couldn’t hold on.Clarke gave India two more chances on 90 and 94 but Laxman and Mishradropped them. He went on to score 112 and helped Australia save the Test.Eight-one
India lost their last five wickets for 19 runs and collapsed for 441 inthe final Test in Nagpur when they looked good for 600 at one stage. Theylost further ground when Australia’s batsmen attacked and scored at nearlyfour runs an over to reach 189 for 2 at the end of the second day. Indiabrainstormed overnight and came out with a plan to slow Australia down.Dhoni placed eight fielders on the off side and instructed his fastbowlers to bowl wide outside off stump. Australia were suffocated andscored only 42, 49 and 75 in three sessions on the third day. They alsolost eight wickets and conceded a first-innings lead of 86.Dhoni and Harbhajan to the rescue
India had an 86-run lead in Nagpur and only a disastrous collapse in thesecond innings could give Australia an opportunity to win the Test andlevel the series. India’s openers added 116 runs on the fourth day,extending the lead to 202 with ten wickets intact. The series wasvirtually won. A stunning collapse ensued, during which India lost sixwickets for 50 runs. Suddenly India were only 252 ahead with four wicketsin hand. They were handed a lifeline by Ponting who bowled a part-timerfrom one end after tea in order to make up for a slow over-rate. Dhoni andHarbhajan took advantage of the release of pressure and began scoringfreely. Australia struggled to contain them and they added 108 runs forthe seventh wicket and succeeded in posting a target which was out ofAustralia’s reach.