By IANS
Melbourne : The first cricket Test is fast going beyond India’s reach as Australia gained an overall lead of 395 by tea on the third day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) here Friday.
The hosts were 248 for five in their second innings as they went into the last session. Michael Clarke on 52 and Adam Gilchrist on one were at the crease.
Clarke and Andrew Symonds took Australia to a position from where they should not lose the Test when the latter got out with the tea break round the corner.
To India’s credit they did not allow the Australians to run away with the Test in the first session by taking two wickets and three more in the second.
At one stage the home team were 161 for four wickets before Clarke and Symonds added 82 runs to put the Test beyond the Indians.
MCG history is against India because the best fourth-innings score to win a Test is 332 by England in 1928-29. Come to think of it, only on three occasions has a team scored more than 400 runs to win a Test, the highest being 418 for seven by West Indies against Australia at St. John’s in 2002-2003. The next best is India’s 406 for four against West Indies in Port of Spain in 1975-76.
Symonds was going great guns when he was trapped leg before by Zaheer Khan just before tea. Earlier, openers Phil Jaques (51) and Matthew Hayden (47) and skipper Ricky Ponting (30) all fell to spin and Mike Hussey (36) was dismissed by left-arm medium-pacer Rudra Pratap Singh.
Hayden became only the fifth Australian to pass 8,000 Test runs, his career tally now standing at 8,003 at an average of 53.00, with 28 centuries.
Zaheer was celebrating when he bowled Symonds with a beauty, but to his chagrin found umpire Billy Bowden calling it a no-ball. Symonds was on seven then. This was the second time Bowden spoiled a celebration. On the second day Rahul Dravid edged Mitchell Johnson to slip but off a no-ball. Both times Bowden got it right.
Before Zaheer got him leg before, Symonds looked like recording his second straight hundred in Boxing Day Tests, having got his maiden century in the Ashes Test last year. Before getting out he smashed spinners Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh for a six each.
Resuming at 32 for no loss, Jaques and Hayden played aggressively in an attempt to bat India out of the Test by setting India an improbable fourth-innings target.
Hayden, in a mood to dominate the proceedings, was the first to go. Trying to clear Sourav Ganguly at long-off, he failed to measure Harbhajan’s flight and turn and the former India captain had ample time to get under the skier to take the catch. The left-handed opener was severe on Zaheer Khan, playing his now famous walk-down-the-pitch shots.
Ponting fell next to Harbhajan, when the off-spinner bamboozled him with one that reared unexpectedly and he could only edge it to Dravid at slip. It was unusual for the Australian skipper to fail twice in a match, scoring only four in the first innings and three in the second.
The two quick reversals slowed Australia down, with Harbhajan and Kumble pegging away.