By IANS
Sydney : Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh dismissed Ricky Ponting for the eighth time Saturday and Australia were 90 for two in their second innings at lunch on the fourth day of the second Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) here.
The hosts have an overall lead of 21 runs after recovering from a 69-run deficit on the first innings as they made 463 and India replied with 532.
Harbhajan, who has been summoned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Mike Procter for a hearing on a racial abuse charge, has got the wicket of the Australian captain eight times in as many Tests.
Ponting yet again failed to read the Indian spinner and was caught off a leading edge at silly point by V.V.S. Laxman minutes before lunch. At the break, Matthew Hayden was batting on 39 and Mike Hussey was yet to score.
The ebullient spinner’s joy was unbounded as he ran toward the boundary in celebration, rolling twice on the turf in front of the pavilion.
Phil Jaques was the first to go but not before erasing India’s first-innings lead. The left-handed opener swung Anil Kumble to Yuvraj at midwicket to give the Indian skipper his 100th wicket against Australia.
Phil Jaques made 42 in an opening stand of 85 in two and half hours.
A heavy drizzle, which stopped play for 20 minutes in the morning session, is likely to cause some more interruptions over the last two days of the Test.
The weather forecast may make it difficult for the Australians to get to their record-equalling 16th Test win on the trot, a record they set between October 1999 and February 2001. India ended that successful run in Kolkata in one of the greatest comebacks in Test cricket.
Australia’s record was in danger Friday itself when Sachin Tendulkar struck an unbeaten 154, his 38th Test century, and left the Australians in arrears on first innings.
Australia lead the four-match series 1-0, having won the first Test in Melbourne by 337 runs.