By IANS
Perth : Virender Sehwag took two wickets in six balls to take India close to a famous win on the fourth day of the third Test against India here. Chasing 413, Australia were 243 for seven wickets at tea and they still need 170 to avert a possible defeat.
At the break, Clarke was batting on 73 and Mitchell Johnson on one as the Indians had their tail up. Although Australia have three wickets in hand, it will be a difficult task for them with all the mainline batsmen, except Clarke, gone.
Australia had made 212 in their first innings while India scored 330 and 294. Australia have not lost any one of the last 25 Tests at home.
The post-lunch session was much fruitful for the Indians than the morning one as they captured three wickets even while Australia scored 101. Sehwag dismissed Adam Gilchrist (15, 22 balls, 2x4s) and Brett Lee (0).
The session began with pacer Rudra Pratap Singh dismissing Mike Hussey, who was looking good at 46 (113 balls, 5x4s). The left-armer switched to over the wicket for the last ball of his 15th over and tasted success as Hussey played a forward defensive shot and missed the line. Umpire Asad Rauf declared him out after a pause.
After a lull in the proceedings, Andrew Symonds (12, 14 balls, 1×4, 1×6) chanced his arms and hit Kumble for a six over mid-off and with it he completed 1,000 runs in his 18th Test. One ball later, Kumble had his measure with a 102 kmph delivery.
Symonds went to the back foot to a googly, failed to connect as the ball hit his back foot and umpire Billy Bowden of New Zealand raised his finger instantly. Kumble went delirious, with an extended celebration.
Gilchrist joined Clarke and two started building a partnership as the bowlers suddenly looked ineffective. They brought up 50 for the sixth wicket and the Indians might have started to worry.
But in for the second instinctive move of the day, Kumble brought in Sehwag, whose innocuous off-spinners have broken many a partnership earlier. And lo and behold, he cleaned up Gilchrist round his legs with a sharp turner as the left-hander tried to play an ambitious sweep.
In his next over, Sehwag had Brett Lee caught by V.V.S. Laxman at silly point off bat-pad while defending. Australia slumped to 229 for seven.
Earlier, lanky Delhi pacer Ishant Sharma dismissed Ricky Ponting — the lone success in the morning session — with a beautiful delivery that the captain pushed on the front foot. But the ball kissed the edge of his bat on way to Rahul Dravid at first slip.
The Australians scored 77 runs in the two-hour morning session and lost only Ponting.
Australia had resumed the day at 65 for two, with Ponting on 24 and Hussey on five and carried on confidently. They added 74 for the third wicket in 23.3 overs and scored 3.14 runs per over. The skipper was the dominant partner as he scored 36. Hussey hit 26.
Ponting and Hussey had come together at the fall of Phil Jaques’s wicket, at 43 for two, late Friday. By the time their partnership was broken, the two left-hand-right-hand combination had taken their team to a solid position of 117 for three.