By IANS,
Nagpur : India maintained its authority over Australia in the Nagpur Test by picking up three wickets in the first session but some sloppy fielding helped the visitors put 111 for three in the second innings, chasing a victory target of 382, on the final day of the last Test at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium here Monday.
Matthew Hayden was batting on 46 and Mike Hussey on 14 at the lunch break as Australia still needed 271 runs to win the match. Australia trail 0-1 in the series and are in a must win situation to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Resuming at overnight score of 13/0, Australia showed urgency as they scored briskly in the morning session, when 98 runs came from 21.3 overs.
Hayden, riding on some luck, courtesy butterfingered Indian players, struck a fine 46 to lead the Australian fightback.
India began the day well with fast bowlers Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma bowling a probing line and length.
Ishant got his reward when Simon Katich (16) while trying to work a short ball across to the on side skied and wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni took it with ease. Michael Clarke (22) also found himself at the receiving end of the lanky fast bowler’s exemplary line and poked one to Dhoni to end his stay.
Australia skipper Ricky Ponting’s poor luck continued as he was run-out by a brilliant throw from Amit Mishra. Ponting failed to capitalise on the life he got in the very first ball he faced off Zaheer Khan as the edge fell just short of Rahul Dravid at first slip.
Hayden on the other end kept on playing some crisp shots on both sides of the wicket and looked to score off almost every delivery against the new ball. Hayden made the best of the two lives he got due to sloppy efforts from Dhoni and Dravid when the batsman was on 30 and 36 respectively.
Needless overthrows and mis-fields in the circle added to India’s miseries and allowed Australia to maintain a healthy run rate.