By IANS
Adelaide : Australia were 425 for three at lunch on the fourth day of the fourth Test against India here Sunday, with captain Ricky Ponting scoring his 34th century and Michael Clarke nearing his sixth.
Ponting was batting on 124 (239 balls, 10x4s) and Clarke was on 91 (195 balls, 6x4s) and the two have now put on a record 184 for the fourth wicket, while the depleted Indian bowling attack toiled without any success in the morning session. Australia are still 101 runs behind India’s total but they still have seven wickets in hand.
India, who had made 526 in the first innings, have lost left-arm pacer Rudra Pratap Singh for the rest of the match with a hamstring injury. Anil Kumble’s team trail 1-2 in the series and it now looks extremely difficult for India to eke out a win at the Adelaide Oval.
Ponting and Clarke, who resumed the innings this morning from 322 for three, continued to defy the Indian attack, which hardly looked penetrative. Clarke went on to complete 2,000 career runs in his 33rd Test and Ponting marched towards the 10,000-run tally.
If Clarke scores nine more runs after lunch it would get him his sixth century in his 50th innings.
Clarke would be thankful to Rahul Dravid for surviving till the interval as the former captain at the lone slip dropped a difficult chance off part-timer Virender Sehwag close to lunch. The batsman was on 84 then with Australia being 411 for three.
The Ponting-Clarke pair erased the previous fourth wicket partnership record of 178 established by Dean Jones and Allan Border in Madras in 1986.