All afternoon Ricky Ponting stood between Australia and defeat.
All afternoon Ricky Ponting stood between Australia and defeat. Producing one of the most composed innings of his career, he fought an almost lone battle against an aroused opponent Harbhajan Singh, especially, was a handful as he flighted and dropped the ball before making it jump of a wearing pitch.
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Not that the batsmen played him with conviction.u00a0 Instead they were restricted to tentative prods. Ponting alone looked in control and his downfall just before stumps was a cruel blow. He left the field as a tired and disappointed man, but with head held high. Thanks to their captain's expertise against spin, the match still hung in the balance at stumps. In so many ways, the contest is following the same course as its predecessor in the Punjab. It, too, has been a game of fits and starts. If Mohali is anything to go by, the last day will be thrilling. India is better placed, but the middle order lacks experience and nerves will be taut. Australia will turn the screws.
Australia's openers continued the fight back with another productive partnership. No sooner had they taken guard than the crowd was clapping. Shane Watson played some clean drives. Considering his efforts with the ball and need to concentrate at slip, it was a good effort. Katich was rugged. Australia was set fair. Or so it seemed. But this series has defied prediction.
Wickets began to fall. Watson used pad, not bat and his partner groped at a wide delivery. Now it was India's turn to regroup. Suddenly, fieldsmen and spinners swarmed overt nervous batsmen.u00a0 The Australian captain and his deputy found themselves together, keen to attack, forced to defend. Michael Clarke played an immaculate forward defence only to drag his foot from the crease.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has had a poor series behind the sticks, but he removed the bails with a neat flick. He has a lot on his plate. Even so, he needs to find time to practise every skill. It might be assumed hereabouts that after three benevolent days, the pitch had become spiteful. In fact, it was merely grudging.
Deterioration
Some deterioration had been detected the previous evening as couple of deliveries misbehaved but batsmen cannot expect to spend the entire five days on shirt fronts. Human frailty and tension were primarily to blame for the clatter of wickets.
India did not loosen its grip. S Sreesanth was wayward then suddenly picked up a wicket. As usual, Zaheer Khan took the vital scalp (of Ponting). Both spinners worked hard and the fielding was sharp. Australia needs to scrape a few more runs. Virender Sehwag might well pick up the challenge. He knows no other way. The scene is set for another dramatic final day. What a pity the administrators only organised
two Tests.
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