Tendulkar Masterclass Puts Australia on Back Foot

If Sachin Tendulkar is on the decline, then he is doing a pretty decent job of hiding the fact. His unbeaten 154 on the third day of the second Test at Sydney gave India an unlikely 69-run first-innings lead and - crucially for followers of the game desperate to see someone challenge the Australian monopoly - a fighting chance of squaring the four-match series. By the close, Australia's openers had knocked 13 off the deficit. For once, they knew they had a game on their hands.

But after the object lesson in elegance from VVS Laxman on day two, day three was all about the class and determination of the 34-year-old Tendulkar. This was his 38th Test hundred, four clear of Sunil Gavaskar and Brian Lara, and his third in four Tests at the SCG, where he now averages a ridiculous 326. In all he faced 243 balls, hitting 11 fours and a six off Brad Hogg, and celebrated his landmark by removing his helmet, throwing back his head and staring in relief at the heavens. After falling seven times in the 90s in international cricket in 2007, the reaction was understandable.

That he ended up with as many as he did was in no small part thanks to the unorthodox hitting of Harbhajan Singh at No9. When Harbhajan walked to the crease, India were tottering at 345 for seven in reply to Australia's 463 following a burst of three wickets in four overs from the increasingly impressive Brett Lee. But he proceeded to ignore a career record of two half-centuries in 83 Test innings with a series of successful leg-side swats and off-side steers, allowing Tendulkar - who had just 69 when Harbhajan embarked on his innings - to play his own game at the other end.

By the time Harbhajan squirted Mitchell Johnson to gully off a leading edge to depart for 63, he had added 129 with Tendulkar and changed the momentum of the match. A lengthy exchange of views with Andrew Symonds suggested he had got under Australian skins too. But India's fightback was not over. Tendulkar shared stands of 27 for the ninth wicket with RP Singh, and then 31 with Ishant Sharma, who was only four years old when Tendulkar hit 148 not out here in 1992.

This was Tendulkar's eighth Test hundred against Australia - the most he has scored against any team - and he now needs another 434 runs to pass Lara's Test-record tally of 11,953 runs. But for much of the day, it seemed as if another Sachin landmark would be the last thing on Indian minds.

He and Sourav Ganguly had begun the third day brightly, extending their fourth-wicket stand to 108 before Ganguly, on 67, fell to Hogg for the third time in the series, tamely chipping to mid-off. That made it 293 for four, at which point Lee threatened to take over. He beat Yuvraj Singh for pace, swinging the ball into his pads to win a leg-before decision from Mark Benson, then had the out-of-touch Mahendra Singh Dhoni flinching carelessly to provide Adam Gilchrist with his 400th Test dismissal. Only Mark Boucher lies ahead.

In his next over, Lee had Anil Kumble caught behind for two, at which point it seemed as if Australia would take a decisive first-innings lead into the second half of the match. But Harbhajan's antics helped pave the way for a Tendulkar masterclass, and with two days to go it was suddenly Australia who were sitting less comfortably.