India Prosper As Errors Cost Sloppy Australia

A hard, and at times sloppy, day's play by Australia saw them concede another 217 runs as India extended their overnight score of 309 to an imposing 526. By the close the Australian openers, Phil Jaques and Matthew Hayden, had clawed back 62 runs from that lead but there is still no doubt which team is controlling the momentum of the match. With the series standing at 2-1 to Australia, India today gave themselves a very real chance of drawing level by winning this last Test.

Expectations were that it would be the not-out partnership of MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar that would determine India's progress on the second day. As it was, neither added significantly to their overnight scores. While they did clout 18 from the first two overs of the day, extending their stand past 50, Dhoni fell for just 16 shortly afterwards, caught at deep point.

Tendulkar's confrontation with Brett Lee made for stirring viewing. Lee, bowling with his customary pace and bile, conceded a four to a cover drive as Tendulkar passed 150. The batsman then pulled the next ball off his inside edge and onto his knee causing a lengthy break in play while he was treated by the physio. The next ball back was a bouncer which Tendulkar hooked into the hands of Brad Hogg at deep square leg.

With India now 359-7, the balance was weighted in Australia's favor. However, not for the first time in this series, the tail wagged. Anil Kumble was dropped off Lee's next delivery, and went on to score 87 from 205 balls. Together with Harbhajan Singh, who struck a belligerent 63 from 103 balls, Kumble added 107 runs for the eighth wicket. While the pair were scratchy - even lucky - early in their innings, by the time Ricky Ponting was bowling Andrew Symonds and Brad Hogg in partnership after lunch the batsmens' progress was fluent.

Both men raised their fifties with boundaries struck off Symonds. Harbhajan was out - after a chest-beating celebration of his fifty - mis-hitting Symonds to square leg. RP Singh fell for a duck but Australia had to bear more frustration as Kumble added 58 for the final wicket. Ishant Sharma's share was just 14 from 48 balls, but at the other end Kumble was giving a pertinent reminder of just what a talented and resolute cricketer he is. Sharma was dropped twice, once by Clarke and once by Hussey as Australia displayed the symptoms of a long and frustrating day in the field. In all they spilled six chances over two sessions.

Eleven balls after tea the innings was finally ended, as Kumble edged Mitchell Johnson into Gilchrist's gloves. That catch gave him the world record for most Test dismissals by a keeper, moving him one beyond Mark Boucher's mark of 413. That, you feel, would have mattered much less to him at the time than the fact that the 128-ball stand for the 10th wicket was finally over. Kumble had batted over four hours and faced 205 balls for his 87.

It was a credit to Hayden, 36, and Jaques, 21, that they were able to cast aside the frustrations of the day and bat out till the close.