Fourth Test, India v Australia: Hauritz Fills the Boots of Warne

India yesterday resembled a cartoon villain whose face has been frazzled by a backfiring booby trap. Having presented Australia with a green seamer in Nagpur last week they attempted to make amends by producing a raging turner for this fourth and final Test.

It was tailor-made for their three spinners, but Australia's seamers did even better. They bowled out the home side for 104 in 41.3 overs. The deficit had been reduced to 94 by the close but, to make a match of it, India must look to score about 250 on a poor pitch - 18 wickets fell yesterday.

Batting was desperately difficult in the morning. Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath seamed the ball as it gripped on the tufty grass. McGrath and Michael Kasprowicz then achieved a harrowing degree of reverse swing and, finally, the tyro off-spinner Nathan Hauritz turned it like a top shortly before lunch.

It was still another miserable batting performance by India, however, as they lost eight wickets in the opening session.

Sachin Tendulkar is still out of touch after his two-month lay-off with tennis elbow, but there is an introversion about his batting these days that predates his recent malaise. He played only one positive stroke in his 35-ball innings yesterday and that went for three.

Rahul Dravid was also becalmed, needing 104 deliveries for his unbeaten 31. Apart from Virender Sehwag, who is too positive for his own good, and the feisty tail, no one is prepared to take on the bowling.

India resumed on 22 for two and soon lost Tendulkar, caught behind off Gillespie for five. He had just negotiated two nip-backers and then edged one that went straight on. Gillespie then found the outside edge of VVS Laxman's bat and when he made one cut back to have Mohammad Kaif leg before India were 33 for five. The new wicketkeeper, Dinesh Karthik, was sixth out at 46 when his middle stump was uprooted by an inswinging yorker from Kasprowicz.

Then, at 67 for six, Hauritz came on for his first bowl in Test cricket. His action suggests he would struggle to use a corkscrew or wind up a clock. He bowls a lot of arm balls, but here he looked a proper replacement for the injured Shane Warne, as he spun out Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and Murali Karthik. "I've never seen the ball turn so much, even on TV," Hauritz said. India's total was their lowest on this ground and their lowest against Australia on home soil.

Then it was the turn of their fielders to let them down. Justin Langer was dropped off successive balls in the second over, bowled by Harbhajan, although he soon edged Zaheer Khan to first slip. Ricky Ponting was lbw to Kumble, though the ball looked high, but Matthew Hayden's breezy 35, with three sixes, gave the innings impetus.

Simon Katich was soon out, but Michael Clarke jumped down the pitch to drive Kumble for two sixes, first over mid-off and then over mid-on. He was dropped at deep square-leg, Sehwag's second miss, but he was soon stumped off Kumble.

Not for the first time in this series the innings was held together by Damien Martyn, a World XI player on current form. He was ninth out at 184, bowled via an inside edge for a three-hour 55, before a most unlikely alliance of Kasprowicz and McGrath added 19.