Twenty-year-old opener Mandeep Singh made his second Twenty20 half-century to help Kings XI Punjab reach 156, but it was less than what they looked set to achieve after a bright start. R Ashwin dried up the runs early, before Chennai Super Kings' trio of overseas medium-pacers made sure there was no late flourish from Punjab.
Mandeep wilted under the punishing heat and humidity of a Chennai afternoon and was struggling for the most part in the latter half of the innings. Midway through his knock, after about 45 minutes of batting, a stream of sweat poured out as he tipped his helmet to the side. He was dismissed in the 17th over, but had hit only one boundary since the Powerplay.
He had begun well, though, with the promoted Shaun Marsh. Avoiding the slogs and heaves that are integral to Twenty20, and favouring inside-out drives, Mandeep provided the initial acceleration for Punjab. Marsh is rarely out of form in the IPL, and today was no different. His onslaught against Shadab Jakati took Punjab to 68 for 0 after eight overs before the stand was snapped. Marsh was caught out of his crease by a straight hit from Mandeep that ricocheted off the bowler Ashwin's boot onto the stumps.
Azhar Mahmood was sent up the order, and though he slammed a couple of nonchalant sixes off Ravindra Jadeja he exited early, trapped lbw by Dwayne Bravo. Punjab then decided to push David Miller ahead of their best Twenty20 player and captain, David Hussey, a move they could come to regret as Miller flailed around for 19 before guiding a slower bouncer to the keeper.
Hussey had only four overs to bat, which meant he had to swing from ball one. He failed, soon after Mandeep's tired heave to long-off, and Punjab went on to lose 6 for 27 towards the end of the innings.
Chennai's biggest moment of concern in the second half of Punjab's batting was when Faf du Plessis and Bravo collided when going for a catch on the straight boundary, and were left floored. Neither was seriously hurt, though, and after a minute or so lying prone, both were able to resume fielding. Bravo even pulled off an athletic overhead catch running in from long-off, and bowled at the death to finish with 3 for 29, making Chennai the favourites to take the game.
Australia 328 and 259 beat West Indies 218 and 294 (Chanderpaul 69, Sammy 61, Clarke 5-86, Lyon 3-87) by 75 runs
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In the end, the final day of the tour followed the same script as the rest of the series: West Indies fought hard and provided Australia with a few headaches, but their efforts came to nought. Instead, Michael Clarke's second five-wicket haul in Tests helped the Australians wrap up a 75-run victory and they took the series 2-0, despite some powerful striking from the West Indies captain Darren Sammy.
It took Australia two hours on the fifth morning to take the five wickets that remained after the critical breakthrough in the last over of the fourth day, when Shivnarine Chanderpaul was lbw. With each four and six that Sammy produced the West Indian fans dreamed of a famous win, but too much had been left to the lower order and a steady stream of wickets meant Sammy and the No.11 Shane Shillingford came together with 125 runs still needed.
Their 50-run partnership was promising but ended when Sammy, on 61 from 51 balls, top-edged a sweep off the bowling of Nathan Lyon (3 for 87) and was caught at short fine leg, leaving the local hero Shillingford unbeaten on 31. The result might have been a little closer than the Australians wanted, but Clarke was thrilled to emerge from the series with a 2-0 victory, the rain-affected Trinidad Test having not allowed either team enough time to push for a win.
Smart stats
Australia's win is their seventh in Tests in the WesIndies t since 2000. Their last defeat in the West Indies was in Antigua in 2003 when West Indies chased a record 418.
Australia have now won 17 Tests against West Indies since 2000. This is the highest number of matches they have won in this period against any team.
Michael Clarke's five-wicket haul is his second in Tests and first against West Indies. It is his second-bestbowling performance, after the 6 for 9 in Mumbai in 2004.
Clarke became the fourth Australian captain (spinners only) to pick up a five-wicket haul against West Indies and the eighth overall. Allan Border is the only player to do so twice.
Darren Sammy's strike rate of 119.60 is the highest for a score between 50 and 99 for a West Indian batsman against Australia. It is also the third-highest strike rate for a 25-plus score for Sammy.
Shane Shillingford's 31 is the second-highest score by a West Indian No.11 batsman against Australia, next only to Ravi Rampaul's 40 in Adelaide in 2009. Overall, it is the fifth-highest score by a West Indian No.11 batsman.
The win lifts Australia to third place in the ICC Test rankings with 112 points, while India slip to fourth rank with 111.
While Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo were occupying the crease on the fourth day it could easily have gone awry for Australia. But starting the fifth day with Narsingh Deonarine as the last specialist batsman at the crease having been joined by the wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh, who was about to lose his place to Denesh Ramdin for the upcoming tour of England, West Indies needed something miraculous.
It didn't come from Deonarine, who added only two to his overnight total before he pushed at a Clarke delivery and provided a return catch on 13. Baugh followed on 12 when he pulled Nathan Lyon hard and Ricky Ponting at short midwicket showed immaculate reflexes to hold on to a difficult catch. But better was to come from the Australians in the field.
Clarke could do no wrong with the ball and he carried that touch with him into the slip cordon, thrusting his left hand low to the ground to snap up a brilliant catch when Kemar Roach (2) edged Lyon. In the next over Clarke collected his fifth wicket for the first time in a Test innings since his 6 for 9 in Mumbai in 2004 when Ravi Rampaul skied a catch to long on.
Clarke finished with 5 for 86 and took himself out of the attack after copping some punishment from Sammy, who was murderous through midwicket and long-on. Sammy struck four fours and three sixes and had excellent support from Shillingford, who hit six boundaries, but in the end the target was just too tall.
The Australians can now head home, or in many cases to the IPL, and enjoy a six-month break from Test cricket having capped off a strong first year under the captaincy of Clarke. West Indies head to England with a similar squad - Baugh and Kraigg Brathwaite were dropped though - and must find a way to play five strong days in a Test instead of two or three. Had they managed that over the past few weeks, an already entertaining series could have become a thriller.
LunchSri Lanka 338 and 65 for 3 (Sangakkara 28*, Samaraweera 9*) lead South Africa 168 by 235 runs
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South Africa's quicks made two breakthroughs as they strained to keep Sri Lanka's lead within manageable proportions on the third morning in Durban. After an hour's play was lost due to a wet outfield, Kumar Sangakkara battled to be undefeated on 28 at lunch, his first contribution this series following three innings that have yielded three runs.
There are plenty of theories over what helps fast bowlers at Kingsmead. The Green Mamba is a usual suspect, but today the talk was about the change in wind direction that would help the ball jag around. It was overcast in Durban as well, but there was still no dramatic swing or seam for the South Africa fast bowlers.
That didn't stop them from probing away all session. Morne Morkel got his customary extra bounce to hassle the batsmen, Dale Steyn got a hint of away swing, and Marchant de Lange continued to impress on debut. The batsmen got a taste of what was to come in the first over of the day - Morkel got the first ball to fizz past the outside edge, and three deliveries later he got Sangakkara's outside edge only to see Mark Boucher's late dive distract Graeme Smith from pouching a catch at slip.
The batsmen were beaten on innumerable occasions in the first hour, and a majority of the runs came through the gully region. Paranavitana had a particularly torrid time - fidgety around the offstump, and was struck on the back as he ducked too late to a Morkel short ball. Eight of his nine runs came through not entirely assured glides past gully, before his innings ended with an edge to fourth slip.
Mahela Jayawardene and Sangakkara then eased the lead past 200 with a series of boundaries against more testing fast bowling. The stand ended when Jayawardene unwisely decided to pad up to a de Lange incutter which would have gone on to hit off stump.
Sangakkara, however, survived till lunch and grew in confidence over the course of the innings. Towards the end of the session, he whipped a gift from Jacques Kallis on the leg stump for four before upper cutting de Lange for another boundary. He still has first-innings hero Thilan Samaraweera for company, and the talented youngsters Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal to follow. With the lead already 235, South Africa need something special to end their Durban jinx.
Australia 333 & 8 for 179 (Hussey 79*, Ponting 60, Yadav 4-49) lead India 282 (Tendulkar 73, Dravid 68, Sehwag 67, Hilfenhaus 5-75) by 230 runs
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Indifferent batting from India and an abject response by the Australian top order left the first Test tantalisingly poised after a helter skelter third day on which 15 wickets fell at the MCG.
The visitors and the hosts traded collapses on a track still offering a modicum of help to the bowlers, India slipping from 2 for 214 to 282 all out before Australia slumped to 4 for 27 thanks to Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma. It was a hole plugged only partially by the staunch efforts of Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey, who was undefeated on 79 when the close arrived at 8 for 179, the lead standing at 230.
Rahul Dravid, bowled off second ball of the morning by the recalled and renewed Ben Hilfenhaus, completed his unhappy day by shelling the sort of slips catch he would expect to claim when Hussey advanced to R Ashwin on 69. Though Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon departed thereafter, it may yet prove a crucial drop.
Hussey and Ponting were both under enormous pressure for runs coming into this match, given their poor recent returns, but younger team-mates were grateful for their calming presence in a partnership of 115 after the tumult that marked the start of the second innings. Hussey's innings was particularly strong, counter-punching from the start to build some sort of lead.
India had earlier surrendered 8 for 68 to be halted 51 runs short of Australia's 333. Hilfenhaus followed up Dravid's defeat with the wickets of Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and the dogged nightwatchman Ishant Sharma, while Siddle neutralised the threat of VVS Laxman and rounded things off by disposing of Ashwin for a useful 31.
The continuing flood of wickets was attributable to smart, full bowling but also poor batting, with David Warner, Ed Cowan and Shaun Marsh all guilty of vast misjudgements. Michael Clarke was less culpable, out to a corking delivery from Ishant. Ponting's dismissal was followed by another flighty innings from keeper Brad Haddin, who must be under severe scrutiny for his spot despite claiming five catches.
Starting out with a 51-run advantage, Warner and Cowan were unable to get themselves going in the manner of the first innings. Warner looked uncomfortable, tugging at the ball rather than timing it, and it was no great surprise when he dragged Yadav onto the stumps with an angled bat. Cowan had left the ball with great skill on Boxing Day, but two balls after Warner he would die by the sheathed sword, padding up to a Yadav delivery that straightened and as such having scant cause to complain about the lbw verdict.
Marsh evaded a pair, scoring his first Test runs in Australia, only to perish in a similarly ugly manner to Warner when he snicked a full, wide delivery from Yadav onto the stumps. After an outside edge in the first innings, an inside edge in the second, it was clear Marsh lacked Test match touch after injury and one Twenty20 knock.
At three down India had the scent, and it became a pungent whiff with the fall of Clarke to a beautifully-pitched delivery from Ishant that seamed back and removed the leg bail via the inside edge. Clarke's exit was all too swift, and echoes of Cape Town hung tangibly in the air.
Hussey and Ponting responded to their predicament with firm intent and attractive strokes, pulling, cutting and driving to extend the lead and take Australia past the accursed 47. Ponting was fortunate to survive Zaheer's lbw appeal from around the wicket when he was 15, replays indicating the ball had struck him in line and would have plucked out middle. Hussey's first boundary was an edge through the slips, but thereafter he was decisive and impressive, attempting to make amends for an awfully slim run of scores since a bountiful tour of Sri Lanka in September.
Tea came and went, and the partnership assumed significant proportions against bowling that remained diligent but with the backdrop of slackening field settings. Dhoni was intent on saving runs, and Hussey and Ponting were able to knock the ball into gaps consistently with the odd boundary. Both passed half-centuries, raising generous affirmation from another healthy crowd, this time 40,556.
Ponting's period of greatest peril is starting to resemble Shane Watson's - when fit, fall somewhere between 50 and 100. Zaheer returned for a spell with the old ball and slanted across to draw a sliced drive and a catch in the gully. As he walked off, Ponting offered an unfussy wave of the bat to the MCG - who knows if he will be back to do so again.
Haddin sold his wicket dearly enough in the first innings, and did well with the gloves after an early dropped catch. But now he played another innings far too aggressive in the prevailing circumstances, essaying a handful of shots that weren't quite there before waving his bat brusquely at Zaheer and edging to second slip.
Hussey's innings might have ended soon after when he advanced and was beaten by a nicely dipping off break, but Dravid could not hold on to the edge. Siddle was unable to reprise his first innings, hanging his bat out at Yadav and being held well by Dhoni, diving in front of first slip. Lyon was granted a promotion in the batting order, perhaps to retain a right and left-handed union, but he had not scored when Ashwin's carrom ball pinned him in front of leg stump.
Dravid and Ishant had walked to the middle a little more than six hours before, their sights set on establishing a first-innings advantage. Hilfenhaus had been ineffective late on the second day, yet started things off on the third and enjoyed instant success. Dravid played the day's first delivery to mid-on, but the second slid subtly away from him to elude his defensive bat and flick off stump.
Laxman took guard on a ground where he has never enjoyed success, in marked contrast to the rest of Australia. This time he lingered 21 balls for two, before finally being undone by a Siddle delivery that shaped nicely away to catch an edge that Haddin pouched. Given the torment he has inflicted on them in the past, the Australians were understandably exultant.
Clarke only allowed three overs of Lyon's spin before recalling Hilfenhaus, and second ball the Tasmanian found the ideal line to draw Kohli's outside edge and grant Haddin another catch. Six wickets were down before the arrival of the second new ball.
Dhoni, so difficult to contain on Indian pitches, has shown vulnerability in foreign climes before, and there was a whiff of the England tour about his brief stay. Now using a fresh projectile, Hilfenhaus gave India's captain a trio of straight deliveries before floating one wider, with bounce.
An airy drive and a catch in the gully ensued, sinking the visitors deeper into the morning mire. Let down by his batsmen, Ishant finally lost patience, and swished at another outswinger. Zaheer Khan was not inclined to hang around it was not long before he was bowled by Pattinson, having an unsightly heave at a full-length ball. Ashwin and Yadav offered a cheeky last-wicket stand of 23 before Siddle nipped out the off spinner.
India 3 for 214 (Tendulkar 73, Dravid 68*, Sehwag 67) trail Australia 333 (Cowan 68, Ponting 62, Zaheer 4-77) by 119 runs
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Sachin Tendulkar was foiled yet again in his pursuit of a 100th international century, as Peter Siddle atoned in the final over for an earlier no-ball that reprieved Rahul Dravid, on another absorbing day of the first Test between Australia and India at the MCG.
Driven largely by Tendulkar's stand of 117 with Dravid, India reached a threatening 3 for 214 in reply to Australia's 333, but cursed the loss of Tendulkar for 73 on the stroke of stumps. Only a handful of overs had passed since Dravid had been bowled by Siddle and handed another start after Marais Erasmus' check revealed a front-foot transgression.
Australia's fielders gnashed their teeth over the incident and had struggled in the field, as catches went down and the captain Michael Clarke's resources were stretched by the absence of a fifth bowler. But Tendulkar's exit gave them cause for some hope for the third morning.
Tendulkar's serene innings in Dravid's company had wrestled the day India's way, following a second session speckled with incident. That period of play was capped when James Pattinson splayed the stumps of Virender Sehwag, whose streaky but entertaining 67 took him past 8000 Test runs. Sehwag gave two clear chances and another near enough to it, making merry until Pattinson was rewarded for a sustained and hostile spell in the lead-up to the tea interval. The bowler had earlier crossed swords with Sehwag in an ill-tempered confrontation over the matter of right of way while running between the wickets.
Pattinson stood clearly above the rest as the most demanding member of Australia's attack, showing a fiery countenance as well as speed and movement, but the limitations of the rest were exposed on a pitch now friendly to batsmen. Siddle was punished early before his late rally, and Ben Hilfenhaus used the new ball with intelligence, disposing of Gautam Gambhir, but later faded.
He, Hilfenhaus and Pattinson had all hung around in the morning to build the hosts' total. Zaheer Khan claimed Brad Haddin and Siddle to return deserved figures of 4 for 77, while R Ashwin accounted for Hilfenhaus and the last man Nathan Lyon. Umesh Yadav did not add to his three wickets on the first day, while Ishant Sharma will bowl far worse for better returns than his 0 for 48 in 24 exacting overs.
Siddle and Haddin resumed against a refreshed India on a brilliantly warm and sunny day, and were not long in facing difficulty. Zaheer gained swing one way and seam the other in the day's second over with the still-new ball, and Haddin was bereft. He edged one delivery to the third man fence, either side of failing to cover, then snicked another low to gully where Virender Sehwag held it.
Haddin asked Sehwag if the catch had carried, and there was a further delay as the umpires checked for a possible no-ball, but eventually Australia's wicketkeeper was marching off, before many at the MCG had even settled into their seats. Siddle and Pattinson resisted momentarily, before Zaheer found another precise delivery to catch Siddle's edge as he pushed from the crease.
Hilfenhaus announced himself with a slap to the cover fence. He added a hairy edge over the slip cordon and an improbably commanding lofted drive down the ground, both off Zaheer, to push the total past 300. The impressively upright and correct Pattinson followed up by punching Ishant Sharma splendidly down the ground, helping his confidence but also indicating that the surface was becoming rather more pleasant for batting than at any stage of day one.
Smart stats
Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar have put together 20 century stands in Tests, which is the most, four more than the next best.
Dravid has been involved in 88 century stands in Tests, and Tendulkar in 84. Those are the two highest in Tests; Ricky Ponting is next with 82.
Virender Sehwag became the 23rd batsman, and the fifth Indian, to go past 8000 Test runs.
This was Sehwag's 53rd fifty-plus score, of which only eight have come at a strike rate of less than 70.
Tendulkar has gone 18 innings without a century in international cricket, but he has seven fifties during this period.
Australia's total of 333 is only the eighth time a team has posted a triple Nelson score in the first innings of a Test. The last time a team won a Test with this total was way back in 1906.
The duo reached drinks together, adding a pesky 27 in all before the introduction of Ashwin brought a Hilfenhaus heave to long on. Pattinson connected with a handful of further decent blows before Lyon was bowled around his pads. Sehwag and Gambhir negotiated a brief spell before lunch. Ed Cowan, Australia's debutant and top scorer on day one, was unable to field for a time due to back soreness, his place taken by Daniel Christian.
When the players returned, Sehwag and Gambhir struggled initially against the seam and swing of Hilfenhaus and Pattinson. A Sehwag edge off Pattinson burst through the hands of Michael Hussey in the gully - a chance that should have been held. Tempers were raised when Pattinson and Sehwag passed closely beside one another as the batsman took a run, resulting in a heated exchange that also drew in Siddle and had Sehwag pointing the senior bowler back to his fielding post.
The confrontation deflected momentary attention from Gambhir, whose best touch has been missing for most of 2011. Here he scratched around for three runs in 23 balls, the last of which was a shortish, seaming delivery from Hilfenhaus that Gambhir edged forlornly behind with an open face. Dravid arrived with the ball still new and Sehwag not yet into stride.
Quietly, the pair established themselves, offering due deference to some wholehearted bowling and accumulating runs in ones and twos before any great flurry of boundaries could be sought. The 15th over was reached before Sehwag opened up, twice stroking Siddle to the offside boundary, then repeating the trick by crashing Lyon to the sightscreen off successive balls to pass 50 from a sedate - by his standards - 59 balls. The next delivery brought a miscue and a quarter-chance to long on, where David Warner may or may not have reached the ball before it touched the turf.
Pattinson drew another chance from Sehwag's flailing bat when an edge behind was turfed unattractively by Brad Haddin, and it appeared India would reach the interval without further loss. But Pattinson's fire and persistence were justly rewarded in the moments before tea, with another freewheeling driving resulting in an inside edge that tilted middle stump.
Tendulkar made it to the middle accompanied by his requisite ovation, and caused Australian hearts to leap when an inside edge to his second ball slipped centimetres from the grasp of short leg. Tea came and went with Pattinson's electricity still in the air, but on their return Tendulkar and Dravid set out with intent to control the innings.
The first ball of the evening was flashed high over the slips and the rope for six by Tendulkar, not permitting Siddle a moment to gather himself. The next flowed through midwicket for three, and Tendulkar's course was set. He maintained a rollicking pace for most of the next two hours, taking particular toll on Siddle, and defusing Lyon.
At the other end Dravid fought himself as much as the bowlers, not locating the fluency of his England efforts, but nonetheless providing the foil Tendulkar required to blunt Australia's bowlers. Michael Clarke shuffled his quartet as best he could, but the pacemen's spells became briefer and briefer, forcing the use of Hussey and even David Warner's under-ripe legspin.
The century partnership was the 20th between Tendulkar and Dravid in Tests, a milestone befitting Test cricket's most prolific batting partnership. It appeared to have ended shortly after when Siddle brought one back between the latter's bat and pad. The roar of a crowd of 52,858 was redoubled, however, when replays showed that Siddle had overstepped.
Siddle's next delivery went close to perforating Dravid's defence again, and the bowler's pace did not flag as he pushed himself to make amends. For perhaps the first time in his innings Tendulkar became a little tentative, mindful of the close, and he was not decisive enough in his push down the track to prevent an in-ducker from bursting through to disturb the stumps. The nightwatchman Ishant Sharma survived the final three balls, but his presence has provided Australia a path into India's batting when the Test resumes.
Tea Sri Lanka 197 for 5 (Samaraweera 40*, Chandimal 26*) v South Africa
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Twenty-one-year-old tearaway Marchant de Lange joined the flood of exciting bowling talent coming into Tests this year with a pacy spell that troubled Sri Lanka on a sunny opening day in Durban. There was little movement on offer off the Kingsmead track, but that didn't stop de Lange from striking twice in his first three overs, before adding the scalp of Angelo Mathews before tea. Sri Lanka's batsmen put in a better effort than in Centurion, but still have plenty to do if they are to pose a serious threat to South Africa.
Tillakaratne Dilshan boldly set his floundering batting unit a challenge by choosing to bat on the usually fast-bowler friendly Durban pitch. Dilshan's adventurousness continued when he batted - he attempted several flashy on-the-up drives, which he rarely middled though he also managed to avoid edging to the slip cordon. He and Tharanga Paranavitana saw off the challenge of a slightly out-of-sorts Dale Steyn and an improved Morne Morkel before de Lange came on to transform the session.
Bowling off a surprisingly short run-up for someone who regularly hits the mid-140s, the 1.9m de Lange delivers the ball with a high-arm action that gives a trampoline effect to several of his deliveries. That, coupled with his tight line outside off troubled Sri Lanka: first Paranavitana attempted a drive to a full ball, only to nick to the keeper, before Kumar Sangakkara got a peach that moved a hint away and forced him to play at, feathering through to Mark Boucher to give de Lange his second wicket in three deliveries.
Fears of a familiar Sri Lankan capitulation were eased as Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene set about rebuilding the innings. Dilshan's cavalier strokes started to come off, including a controlled pull off Steyn for four, and he also capitalised on some freebies from Imran Tahir. Jaywardene got the single he needed to become the first Sri Lankan to 10,000 Test runs and looked assured in the middle. One of the highlights of his innings was a flat six over square leg, off a short ball down the leg side from Tahir.
Dilshan was also given a hit-me ball by Tahir: a knee-high full toss outside leg stump. Dilshan, instead of taking advantage, slapped it straight to deep-backward square leg to end his innings on 47 and raise more questions about the captain's shot selection. Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera struck a flurry of boundaries to take Sri Lanka to lunch without further damage. Soon after the break, though, Morkel was finally rewarded for his probing bowling, as he got one to swerve in and crash into Jayawardene's offstump.
For the fourth time in the day, Sri Lanka then put on a promising partnership which ended before reaching 50. Samaraweera and Angelo Mathews picked off regular boundaries, some convincing - like a pull by Mathews off Steyn - and some unconvincing, like Samaraweera's streaky four to third man as he lifted his bat late. A gentle push by Mathews past mid-off for four brought up Sri Lanka's 150 before drinks, but just as the batsmen looked comfortable, a full toss did the job for South Africa again. de Lange was the beneficiary this time as Mathews punched it right back at the bowler.
Samaraweera dug in after that, but the debutant Dinesh Chandimal didn't hold back. His first Test runs came off a cross-batted swat down the ground for four, and a volley of boundaries took him to 24 off 26. It wasn't all middle-of-the-bat stuff, though, as he miscued one straight over the in-field and then nearly holed out in the final over before tea, as de Lange couldn't latch on to a mis-hit at mid-on.
Australia's batsmen scrambled to 6 for 277 against a shrewd and opportunistic India on day one of the Boxing Day Test, and would not have progressed that far without a meritorious debut from Ed Cowan in front of 70,068 spectators at the MCG.
Losing Michael Hussey to a decision that would have been reversed with the aid of technology - Cowan also had reason to query his exit - the hosts were still some way short of a substantial total by the close. Brad Haddin and Peter Siddle were established however, and their contributions will be critical when play resumes.
Cowan's 68, in 294 minutes and 177 balls, was no more or less than he had promised to deliver as a circumspect, organised opening bat. But its influence on proceedings was lessened by the others' failure to bat around him, save for an innings of 62 from Ricky Ponting that alternated between edgy and elegant.
India's captain MS Dhoni rotated his bowlers expertly, recovering from the hour after lunch when Ponting and Cowan had threatened to carry the day. India's refusal to accept the DRS also allowed the visitors to place pressure on the umpires Marais Erasmus and Ian Gould in the time-honoured style, achieving the desired result in the final session.
Zaheer Khan turned the day India's way with the removal of Michael Clarke and Hussey to successive, reverse-swinging balls, after Umesh Yadav demonstrated his knack for speed and wickets with a trio either side of a profligate post-lunch spell. R Ashwin accounted for Cowan in the following over and gained appreciable turn at times to suggest he will be a threat across this series.
Opening after Clarke won a quite ambiguous toss, Cowan and David Warner walked to the middle under overcast skies to a surface the offered the promise of early seam to augment the swing offered by the atmosphere. First strike was taken by the debutant, and Cowan responded by playing out Zaheer's well-directed opening over with plenty of nerves but just as much good sense. His first run arrived in the second over with a tap wide of mid on, before Warner commenced with a streaky inside edge to the fine-leg boundary.
From this inauspicious beginning Warner was quickly into stride, cuffing a handful of boundaries in between sensible pushes and nudges around the ground's vast expanses. Zaheer moved the ball and Ishant Sharma bounced it, but Australia's openers negotiated their opening spells with as much confidence as could be expected. The introduction of Yadav prompted Cowan to unfurl one glorious straight drive amid his otherwise abstemious defence, and Warner followed up in the same over by biffing the bowler through cover, then hooking uproariously into the crowd.
A brief rain delay broke the rhythm of the stand, and when the players returned Warner perished immediately, attempting to repeat his hook at Yadav and gloving gently behind to Dhoni. Yadav had his tail up, firing down his deliveries with plenty of speed, and had Marsh struck on the pad first up. Having played only one Twenty20 innings since his return to fitness after a painful back complaint that afflicted him in South Africa, Marsh did not look at ease, and to his seventh ball he walked too late into a drive and sliced it to gully.
Smart stats
Ed Cowan's 68 is the highest score by an Australian opener in his debut Test innings since Wayne Phillips' 159 against Pakistan in 1983. During this period, Michael Slater is the only other opener to score a half-century in his first innings.
Ricky Ponting's 62 is his third half-century in his last five Test innings. It's also his fifth half-century at No.4, but he has never scored more than 78 batting at that slot.
Ponting is third in the all-time list of run-getters in Tests at the MCG, behind Don Bradman (1671) and Steve Waugh (1284). Ponting currently has 1278.
Michael Hussey's duck is his 12th in Tests since the beginning of 2008, which is as many as Chris Martin's tally during this period. Only Mitchell Johnson (14) has more.
Australia's average second-wicket partnership in Tests in 2011 is 22.06, which is the lowest among all teams this year.
The 113-run stand between Cowan and Ponting is Australia's second-highest for the third wicket against India at the MCG, next to only the 169-run stand between Bradman and Lindsay Hassett in 1948.
Suddenly 0 for 46 had become two for the same score, and Ponting's arrival brought a crowd response that suggested both appreciation and trepidation for Australia's former captain. Off his second ball Ponting swivelled to hook a short ball, but was struck a stunning blow to the jaw. Ponting was still alert enough to side-foot the rebound away from his stumps, but it was another reminder of how his command over the bouncer has slipped ever since West Indies' Kemar Roach pinned him on the arm at Perth in 2009.
Through it all Cowan maintained his composure, cracking Ishant through the covers with some flourish to add a second boundary after taking a blow to the body from Yadav, and Ponting gradually began to find a little more equilibrium. He slipped over while pulling at Zaheer, but the ungainly follow-through was less important than the sight of the ball skimming to the backward square-leg boundary.
Resumption was delayed by further showers, and when it arrived India's bowlers lapsed in line, length and attitude. Cowan was granted the chance to gather momentum with a handful of boundaries, one a chancy cut over gully but the rest pleasingly fluent, and Ponting also took advantage of some wayward stuff from Yadav in particular. Swiftly the 50-run stand and the Australian 100 were raised, in a union between a Tasmanian living in Sydney (Ponting) and a New South Welshman renewed in Hobart (Cowan).
Some of Ponting's strokes were reprised from the pages of his regal best, one back foot punch off the toes from Ishant more than enough to get the crowd cooing. They were on their feet soon after as his half-century was raised, via a rather more ungainly slog sweep for three. The rain delayed the tea break and Cowan took his time to reach his own 50, but a nudge into the offside brought it in 120 new-ball-blunting balls.
Yadav returned to the attack for a spell near the interval, and found something approaching the vim of his morning burst. Ponting was unnerved by his first ball, rearing off a length, and dismissed by the third, which swerved away on a line just close enough to off stump for an uncertain batsman. VVS Laxman held the nick, the union was broken at 113, and Ponting's interminable wait for another Test century continued.
Clarke offered useful company to Cowan for a time, the pair adding 46 either side of the interval. India responded by tightening up, and only four runs had been accrued from three overs when Zaheer beat Clarke's outside edge with a delivery that zipped away, then forced a cuff onto the stumps from the next when the batsman shaped to cut far too close to his body.
The sin of Clarke's dismissal for 31 was compounded next ball, Hussey fending at a short-pitcher from Zaheer that passed close to, but did not appear to touch, bat or glove on the way through to Dhoni. The umpire Erasmus intuited an edge and raised his finger, and with no DRS recourse, Hussey had to go.
While Haddin averted the hat-trick, Cowan now let his guard down, cutting impatiently at Ashwin and was adjudged by Gould to have offered the thinnest of edges to Dhoni. Hot-spot showed no evidence of contact, adding another unhappy chapter to the saga of technology and its inconsistent use. Batting as though they were aware of the total's inadequacy, Haddin and Siddle dug in, and eluded a tight lbw appeal each. They will face a refreshed India in the morning.
Ishant and Zaheer had both been ruled fit and were joined in the attack by Yadav and Ashwin, who won the spinner's spot ahead of Pragyan Ojha. Australia's line-up was confirmed two days ago and there were no late changes, with Ben Hilfenhaus in for Mitchell Starc and Cowan named at the top of the order. Australia's 427th Test cricketer, Cowan was presented with his baggy green by Dean Jones, before the toss.
