India Vs Australia 4th Test at Adelaide Day2 Cricinfo

Suffer early jolts after Ponting & Clarke help themselves to a double century

“Enough is enough!” the cry rang out at the Adelaide Oval on Wednesday.

It was from a mother to a whiny son, who wanted another popsicle, in addition to the two he had crammed in his mouth, but the plea could well have been from India to Australia.

All series, Australia has mercilessly collared India, plundering runs, plucking wickets, and on the second day of the fourth Test, ‘dead' as far as the series is concerned, the hosts continued their authority, allowing the tourists no more than a snivel in protest.

First Australia ran up a score of 604 for seven declared. There were double-hundreds for Ricky Ponting (221) and Michael Clarke (210), who were involved in a fourth-wicket partnership of 386, a record for any wicket here at the Adelaide Oval. The declaration allowed Australia 21overs of bowling; the contest, comatose till afternoon, came alive.

PRESSURE

What would India's batsmen make of a pitch that had flattened even more after Tuesday? And how would Australia's bowlers do without assistance for the first time the series? Both questions will be answered in greater detail on Thursday, but from Wednesday's play, this much can be ventured: how they deal with scoreboard pressure, the weight a massive first innings exerts, and how long they can delay errors in batting will decide the fate of India's batsmen; Australia's bowlers, unless they can convince the ball to swing reverse or turn and bounce, will be able to do no more than ‘bowl dry' i.e. test the batsmen's patience.

Virender Sehwag looked as if he might bed down for a big one — his bedding down, consisting not of studied defence and self-denying leave-alones, but of slapping at least a four every over. He even received a reprieve when Ed Cowan, at mid-wicket, clapped clanging hands on a stinging flick off Ben Hilfenhaus.

But Sehwag, who had said before the match that he believed his (and his batsmen's) “time was bad”, found further evidence to substantiate his faith.

Peter Siddle, who has made a habit of striking in the first over of a spell, gave the Indian captain a full-toss that should have been postmarked to Bowral. Instead Sehwag contrived to bunt it back to the bowler, making his stroke far too early, an opened-up, hunched leading-edge, if you will. Siddle had sufficient athleticism to leap to his right and take it one-handed.

DRAVID CASTLED AGAIN

In walked Rahul Dravid, down the steps that have recorded his 233 in stencilled paint, but this was not to be a repeat of 2003-04. For the sixth time in seven innings, he turned around to find his stumps disturbed. Again the back-foot didn't move from leg-stump. As a result he leant with his upper body, front foot not sufficiently covering the line. Hilfenhaus' delivery deviated slightly and bounced, passing between bat and pad, glancing off the elbow onto the stumps.

This was a worrying dismissal. Both his defensive technique and his mind, such strengths of his, appear to have deserted Dravid suddenly; he certainly commanded both in England, where he made three centuries.

Gautam Gambhir (30 batting) and Sachin Tendulkar (12 batting) ensured India ended the day better than it had begun it, but much work remains. They and those that follow them will need the skill, the run-hunger, and the fortune of Ponting and Clarke, who it seemed would never get out.

The Australian pair added 65 in the first hour, Ponting 27 to his overnight score of 137, Clarke 35 to his 140. They split eight fours. Any thoughts India might have had of an early, balance-altering wicket — Sehwag began that way, three slips, gully, point (not deep point) — soon vanished.

Clarke became the first captain to make a triple-hundred and a double-hundred in the same series before Umesh Yadav bowled him off the pad with a break-back in the over after lunch.

Ponting brought up his double-hundred as well, but he pulled Zaheer Khan to deep square-leg to depart. He had had two ‘lives', a caught-and-bowled chance that looped on Ishant Sharma, who didn't get his hands down, and chip off R. Ashwin to V.V.S. Laxman at mid-wicket. The first occurred on 186, the second on 215.

Neither detracted from a magnificent innings, which just edged Clarke's for stroke-making if not virtuosity.

Gambhir had an inspired moment at silly-point when he ran out Michael Hussey. But Brad Haddin and Ryan Harris made sure it would be a declaration, not a dismissal, that would end Australia's innings.

It couldn't come soon enough for India's bowlers.

Scoreboard

Australia — 1st innings

E. Cowan c Laxman b Ashwin (62b, 3x4) 30

D. Warner lbw b Zaheer (23b, 1x4) 8

S. Marsh b Ashwin (12b) 3

R. Ponting c Tendulkar b Zaheer (404b, 21x4) 221

M. Clarke b Umesh (275b, 26x4, 1x6) 210

M. Hussey (run out) (33b, 3x4) 25

B. Haddin (not out) (66b, 1x4, 2x6) 42

P. Siddle c Saha b Ashwin (15b) 2

R. Harris (not out) (51b, 2x4, 1x6) 35

Extras (b-3, lb-17, w-8) 28

Total (for seven wkts. decl in 157 overs) 604

Fall of wickets: 1-26 (Warner), 2-31 (Marsh), 3-84 (Cowan), 4-470(Clarke),

5-520 (Hussey), 6-530 (Ponting),7-533 (Siddle).

India bowling O M R W

Zaheer 31 4 96 2

Umesh 26 1 136 1

Ashwin 53 6 194 3

Ishant 30 6 100 0

Sehwag 16 0 55 0

Kohli 1 0 3 0

India — 1st innings

G. Gambhir (batting) (56b, 4x4) 30

V. Sehwag c&b Siddle (18b, 3x4) 18

R. Dravid b Hilfenhaus (9b) 1

S. Tendulkar (batting) (43b, 1x4) 12

Total (for two wkts. in 21 overs): 61

Fall of wickets: 1-26 (Sehwag), 2-31 (Dravid).

Australia bowling

O M R W

Harris 6 2 18 0

Hilfenhaus 6 1 21 1

Siddle 3 0 13 1

Lyon 5 2 9 0

Clarke 1 1 0 0

India Vs Australia 2nd Test at Sydney Day2 Cricinfo,Live Score

Ponting's 134, Clarke's 251* demoralise India

Australia 4 for 482 (Clarke 251*, Ponting 134, Hussey 55*) lead India 191 by 291 runs

Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting have prior form in shattering Indian spirits at the SCG. Four years ago, they conspired to steal victory during a mad quarter hour late on the fifth day, when Clarke was handed the ball by the captain Ponting and took three wickets in an over. This year, they tortured India more slowly, with a partnership that lasted the best part of six hours and all but ensured Australia could not lose the Test.

Of course, since Kolkata in 2001, nothing has ever been truly certain in Tests between these two countries. But the drought-breaking century from Ponting - his first in nearly two years - and Clarke's maiden Test double-hundred steered Australia into the kind of position from which it would take a Kolkata-like comeback to rescue India. They would need something very, very special.

The Sydney crowd had already witnessed the exceptional, from Clarke and Ponting. By stumps, Clarke was unbeaten on 251, having batted through the day, and it was not out of the question that he could become the first man to score a Test triple-century at the SCG. Michael Hussey had chipped in with 55 not out and Australia's lead had ballooned to 291, with six wickets in hand.

Clarke's innings was mature and mesmerising, but it was Ponting's hundred that had really brought the crowd to life. Ponting had been starved of a Test century in his past 33 innings, and for the first time since the early days of his career had faced pressure to justify his place in the side. At no stage during his slump did he give up. It was somehow appropriate for a man who had fought so hard over the past few months that he was dirty and dishevelled when his hundred arrived.

The milestone came via a quick single, a poorly-judged one too, for a direct hit from Zaheer Khan at mid-on would have had Ponting run out for 99. He dived to make the crease and climbed up off the ground - the most fitting metaphor imaginable - with helmet askew and dirt all down his shirt and trousers. It was a sight that brought smiles from Clarke and even the umpire Ian Gould, and importantly from Ponting himself.

Amid all the debate over his form and his position in the side in recent months, Ponting had maintained that he was batting well. In this innings, he was. There were several classic Ponting pulls and his flicks through the leg side were a feature of his game. To some degree, he eschewed the typical Ponting back-foot drives through the off side, though that in part came down to the lines India bowled.

It was not until the second new ball arrived that Ponting departed, caught at point for 134 when he drove Ishant Sharma. Ponting walked off to a standing ovation, having joined his catcher, Sachin Tendulkar, and Jacques Kallis as the only men to have scored 40 Test centuries. His 288-run stand with Clarke, the highest fourth-wicket partnership ever compiled against India in Test cricket, had demoralised the visitors.

More was to come from Clarke, who had brought up his 18th Test century, and his fourth in his past 11 innings, with a perfectly placed cover-drive for four in the last over before lunch. His double-century arrived from his 284th delivery with a flick through square leg off Zaheer, and it brought a kiss of the helmet and a tear to the eye of Clarke, who is in his first home summer as Australia's full-time captain.

Clarke scored his runs all around the ground, with cover-drives, off-drives, clips off the pads, pulls, cuts, lofts over the infield against spin - perhaps the only thing he didn't attempt was a reverse-sweep. He was seeing the ball so well that he was able to walk across his stumps and down the pitch to turn good balls from the fast men into opportunities to score through the leg side. By stumps, he had the best score by an Australia batsman in an SCG Test, and needed 37 more to beat Tip Foster's record for all-comers.

To cap it all off for Australia, Hussey joined in late in the day with some quick runs, including two consecutive fours followed by a six off R Ashwin. It was an immensely disheartening day for India, who could manage only one wicket throughout the day after 13 had fallen on the opening day. There were no-balls from the part-time offspinner Virender Sehwag, strange field placements from MS Dhoni and a general lack of spark, which was to be expected by the end of a long, hot day in the field.

In the first couple of overs of the morning, Dhoni had a man back at deep square leg when he needed to be on the attack, and later he removed all of his slips while Umesh Yadav was bowling, seemingly a concession that all he could do was try to slow the run scoring of Ponting and Clarke rather than try to get them out.

He can be rest assured that Clarke won't be as defensive in the field when he gets his chance. Unfortunately for Dhoni, that might be a while off yet.

India Vs Australia 2nd Test at Sidney,Day1 Cricinfo Live Score

Australia 3 for 116 (Clarke 47*, Ponting 44*, Zaheer 3-26) trail India 191 (Dhoni 57*, Pattinson 4-43, Hilfenhaus 3-51, Siddle 3-55) by 75 runs

In the 129 years since the SCG hosted its first Test, batsmen's lives have been made infinitely easier. Pitches are now covered. Boundaries have been shortened by ropes. Helmets have allowed batsmen to hook with impunity, and they do so with heavier bats. It is to the credit of the bowlers that the contest between bat and ball remains gripping. So it was on the first day of this match, as James Pattinson and his Australian colleagues, and then Zaheer Khan for India, dominated proceedings.

By stumps on the opening day of the SCG's hundredth Test, 13 wickets had tumbled - more than the 11 that fell on the first day of Test cricket at the ground back in 1882. India's captain MS Dhoni chose to bat on a pitch that featured some grass, but his batsmen didn't back him up. Dhoni was the only man to score a half-century in India's innings of 191, which ended soon after tea, and it was the wrong way for India to start a Test in which they needed victory to retain a chance of winning the series.

Briefly, and surprisingly, their total appeared competitive, for Australia's inexperienced top order wobbled to 3 for 37 against the swing of Zaheer. But through Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting, Australia wrested back the advantage. At stumps, their partnership had grown to 79, Australia's score was 3 for 116, and Ponting (44 not out) and Clarke (47 not out) both looked in ominous form.

Things could easily have gone badly wrong for Australia after Zaheer's early strikes. David Warner edged in the first over of the innings, the catch snapped up by Sachin Tendulkar at first slip after it bounced out of the hands of VVS Laxman at second. In Zaheer's next over, his first ball caught the edge of Shaun Marsh's bat and was taken by Laxman, placing Zaheer on a hat-trick.

It continued a disappointing return to Test cricket for Marsh, whose golden duck followed 0 and 3 in the Melbourne Test. This time he played limply at a ball he should have left alone, returning the favour from earlier the day, when Laxman fell to a similarly poor stroke that was edged to Marsh in the cordon. Both men would be happy with their catches, neither with their choice of shot.

Zaheer's hat-trick ball was negotiated by Ponting, but a few overs later the opener Ed Cowan became Zaheer's third wicket, trapped lbw for 16 to a ball that struck him just in line with off stump. It was a fine spell of bowling from Zaheer, but the partnership of Clarke and Ponting, both of whom played some fine pulls late in the day, gave Australia a strong chance of a first-innings lead.

But as India showed in their first innings, good starts from two men don't necessarily mean anything. Dhoni finished unbeaten on 57 and Tendulkar, searching for his hundredth international hundred in the SCG's hundredth Test, made a confident 41 but a distinct lack of support from the rest of the batting order cost India dearly.

Again, they were beaten by an excellent bowling performance from Australia's three fast men, Pattinson, Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle, who between them collected all ten wickets. Watching the strongly-built Pattinson bound in and attack some of the world's best batsmen, it is easy to forget how inexperienced he is - this was the first time he had played a first-class match at the SCG.

Smart stats This is India's 16th sub-300 total in their last 12 Tests in Australia, England, South Africa, New Zealand and West Indies. They've lost six of the previous 11, and won two. India's average in the first innings of overseas Tests in the last year is 27.29 runs per wicket, which is the lowest among all teams. Of the 24 wickets that James Pattinson has taken in four Tests so far, 17 have been of batsmen in the top five, and four of those 17 have been dismissed for ducks. India's total is the foth-lowest ur in the first innings of a Sydney Test since 1990. However, on two of those three earlier instances, the team which was bundled out went on to win the match. Since the beginning of 2009, Zaheer Khan has taken 46 wickets of left-hand batsmen at an average of 17.52; against right-handers he has taken 40 wickets at 31.27. This is the first time in the last five years that Sachin Tendulkar hasn't scored a hundred in his first Test innings of the year.

He betrayed no nerves and struck in the first over of the Test: his third ball pitched on leg and nipped away from Gautam Gambhir, who edged to first slip for a duck that continued his slump. It was tough going early on for India's batsmen and Rahul Dravid departed for 5 off 33 deliveries when he inside-edged onto his leg off Siddle and was taken by Cowan at short leg.

That brought Tendulkar to the crease to a standing ovation, as is the case in every innings he plays these days, and he played some wonderful cover-drives as Siddle bowled full, seeking an edge. But while Tendulkar was calm and classy, his partner Virender Sehwag never looked completely settled.

There were a few typical Sehwag flashes and he was lucky not to be caught at second slip on 23 when he edged Hilfenhaus and Ponting put down a simple chance, and a Siddle offcutter beat the bat and sailed over the stumps. Sehwag's luck ran out on 30 when he got a regulation edge behind off the outswing of Pattinson, who had returned for another spell and bowled full and fast to test the batsmen.

It was precisely that sort of delivery that Pattinson used to get rid of Laxman (2), a man who has tormented Australia over the years, especially at the SCG, where his Test average before today was 96.20. Laxman didn't move his feet and wafted at a drive before he was well set - but it was Pattinson's outswing that ensured the edge behind.

That left India at 4 for 72 at lunch, and although Tendulkar and Virat Kohli steadied and batted solidly in the half hour after the break, the wickets again started to fall. Kohli was done in by Siddle's aggression - two bouncers were followed by a fuller outswinger and the batsman didn't move his feet well enough, edging behind for 23.

Soon afterwards, Pattinson picked up the huge wicket of Tendulkar, who had looked good in his 41 but played on when he tried to drive a fullish ball wide of off stump. A ton of tons would have to wait. R Ashwin and Dhoni steadied the innings with a 54-run stand but in the last over before tea, Ashwin (20) edged to slip and off the next ball Zaheer fended a catch to short leg to put Hilfenhaus on a hat-trick.

After tea, Ishant Sharma survived the hat-trick ball but few more - he also gloved a well-directed Hilfenhaus bouncer to short leg. Siddle finished the innings by having Umesh Yadav caught behind for a duck off a full outswinger - India's last three batsmen all made ducks. Australia's lower order showed in Melbourne how important late runs can be; India may rue their tail's inability to stick around and support Dhoni, who ran out of partners.

His decision to bat was sound, but much of India's batting was not. Their chances might now rest with the bowlers.

Australia Vs India 1st Test at Melbourne Day3 Cricinfo,Live Score,Highlights

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.

Australia Vs India 1st Test at Melbourne Cricinfo,Live Score,Highlights

Stars Of The Day Umesh and Cowan

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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.