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Well, that is it from us. Hope you enjoyed our coverage. Until next time, it's goodbye!
We sign off with a comment from David Studham, the Librarian at the Melbourne Cricket Club -
'What a Test match. Twists, turns and record crowds. Test cricket lives!
Today’s crowd of 25,865 brings a match total of 189,347. Beating the previous record of 179,662 by over 9,500 (and that one was a five day match). We also had record crowds visiting the library throughout an India Test with 3456 members, guests and media making use of the library facilities across the four days – and many more now starting to streaming in and collect the factsheet for “Day 5” (which we are now distributing) as a souvenir.
The tour moves on to Sydney and it will be appropriate if Sachin scores his 100th century International there, as the SCG is about to celebrate its 100th Test.'
It is a 4-Test series so India have every chance of coming back strong. The Test wasn't a disaster for India, purely because it is heartening to see the bowlers pick up 20 Australian wickets. The batting, to put it mildly, has to improve.
Clarke - "We call Pattinson Mathew Hayden now the way he bats... We had plans for the Indian batsmen and the bowlers executed the plans well.."
Dhoni - "The bowlers got us back into the game. But we did not capitalise.... We are not worried about the form of our batsmen.. We have to instead give credit to the Australian bowlers."
James Pattinson is declared the Man-of-the-match for picking up 6 wickets in the match with some hostile fast bowling.
Australia deserved winners, and India have some concerns they have to work out. The form of Gambhir is worrying, so is the no.6 spot donned by Virat Kohli. The inability to blast out the Australians when the host's loses quick wickets is also something to think about. This can be put down to defensive fields, not particularly the bowlers's fault.
So there you go. India all-out for 169, fall short by 122 runs. Both teams had their moments in this Test, but it was Australia which delivered when it sniffed even a remote opening. Triggering a batting collapse in India's first innings, essaying a comeback with the bat in its second innings from 27/4, and shutting out India with the ball today.
11:12: Umesh Yadav departs! The Test is over and Australia have won! Nathan Lyon gets his first wicket of the Test. Tossed up and Umesh Yadav slogs to deep mid-on. David Warner runs to his right and takes a smart catch.
11:10: Ishant and Umesh have scored 21 runs together for the last wicket.
The titantron at the MCG says over 1,80,000 spectators have arrived at the ground to watch this Test. That's in 4 days.
11:01: Umesh Yadav is throwing his bat at everything. Going down in a blaze of glory, as Bon Jovi puts it.
There has been a marked difference in the TV coverage of this series. There have not been many replays of the Laxman dismissal where Pattison seemed to overstep, and the Kohli LBW where Hot-spot indicated an inside edge. These incidents are usually repeated a million times at other times.
10:52: Umesh Yadav is here to delay the inevitable.
Bad timing Ujwal, Dhoni is bowled seconds after you sent in your mail.
Ujwal Deole sends this in just before Dhoni's dismissal -
'In Mohali in 2010, India were 124 for 8 when Laxman and Ishant came together and India needed 92 more to win (and Ojha the only batsman remaining). Today Dhoni and Ishant are coming together at 142 for 8 with 150 needed (with Yadav being the last batsman). I think it’s doable. Plus Umesh Yadav is a better batsman than Pragyan Ojha!'
10:45: Dhoni bowled by Pattinson! Dhoni tries to heave the ball over the bowler for six but only manages an inside edge onto off stump. Pattinson with his fourth wicket, and Australia moments away from winning this Test.
Well, even the heart now says a comeback is not possible, and the mind laughs at the heart for its gross previous error.
10:41: Dhoni showing immense faith in no.10 Ishant Sharma by taking a single in the first ball of the Hilfenhaus over.
India 141/8.
10:38: Zaheer falls to Pattinson! Pattinson has had enough of Zaheer shuffling towards square leg and decides to follow him. Zaheer is cramped and awkwardly tries to flick. Inside edge hits the pad and presents an easy catch to short-leg. Zaheer gone for 13.
10:36: Zaheer follows the four with a six! Full ball from Pattinson and Zaheer moves outside leg stump and heaves the ball over long on for six!
10:35: Pattinson resumes to Zaheer, and Zaheer backs away towards leg and flays the ball over point for four. No point ducking and weaving, he says.
10:32: Zaheer pushes to cover and hustles Dhoni into taking a quick single. Problem is, it's the last ball of the over, so Zaheer will retain strike.
10:32: Clarke does a Dhoni and pushes the field back when Dhoni is on strike.
10:28: Pattinson now letting Zaheer know who is boss with 3 successive bouncers. Zaheer jumps, ducks and weaves like Joe Frazier evading Mohammad Ali when pinned against the ropes.
Welcome to the harsh world of international cricket. Gambhir is a proven performer for India in all forms of the game, but looks terribly out of touch and so his place is under scrutiny. Kohli in great form, but has failed in this Test. I do not think India will drop either Gambhir or Kohli just yet though. At least another Test for both before even considering such drastic steps.
10:18: And already the knives are out. Ian Chappell and Saurav Ganguly reckon Gautam Gambhir should make way for Ajinkya Rahane. Questions are also raised about Kohli's place in the XI in place of Rohit Sharma.
174 more to get. Dhoni all alone in his search to achieve the impossible.
The heart says an Indian comeback is possible, the mind vehemently disagrees.
10:13: Zaheer Khan the new batsman.
Well planned dismissal. Ashwin softened up with a barrage of boucers, Clarke puts in a short-leg and Ashwin obliges with a catch. Superior bowling and tactics has done him in.
10:09: Ashwin gone! Bounced out by Siddle! Ashwin did not look comfortable against the short stuff dished out, and Siddle makes best use. Sharp pace, coming hard at the neck, Ashwin fends with the bat. Ball lobs to short-leg, easy catch. Ashwin departs for 30.
10:04: Play resumes after tea. India still need 175 runs to win the match with just four wickets in hand.
Well, stranger things have happened in cricket. Ridiculously tough ask for Dhoni and Ashwin, but with some luck they could well pull off something special yet. Be sure to join us in about 15 minutes (10 AM IST) to watch the final session!
09:42: Tea is upon us and this session has decisively turned the match in Australia's favour. 5 wickets in the post-Lunch session, and India with a mountain to climb from here. Another 175 runs to win, with only the current pair of Ashwin and Dhoni holding any batting credentials.
Must stop and applaud Clarke's captaincy here. Ashwin scoring at a quick rate but Clarke not letting up with his attacking field. Three slips, two gullys and everyone else inside the circle looking for the catch while building the pressure.
09:39: Here we go again. Good length ball from Siddle, and Ashwin drives once again while stuck at the crease. Inside edge this time, four to deep fine leg. Mighty close to the stumps.
09:32: Ashwin with a lucky boundary. We were talking about him driving every ball, and that almost gets him caught at slip. Short of length outside off from Siddle, Ashwin drives hard with minimum feet movement. Thick outside edge and the ball flies over Ponting at second slip.
09:27: Just over 15 minutes to go for Tea. Can Dhoni and Ashwin bat out?
Another 198 required.
Ashwin looks an impulsive driver. Anything remotely full and Ashwin drives on the up. Could result in a slip catch if the ball moves a bit.
09:23: Ashwin with a four through point. Full and wide, Ashwin drives on the up and the ball evades point to go for four.
Ashwin is a good bat no doubt, but scoring a century at home against the West Indies is not the same as scoring in Australia under this sort of pressure. But the West Indies century shows he can bat, and bat well. Dhoni and India will take that.
09:16: Ashwin comes out to bat, after making a fighting 31 in the first innings.
Bitter, bitter blow for India. Sachin was middling the ball perfectly, perhaps he felt the pressure after seeing his mates getting out in quick succession at the other end. 83/6 and India need a miracle here. Dhoni, this means you.
09:11: Sachin out! Siddle drags a full ball outside off, and Sachin makes a real effort to reach out with a drive. Nowhere near the pitch of the ball, drive catches the thick outside edge and flies to Hussey at gully. Simple catch and Sachin is out for 32.
Tense matches like this makes me wonder what life would be without the wonderful world of sport. Existential thoughts at 9 A.M.
09:08: Dhoni with another aggressive shot, this time over cover. Seems pretty clear he doesn't seem interested in just blocking.
09:07: Forget hanging around, Dhoni whacks Hilfenhaus for six! Overpitched on leg, Dhoni merely flicks off the front foot over midwicket for six. Pure power, pure bottom hand.
Two quick wickets and India facing huge problems now. Dhoni does not have the best technique against the moving, bouncing ball. Can he hang around and give Sachin company? Even a mini-partnership here can give the Indians some hope, given Sachin looks in fine touch.
Hot-spot shows that Kohli may have got a slight inner edge before the ball hit the pads. Shastri says the bat hit the pad, but hot-spot indicates an inside edge off the bat after the bat hit the pad.
09:01: Captain Dhoni arrives with India at 69/5. Sachin in great form and really needs a partner here.
08:56: Virat Kohli falls! Hilfenhaus with a full inswinger which Kohli misses. He falls over when playing across the line, and the ball thuds into his front pad and looked set to hit leg stump. Kohli hangs around for a little while and makes his way back for a duck.
Laxman was called back by the umpire, who wanted to check the no-ball. Pattinson's foot slides just past the line, but the third umpire gives Laxman out. The decision from the third umpire came real quick, which is surprising. He should have seen many more replays before he made a decision. It sure was mighty close, looked a no-ball to me.
08:52: Laxman gone! India sink further! Full on the pads from Pattison, Laxman flicks straight to square leg where Cowan snaps an easy catch. Laxman departs for 1.
08:50: The fast bowlers getting a bit of swing, but the extra bounce is the factor that worries the Indian batsmen.
My mate Dave Mustaine from Megadeth says 'Hindsight is always 20:20', and you have to wonder if India could have done things different in this Test. The batting collapse in the first innings, losing the last 8 wickets for 68 runs, and allowing the last wicket Australian pair to put on 43 today morning, could prove costly. Well, time to look ahead and see how India make up now.
08:39: Sachin with a stroke of luck! Tries to leave a short ball from Pattinson, but gets an inside edge and almost hits the off stump. Ball runs away to the fine-leg region for four.
My colleague here is confident that Laxman can pull it off for India. 'These situations are made for Laxman. It is like eating halwa for him! ', he says. Memories of 2001 in Kolkata do not fade away that easy!
08:32: Laxman arrives with India in a hole. It's 59 for 3 with 233 more to get.
08:30: Dravid out! Pattinson with a brute! Full ball just outside off, Dravid leans forward to defend but ball cuts in sharply to go through bat and pad and crashes into the stumps. Dravid leaves for 10. India in all sorts of trouble.
A banner in the crowd reads 'Sachin, thanks for the memories!'. A bit early to bid goodbye methinks. The fan probably means this is the last time he will see Sachin bat at the MCG.
08:23: Sachin looks in fantastic touch. The flicks, the drives, it's all coming off the middle of the bat.
Not saying India is out of this contest by any means, but this is surely an improved Indian performance in an opening Test of an overseas series. India usually loses the first Test abroad by a big margin. Great fight being shown by this team.
India need 240 more to win. Can Sachin repeat the fourth innings heroics shown against England in Chennai in 2009 when he scored a century to help India chase down a 350+ target?
This Test can go any which way. Fantastic advertisement for the longer format. Ups and downs, character, strategy, luck. A bit of everything.
08:10: Sachin playing positively as he did in the first innings. He moves to 12 off 10 with 2 fours. In prime form, no doubt. But this pitch has something for the fast bowlers. A nasty lifting delivery can get any batsman.
08:00: Sachin Tendulkar arrives. Massive pressure on him. Forget the 100th ton, he needs to take India to position of safety first before aiming for the win.
07:56: Gambhir gone! Siddle gets Gambhir to edge to Ponting at second slip. Just short of length, ball jumps up awkwardly, Gambhir fends and gets the top of the bat. Terrific ball with extra bounce from Siddle. Gambhir's bad run of form continues. He leaves for 13.
History not helping India's cause here. The 10 highest successful chases at the MCG (with only one target achieved which is higher than the 292 needed here), have all happened before the year 1962. No target above 200 has been chased down at the MCG in about 50 years.
07:51: Siddle drifting onto Gambhir's pads and Gambhir nudges to fine leg for four. That seems to be the only way Gambhir scores his runs, through fine leg. Poor bowling.
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07:48: Peter Siddle replaces Pattinson first thing after Lunch.
07:47: Hello and welcome, Rahul Dravid. A perfect stright drive off Hilfenhaus beats mid-on to go for four. Just a push, full face of the bat, and the balls rockets away. Ominous signs.
Shyam N.R opens the debate about Sehwag not playing according to the situation -
'We all know that Viru plays his shots always. But he should have the sense to know the situation and play accordingly. He got out in the second innings by playing a ridiculous shot. One Dravid cannot make up for the whole team. Dhoni's field placements during the fag end of the Aussie inniings is also very thoughtless and mediocre. A very good chance of going one up in the series is thrown away, as per my view. I am saying this at 7.30am IST.'
07:45: And we're back with live action. India 24/1 with 268 more to get. Gambhir and Dravid resume.
To see how this Test goes, join us in about 25 minutes (7.45 IST). You do not want to miss this!
India, on the other hand, are still in with a good chance of victory, provided they can get a big 100 from one of its batsmen, coupled with a few 70+ partnerships.
This Test could finish today, and if it does, that would mean an Australian victory. Time is anyway not a factor here, though a draw is impossible unless we have heavy rains.
So India finish the first session with 268 runs still to get. The loss of Sehwag will hurt India's chances, but Gambhir and Dravid are around to make things tough for Australia. Earlier in the day, some overly defensive captaincy from Dhoni helped the last wicket pair of Pattinson and Hilfenhaus put on 43, after Zaheer removed Hussey with a beauty first up.
07:07: Lunch is called with India on 24/1.
Gambhir having trouble with Hilfenhaus in the previous over, who steams in to bowl when Gambhir is not ready, forcing him to pull out at the time of Hilfenhaus's delivery. Gambhir is not happy and lets Hilfenhaus know as much. But wait, here comes Michael Clarke to talk to Gambhir. Clarke asks Gambhir what the problem is, and assures him it wont happen again. Scarily civil behaviour from both teams, who have obviously been told to stay away from the bad blood which loomed in previous tours.
07:03: Pattinson with the last over before lunch.
All eyes on Rahul Dravid now. The eternal crisis man. Can do it again for India?
Real blow for India to see the back of Sehwag, barely 15 minutes before lunch. In a target like this, Sehwag could have made it look easy if he stuck around for even 90 minutes. No one is blaming Sehwag for the shot which got him out though, the ball deserved to be hit.
06:57: Dravid is here and takes a two off his first ball through square leg.
06:51: Sehwag departs! Short and wide from HIlfenhaus, Sehwag throws his bat at it with a ferocious cut. Hussey at gully doesn't have to move an inch, but takes a blinder as the ball was coming at him at lightning pace. Pure reflex like a slip catch. Sehwag gone for 7 just before lunch and this is a massive blow for India.
Some quick singles from Sehwag and Gambhir. Great batting, keeping the strike moving and not allowing the bowlers to work on one batsman through the over.
06:47: Gambhir being tested with some bouncers by Pattinson. This one barely missed his face as Gambhir ducks without looking at the ball.
06:42: Hilfenhaus and Pattinson have been largely on target just outside off, but stray on to Gambhir's pads now and then which Gambhir tucks away comfortably for singles.
06:40: Streaky shot from Sehwag brings four through third slip and gully.
25 minutes to Lunch.
06:37: Pattinson and Hilfenhaus with new ball duties. If they can remove two quick wickets before lunch, India will be in some severe strife.
Sehwag is not known for his last innings heroics, but how vital he is to this chase. A typical quickfire 80-odd from him could put India in the driver's seat. Gambhir, meanwhile, is terribly out of form and will look to hang around for as long as possible with Sehwag.
06:32: Gambhir and Sehwag are here. Target 292.
Pattinson and Hilfenhaus put on 43 for the last wicket thanks to some mindless defensive fields from India. This could well be the difference between a win and defeat for India. A word of praise for Pattinson, who scored a fantastic unbeaten 37, taking full advantage of the singles on offer.
India need 292 to win.
06:16: Hilfenhaus gone and the nightmare finally ends. Hilfenhaus edges to Laxman at second slip off Ishant Sharma and the innings ends.
Australia lead by 291, closing in on 300.
06:13: Another four for Hilfenhaus. Ashwin with an overpitched ball outside off, Hilfenhaus drives through cover and mid-off for four.
06:13: Ashwin drops short and wide to Hilfenhaus and Hilfenhaus slaps it through cover and runs four.
06:11: Not surprisingly, the last wicket partnership has grown to 31.
It's not very often you will see Australia or South Africa adopt such defensive tactics against the tail. Can you imagine Dale Steyn or Pattinson giving away easy singles to a no.10? Perhaps that's the difference between India and the other teams. India does not have a Steyn or Pattinson who can blast the tail away.
06:09: Pattinson taps to deep point and runs.
06:06: Deep point and deep square leg for Pattinson with Ishant Sharma bowling. Mid-on half to the fence, and mid off quite deep. Even the others are at the edge of the circle, so singles easily done.
Australia take a lead of 280.
06:02: Now Hilfenhaus taps and runs. Such a strange sight to see batsmen take easy singles at this stage. I've noticed that is an Indian tactic for many, many years. Hang back and wait for the tail to hit out and get out. Frustrating to see deep mid off, deep cover and deep mid wicket for Pattinson. It's like a field for Steve Waugh.
06:00: Singles on offer for Pattinson and frankly this is getting ridiculous. I mean, now you give a no.10 batsman respect? At a time when every run is worth its weight in gold?
05:58: Pattinson goes on to 30. This guy can bat, no doubt.
Australia inching along to a big lead. Up by 273 now.
05:54: Ashwin into the attack for the first time this morning. Starts with a long hop to Hilfenhaus outside off and Hilfenhaus slaps it through cover for four. Got to keep it full and straight to the tail, Ashwin.
05:49: Deep square leg and deep fine leg for Pattinson. 2 slips with mid off and mid on. Fairly attacking field with the men on the leg side boundary for the faulty hook off a short ball.
Australia up by 262 now.
05:47: Pattinson shows India the value of that dropped catch with a classy flick for four through midwicket. How much will this pair add after the drop?
05:45: Zaheer drops a catch! Short ball from Yadav, Pattinson hooks. Top edge goes way up and Zaheer runs in from deep fine leg, gets both hands to it as he slides to take the catch. But the ball pops out and India miss a great opportunity to wrap things up.
05:40: Hilfenhaus should be the target for the Indians. He looks suspect while Pattinson looks assured. I know it's strange to have targets when you have no.10 and no. 11 at the crease, but I think Hilfenhaus will be the last man to fall.
05:37: Pretty big crowd here as expected. Plenty of India support, as you would expect. Ravi Shastri anxious to watch India bat, as you would expect.
Australia lead by 248. Hilfenhaus arrives. India need to strike now and nip this partnership in the bud.
05:31: Hussey gone! Massive wicket! Zaheer with the key wicket! Good length ball on off stump, moves away from Hussey who actually does well to get an edge on that. Dhoni mops up and Hussey is gone for 89. This is it right here, the wicket all of India wanted!
05:29: Consecutive boundaries for Hussey off Zaheer. An authentic cover drive and a thick edge to third man takes Hussey to 89.
05:25: Yadav bowls one down Hussey's pads and Hussey plays a flick but misses. Dhoni gathers and appeals, but the umpire is not interested. But Hot-spot shows a nick.
Australia with a lead of 238. Given the batting collapse in the first innings, I dont India will be too confident of chasing down anything over 300.
05:21: Pattinson, meanwhile, looks assured and confident. Don not expect him to roll over without a fight.
05:17: How will Hussey go about here? He looks keen to attack, but he should play with more caution simply because Pattinson looks at ease at the other end. There are singles for the taking if he pleases.
05:15: Umesh Yadav, with 4 wickets yesterday, starts well today as well. Getting big inswing to the left handers when he pitches it full. Hussey not comfortable.
Hussey the key here obviously. He is the master of batting with the tail. Will Dhoni employ the defensive field to Hussey and give him singles to allow Pattinson the strike? Well, the field is spread for Hussey and Ian Chappell is not happy.
So today should be the day when the match tilts heavily in favour of one team. We have Australia with a lead of 238 with 2 wickets in hand. Sehwag says India is comfortable with chasing anything below 300, but really India should look to wrap things up with a target of about 260.
05:11: Umesh Yadav and Zaheer Khan start proceedings. Hussey and Pattinson the batsmen.
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the fourth day of the first test between Australia and India. Apologies for the late start, we had some technical problems which have been sorted.
