India v Australia, 4th Test, Nagpur,4th day
India take charge with triple-strike
The wickets of the two Michaels, Clarke and Hussey, and Shane Watson in the space of 37 deliveries undid plenty of hard work and turned the match India's way during a gripping afternoon session. Australia were inching towards India's first-innings 441, with Hussey set for another hundred, but a burst of wickets left them 161 runs adrift. Hussey's determination was in keeping with the platform he built with centurion Simon Katich in the morning.
At 255 for 3, with under a session and a half left today and Hussey and Clarke batting watchfully, Australia seemed in control. Then Clarke, who came to the crease just before lunch, was undone by a peach from Ishant Sharma, and was out for a 44-ball 8. The next wicket was completely out of the blue, and it needed something like that to dislodge a man who seemed set to grind India into the dust. Hussey, on 90, punched off the back foot and M Vijay at silly point intercepted and then flicked it back to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who broke the stumps with Hussey on the move for a single.
Until that moment, Hussey's ability to dig himself in had frustrated India no end. Slowly, almost unnoticeably, he had moved through the seventies and eighties and on to 90. He left the ball well and had never looked like getting out. There was the odd flourish, most noticeably a brilliant reverse-sweep for four off Harbhajan Singh, collected from well outside leg stump, to go with an inside-out drive off Ishant.
Eleven deliveries after Hussey departed, Harbhajan cleaned up Watson with one that spun, clipped the forearm and rolled on to off stump. The pressure was well and truly on Brad Haddin and Cameron White and another dour partnership was the need of the hour.
When the day began India went with an 8-1 field, repeatedly bowled outside the off stump, and delayed the introduction of the spinners. Australia, who had to force the pace, decided this was not the time for innovative strokeplay and as a result only 42 runs came before lunch. India's method should have taken care of Katich early. When he was on 94, Ishant created an opportunity, forcing Katich to play away from the body, but Rahul Dravid put down a simple catch at first slip, grasping it easily and then spilling it. Katich recently admitted that the worst shot he had played in international cricket was when he missed one on 99 from Murali Kartik in Nagpur four years ago. This was a pretty ordinary shot as well, and Katich's face said it all.
Until that drop Katich had gone hard at almost everything he could possibly touch outside the off stump. With eight fielders on the off side, Ishant repeatedly bowled wide of off stump which initially drew a hesitant Katich forward. He patiently let several of them alone before raising his hundred with a delicate dab, which evaded the slips and gully for four. Since resuming the day on 92, Katich had spent 19 tense deliveries in the nineties and he immediately broke into a boyish smile on reaching three figures.
After 18 overs of fast bowing, Ishant was replaced by Harbhajan, but it was pace with which India had their first breakthrough. Katich missed a Zaheer yorker, trying to work it towards the leg side, and was struck flush on the pad in front of leg stump. Finally the tactic had worked for India, and the first aggressive shot Katich played undid him. Katich had faced 50 deliveries since reaching a hundred, and 37 on his final score of 102.
Hussey continued the same way, but didn't get as far as Katich. Dhoni began the day aiming to defend, but by the late afternoon he would have fancied chances of winning the series 2-0
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