IPL 5: Bravo's last-ball six pulls CSK through

Dwayne Bravo struck a six from the final delivery as the Chennai Super Kings kept alive their play-off hopes in the Indian Premier League with a tense five-wicket win over the Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday. The West Indian allrounder struck Rajat Bhatia over the long-on fence. Chasing a modest score of 159, openers got Chennai off to a flying start as Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay stitched 97-run opening stand.

Mystery spinner Sunil Narine then struck twice in the tenth over to end the Hussey-Vijay partnership. Narine double-strike helped Kolkata reduce Chennai to 97 for 2 in 9.4 overs. Soon a terrible mix-up saw Suresh Raina perish for eight. Faf du Plessis and MS Dhoni then got down to the task of guiding Chennai to victory. Dhoni (28 off 21) set up the match nicely, taking 18 runs from the penultimate over bowled by Marchant de Lange

But the captain fell off the second ball in the last over, with just three coming from the next four, before Bravo's last-ball maximum stunned the home crowd into silence.

Earlier, Chennai bowlers put on a inspired show to restrict Kolkata for 158 for 6. Put into bat, Gautam Gambhir struck an aggressive half-century but then watched his team falter thanks to some brilliant bowling by Chennai bowlers. Gambhir blasted 62 off just 43 deliveries and put on a 99 run opening partnership with Brendon McCullum (37 off 29).

From 99 for no loss in the 12th over, the KKR were reduced to 128 for 5 in the 18th over as Jacques Kallis (4), Manoj Tiwary (12) and Yusuf Pathan (11) failed to make any impact. McCullum was the first to go courtesy of a needless run out. Then in the very next over Shahdab Jakati got one to slip one through Gambhir's defence to have his stumps castled.

Kallis (4) fell attempting to reverse-sweep to Jakati, while Pathan started explosively for a huge six over long-on but his run of woeful form continued as he mistimed a delivery in the very next over as he fell to R Ashwin. Soon Tiwary was caught in the deep off the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja. The hosts were struggling at 128 for 5 at that stage.

In the end, late charge by Debabrata Das (19 not out off 10 balls) make sure that the hosts set a competitive target for the defending champions. Das hit a six and two fours in his late blast.

IPL 5: Kolkata hold nerve to beat Ganguly's Pune

Marchant de lange picked up three wickets to help Kolkata Knight Riders beat Pune Warriors India by seven runs in their Indian Premier League match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday. Chasing a competitive target of 151 runs to win, Pune managed only 143 for 8 to hand KKR their seventh win this year's IPL.

Pune made a disastrous start losing opener Michael Clarke in the second over, who fell to the de Lange for just one. de Lange struck in his very next over to send backs Robin Uthappa for 17, which put the KKR on top. And then Sunil Narine accounted for the in-form Steven Smith when he had the Australian controversially adjudged lbw

Struggling at 55 for 5, Pune were in deep trouble, but Sourav Ganguly and Angelo Mathews shared a 73-run stand to put the visitors back on track. However Rajat Bhatia's dismissal of Ganguly sparked another collapse, and Narine allowed just 13 runs from his four overs to leave Pune needing 18 from the final over. De Lange ensured that wouldn't happen as he claimed the wicket of Mathews, leaving Pune 143 for 8 at the end of their 20 overs.

Earlier, Kolkata squandered a brilliant start provided by openers Gautam Gambhir and Brendon McCullum as they were restricted to 150 for 5 by Pune Warriors India. The hosts raced to 98 for 0 after ten overs and a surely 200 were on the cards. The pressure was clearly palpable in the Pune camp as Dinda dropped an easy sitter, giving McCullum a reprieve on 28

Gambhir smashed 56 off 36 balls that included four fours and two sixes and his opening partner, McCullum, scored a patient 42 off 43 deliveries with five fours and a six as they powered the hosts to 113 in the thirteenth over. But from then some brilliant fielding and great bowling by Angelo Mathews inspired a magnificent comeback.

IPL 5: Clinical KKR cruise to easy win over Punjab

Gautam Gambhir scored an unbeaten 66 while Jacques Kallis remained not out on 30 as clinical Kolkata Knight Riders thrashed Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets in an IPL 5 match at the PCA Stadium in Mohali on Wednesday. A disciplined bowling and fielding performance helped Kolkata restrict Punjab to just 124 for 7 and then skipper Gambhir led from the front to make sure Kolkata reached the target with 3.3 overs to spare.

Gambhir's match-winning innings included seven fours and one six. Brendon McCullum looked dangerous early on but failed to capitalise on the good start as he fell cheaply to Chawla scoring 15. Chawla also picked up his second wicket four overs later when Manvinder Bisla (11) dragged a delivery on to his stumps.

Soon, Kallis joined the captain in the middle to finish off things and did it in style with a huge six. He stayed unbeaten by scoring 30 off 23 balls. The duo shared an unbeaten 53-run stand as KKR cruised to an easy win.

Earlier, Punjab won the toss and elected to bat, but the home team lost Paul Valthaty in the third over, as Brett Lee made early inroads for Kolkata. Shaun Marsh (33) then joined Adam Gilchrist in the middle, but the latter was forced to leave the field due to a hamstring pull when he was on 28.

After six overs, Punjab were well placed at 45 for 1 with Marsh and Mandeep Singh (6) in the middle. After Gilchrist's exit Punjab struggled to score freely and Mandeep was the second man to fall as he gave away his wicket to Laxmipathy Balaji who had him caught at the third man. Soon he was joined by Marsh in the middle when Lee struck to get him caught behind. Though, Marsh's dismissal in the 14th over, however, turned out to be a little controversial.

Punjab then lost David Hussey (10) immediately in the next over for a poor judgement of a run and to leave the team reeling at 87 for 4 in the 15th over. Punjab failed to get a substantial partnership after that as Dimitri Mascarenhas (9) and Paras Dogra (6) departed in quick succession. Gilchirst returned in the 19th over to try and add some late runs, but by then the Kolkata bowlers had already done the damage. The Punjab skipper clubbed a six in the final over to take his team to 124 and remained unbeaten on 40.

For Kolkata, wily West Indian offspinner Sunil Narine (2 for 24) and Brett Lee (2 for 26) starred with the ball. Laxmipathy Balaji and Rajat Bhatia also picked up a wicket each for the visitors.

Bowlers script 50-run victory for India

Mirpur: Irfan Pathan led the Indian attack with a four-wicket haul with R Ashwin and Vinay Kumar taking three wickets apiece, which scripted a middle-order collapse for Sri Lanka to help India recover and register a 50-run victory in their first match of the Asia Cup on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka were on course to chase down India's 304 as they reached 196 for 3 in 35 overs, but losing 4 wickets for 31 runs in the batting powerplay proved decisive in the end. Ashwin (3 for 39) and Vinay (3 for 55) took two wickets each in that period to reduce the Lankans to 227 for 7 in 40 overs. Pathan then returned in the final overs to take his tally to 4 for 32 with the last Sri Lankan wicket of Seekkuge Prasanna

Earlier, India's twin centurions Virat Kohli (108) and Gautam Gambhir (100) put up a 205-run stand for the second wicket to set India up for a huge total. En route his century, Kohli became the fastest man to reach 10 ODI centuries, reaching the landmark in his 83rd match.

MS Dhoni (46 not out off 26 balls) and Suresh Raina (30 not out off 17 balls) then hammered the Lankan attack for 78 runs in the final 7.1 overs to cross the 300-run mark with a six from Raina off the last ball of the 50th over.

Sachin Tendulkar (6) fell early after Sri Lanka put India in to bat. He hit a full toss straight to Jayawardene in short cover; however, the maestro wasn't convinced if the catch was clean and stood his ground. The umpires brought the third umpire into play, who upheld the decision after replays showed nothing wrong with the dismissal.

Thereafter, it was a Kohli-Gambhir show as they stole the limelight by bringing up the 10th ODI centuries of their respective careers.

The Sri Lankan bowlers had no answers for Kohli who scored his second consecutive century in Mirpur after punishing the Bangladeshis in the World Cup opener last year. He and Gambhir fell soon after reaching the landmark but Dhoni and Raina ensured boundaries came thick and fast in the last seven overs to take India's total to 304 for 3.

The islanders lost Tillakaratne Dilshan (7) early in their chase but Jayawardene played a captain's knock of 78 in just 59 balls, which included 10 fours and two sixes. After Dilshan was sent back by Pathan, Jayawardene joined hands with Kumar Sangakkara for a 93-run second-wicket partnership in a 14-over period that saw some delectable strokeplay, especially from the skipper.

The Sri Lankans merrily moved to 124 for 1 in just the 19th over when Jayawardene's cheeky glide led to his downfall. The delivery from Pathan kissed the face of his bat to settle inside the gloves of a diving Dhoni. The wicket got India a foot inside the door as they struck 28 runs later when Ashwin foxed Dinesh Chandimal (13) to bowl him with his carrom ball.

At 152 for 3, Sangakkara found an ally in Lahiru Thirimanne and the duo started bringing the chase back on track by milking the Indian spinners. It was evident that Sri Lanka were eyeing the batting powerplay, especially in the way they approached the chase from that point on.

However, Ashwin sent Sangakkara (65) and Thirimanne (29) back in the first over of the powerplay, while Vinay took care of Nuwan Kulasekara (11) and Chamara Kapugedara (0) in the fourth. Maharoof tried to be a bit adventurous; however, it proved to be futile in the end.

The defending champions will next take on Bangladesh, who lost to Pakistan in the opening match, on March 16.

India win with bonus point, keep tri-series finals door open

Hobart: Chasing a stiff target of 321 in 40 overs to take the bonus point, India, powered by an outstanding century from Virat Kohli pulled off an incredible win at the Bellerive Oval on Tuesday to keep alive their hopes of making the CB Series finals.

Where their bowling had been decidedly lackluster in allowing Sri Lanka to post 320 with centuries to Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara, India’s batting was outstanding. Leading the way was Kohli with an unbeaten 133 off 86 balls – his ninth ODI century – and Gautam Gambhir, whose 64-ball 63 helped India raise 115 for the third wicket. When Gambhir was run out in the 28th over India were 120 runs away from their target, but up stepped Suresh Raina with his most significant contribution all series.

The night, however, belonged to Kohli who timed his innings to perfection. After pacing himself early on, through smart singles and brisk running, Kohli teed off with an array of shots that found the boundary with alarming regularity. His fifty took 44 balls but his next 83 needed just 42 balls as Kohli stunned Sri Lanka with a brilliant innings full of dazzling shots. He saved his best for the woeful Lasith Malinga, who he hit for 44 runs in 15 deliveries. Consecutive boundaries off Malinga in the 37th over sealed the most incredible of chases, meaning India will now await keenly the result of Australia’s clash with Sri Lanka on Friday. Should Australia win, they will face India in the best-of-three finals.

When they came out to bat after a disappointing display, the challenge ahead was monumental. But somehow the two out of form openers, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, rallied to give the team a stand of 54 in 38 balls. This despite a power failure at Bellerive Oval that took out one of the floodlight towers. Sehwag sped to 30 off 16 balls before miscuing a pull shot to mid-on, after which Tendulkar kept the tempo up with a stroke-filled 39 off 30 balls. His dismissal, out lbw walking across his stumps to Malinga in the 10th over, ushered in the partnership of the match.

Gambhir and Kohli worked the ball into the gaps expertly and even when boundaries weren’t available – India once played out 35 balls without a four - they ensured the asking rate didn’t escalate to unmanageable levels with deft placement and harried running between the wickets.

Gambhir worked away at the gaps on the leg side with trademark whips, offsetting the bowlers by shuffling around his crease. Kohli too preferred the leg side, but whenever the ball was pitched short he slapped it into the off-side gaps. The pair ticked along purposefully to reach their respective half-centuries by the mid-point of India’s innings.

When Gambhir was caught short of his crease coming back for the second, Sri Lanka were in with an opportunity. Raina had been a failure all series, and there were questions raised as to why MS Dhoni had not promoted himself. But Raina proved an able ally to Kohli, whipping away anything on the pads – and there was plenty – to give his partner confidence. One off-drive off Nuwan Kulasekara was stunning, and when Raina clipped Thissara Perera for six the momentum had truly been snatched from Sri Lanka.

Kohli, at the other end, was unstoppable. He took three consecutive boundaries off Kulasekara in the 31st over to reduce the target to 73 in nine overs, but was at his best against Malinga in the 35th over. In six deliveries, Kohli slammed 24 runs: a flick past midwicket for two brought him a century off 76 balls, the next ball was flicked for six, a lofted drive over extra-cover brought four, and the next three balls disappeared to the deep square leg fence as Malinga veered onto the pads.

Few could have envisioned this at the half-way mark of the match, after Sri Lanka posted a big total. Needing to keep Sri Lanka to an attainable total, India’s bowlers instead fed with them with loose deliveries and two former captains, Dilshan and Sangakkara, replied with superb centuries.

Dilshan overcame some early jitters to a career-best 160 not out off 165 balls, while Sangakkara shrugged off an indifferent run with 105 off 87 balls. The pair joined forces in the 12th over after Mahela Jayawardene (22) steered Ravindra Jadeja to Sehwag at slip, and immediately set into their paces.

Taking full toll of an insipid bowling performance, Dilshan and Sangakkara picked the gaps and ran brilliantly between the wickets. They made sure the bad balls were hammered away, with Dilshan taking a liking to Umesh Yadav who went for 56 in eight overs. With Jadeja and R Ashwin dropping short too often, the Sri Lankan pair was able to rock back and slice or pull the ball.

Dilshan raised three figures in the 41st over, and Sangakkara followed with his century off 84 balls. He was out soon after, bowled by Praveen Kumar, and even a brief collapse didn’t reflect much on the scorecard as Dilshan stuck around to the end.

Unfortunately for Sri Lanka, it wasn’t to be their day. Having batted so well, their bowlers turned in a terrible performance and the fielders fumbled and allowed too many boundaries. Malinga was the worst hit, conceding 96 runs in 7.4 overs, and the manner in which he was dismantled highlighted the desire burning inside India’s batsmen.

India snatch last-ball tie against Sri Lanka

Adelaide: Needing four to win off the last ball, MS Dhoni's pick-up drive over the covers fetched India three runs that locked both India and Sri Lanka at 236 to end the fifth match of the CB series in a tie here on Tuesday.

It was the 26th tie in the history of one-day internationals and the first between India and Sri Lanka. Interestingly, the 30th over of the innings was called after just five balls had been bowled. Despite not winning the match, India went top of the table with 10 points from four matches. Australia are second with nine points from three matches and Sri Lanka third with two points from three matches.

India had it under control until Dhoni (58*) - playing his 200th ODI - sold top-scorer Gautam Gambhir (91) a dummy to deny him an ODI century for the second match in a row. India then slipped from 178 for 4 to 212 for 7, leaving Dhoni to do the finishing once again.

Smart captaincy by Mahela Jayawardene and some tight bowling by Lasith Malinga (2 for 53) and Thissara Perera (2 for 45) kept India in the hunt throughout after their batting once again disappointed.

Gambhir and Dhoni aside, India’s batting was decidedly ordinary. Sachin Tendulkar (15) was caught behind by wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara off Kulasekara, after which Virat Kohli (15) and Rohit Sharma (15) failed to capitalise. Kohli was trapped in front by Perera while Rohit fell to a direct hit by Jayawardene, which reduced India to 94 for 3. Suresh Raina (8) was the next man to depart at the score at 118. Gambhir crossed his 30th half-century during a 60-run stand with Dhoni, but his run-out in the 41st over started a slide.

Ravindra Jadeja lasted only 10 ball for his 3 and R Ashwin departed for 14, making it 212 for 7 in the 48th over. Irfan Pathan, who was included in place of Zaheer Khan, then brought the game in the balance with a six off a no-ball but sacrificed himself for the skipper after confusion while attempting a cheeky single.

Needing nine off the last over, Dhoni had Vinay Kumar for company but he became the third run-out of the Indian innings off the penultimate ball, leaving Dhoni to score four runs off the last ball with Yadav at the other end. Malinga bowled it wide and full but Dhoni was ready for it as he almost hit a boundary but for a splendid effort by the sweeper cover.

Earlier, Jayawardene won the toss and elected to take first strike on a batting track, leaving India to chase for fourth match in a row. India brought back Tendulkar and Irfan for Virender Sehwag and Zaheer, respectively while Sri Lanka also made two changes by bringing in Perera and Sachithra Senanayake.

India celebrated early as Vinay edged out a shoddy Upul Tharanga for a nought off the second ball of the day. Tillakaratne Dilshan (16) also couldn't find form as he became Irfan's victim.

Dinesh Chandimal brought positive intent to the crease which rubbed off to Sangakkara as the duo brought up a fifty stand. But just one run later, a rush of blood saw Sangakkara (31) gifting his wicket to Ashwin. Jayawardene joined forces with Chandimal, with both playing their strokes uninhibitedly to put India on the back foot.

Chandimal brought up his fifty in just 56 balls with Jayawardene scoring almost run a ball to keep Indian bowlers under the pump. Dhoni brought the series' top wicket-taker Vinay back who answered the skipper's call by getting rid of Jayawardene for 43. From a solid 173 for 3 in the 37th over, the Lankans slipped to 210 for 7, allowing India to put a lid on the score, which at one stage looked set to cross 270.

Chandimal (81) fell in the very next over to some sharp work by Rohit who combined with Dhoni to run him out. Perera (5) and Angelo Mathews (17) followed Chandimal back in the hut to leave the tail collect whatever runs they could in a last-gasp attempt.

Senanayake (22 of 14) hit three crisp fours and combined with Kulasekara (12) to take Sri Lanka to something they could bowl at. But in the end, it just proved one run short.

India seal thriller against Australia

Adelaide: India held their nerves to conjure up a four-wicket victory by chasing down a target of 270 with two balls to spare in their tri-series encounter against Australia on Sunday.

Needing 13 runs off the last over, MS Dhoni hit a massive six on the third Clint McKay delivery after R Ashwin took a single off the second. Dhoni then made full use of an over-the-waist full toss - which was declared a no-ball by the umpire Nigel Llong – to get back on strike and sealed the match with another pull shot that resulted in three scampered runs.

Dhoni remained unbeaten on 44, along with Ashwin (1). McKay was the most successful Australian bowler, picking up three wickets, while Xavier Doherty also took two wickets with his left-arm spin.

Chasing a competitive total, Virender Sehwag (20) and Gautam Gambhir (92) gave India a rousing start, hitting boundaries at will. Both batsmen played some exquisite cover drives as India reached 50 in the ninth over. But like so many occasions in the recent past, Sehwag departed when he tried to fetch a leg-sided delivery by McKay, only to balloon it and giving a simple catch to David Hussey at backward point.

Virat Kohli was the next to go, his dismissal the result of hitting too many good shots straight to fielders. He was caught at sweeper cover by Peter Forrest off McKay. Rohit Sharma replaced Kohli and got himself going with a few well-stolen singles. His first boundary, a six, was a fierce pull shot off Mitchell Starc. Meanwhile, Gambhir completed his half-century in 63 balls. But when things were looking good for India, Rohit threw his wicket away and gave Australia a chance to claw their way back.

Clearly perturbed by his partner's wicket, Gambhir too played some high-risk shots before he shuffled across the stumps and was adjudged lbw off McKay, his third wicket of the innings. As his wicket fell in the 34th over, Dhoni and Suresh Raina saw off the batting Powerplay, taking only 18 runs in those five overs.

Raina broke the shackles by hitting Doherty for a six in the mid-wicket region, and the two then concentrated on taking some quick singles and doubles till Raina was yorked by Doherty to leave India needing 31 runs off 23 balls. Ravindra Jadeja contributed 12, before leaving Ashwin to see India through along with Dhoni.

Earlier, India's bowlers had restricted the Australian scoring rate in the last ten overs, giving away just three boundaries in that period. Vinay Kumar and Umesh Yadav picked up two wickets each while Zaheer Khan got one. The other three Aussie batsmen were run out.

Australia changed their opening combination as Ricky Ponting started the innings in place of Matthew Wade, along with David Warner. Ponting looked out of sorts from the beginning, and Vinay provided India their first breakthrough when Ponting hit his swirling delivery into the hands of Kohli at backward point.

Michael Clarke looked in ominous touch as he raced to 25 in just 17 deliveries, hitting four crisp fours either side of the wicket. Warner's wicket after a terrible mix-up with Clarke put the brakes on the Australian scoring. Clarke then departed when Yadav, after bowling consistently around the 150 kph mark, bowled one of 121 kph, completely deceiving the Australian skipper, who chopped on while trying to fetch the ball from well outside off-stump.

Yadav was the pick of the Indian bowlers, but Forrest, who made his debut, used Umesh’s pace to register his first boundary in ODI cricket. The right-hander also looked extremely comfortable against the spinners, using his feet to both Jadeja and Ashwin, and he got to his maiden half-century in 70 deliveries.

At the other end, Hussey (72) made his intentions clear from the outset, stealing singles on a regular basis and hitting fours on loose deliveries. But Yadav returned to provide India the much-needed breakthrough when he had Forrest caught at the square-leg fence for 66. The wicket also ended the 98-run stand for the fourth wicket between Forrest and Hussey.

Daniel Christian (39) also took the attack to the Indians from the word go. But a terrific diving catch at square-leg by Sehwag sent Hussey back and then Christian ran himself out against the run of play as India pulled things back by bowling plenty of dot balls in the final overs.

Finally a win for India in Australia

Melbourne: Without a win across four Tests and the first T20I, India were able to right their wrongs, to an extent, with a convincing eight-wicket win over the Australia at the MCG in the second Twenty20 on Friday.

Gautam Gambhir struck a fine unbeaten 56 to help India register their first win on the tour. Chasing 132 to win, India reached 135 for two in 19.4 overs, with Gambhir and MS Dhoni (21 not-out) in the middle.

Openers Gambhir and Virender Sehwag provided India a confident start to their chase after the bowlers restricted hosts to 131. Sehwag looked in good nick as he hit two boundaries and a six for his innings of 23 off 16 balls. But when it looked Sehwag will destroy the opponents, Brad Hogg got the better of the right-hander.

Virat Kohli then joined Gambhir in the middle and the duo took India closer to the target. The two added 54 runs for the second wicket before Kohli fell to Mitchell Marsh for 31 off 24 balls.

Earlier, India dazzled in the field with four run-outs to restrict Australia to 131. Chasing their first victory on the tour, India rocked the home side with brilliant ground fielding led by two run outs from Man-of-the-Match Ravindra Jadeja.

Opener Aaron Finch, top-scored with 36 off 23 balls and Wednesday's Man-of-the-Match, Matthew Wade, chipped in with 32 off 29 balls.

But India had the home side under pressure from the third over when they dismissed the T20 specialist David Warner for eight to a great catch in the deep by Gambhir off Praveen Kumar.

Then struggling Shaun Marsh was out for a duck and Finch was run out by an outstanding piece of athletic fielding by Jadeja after David Hussey hit straight to him at backward point and scampered for a single.

Hussey also played a role in a second run out as Jadeja found skipper George Bailey (three) well out of his ground at the bowler's end, and was himself next to go, caught and bowled by Jadeja for 24 off 29 balls.

Smart glovework by skipper MS Dhoni had Mitchell Marsh stumped for 13 off spinner Rahul Sharma and Wade was run out by a direct throw from Rohit Sharma in the 19th over. The Australians collapsed losing their final three wickets in seven balls.

Kumar took two for 21 off three overs and Sharma claimed two for 29 off 3.4 overs.

Australia hammer India, lead series 2-0

Sydney: What started as a day of high anticipation ended up in smoke for MS Dhoni's men as India lost the second Test against Australia by an innings and 68 runs at the Sydney Cricket Ground, after Sachin Tendulkar once again missed out on an opportunity to get to his 100th international century.

Ben Hilfenhaus notched up his second five-wicket haul of the series as the Indians were bowled out for 400 to give the hosts a 2-0 lead in the four-match series. Triple-centurion and captain of the Australian team Michael Clarke, who was declared Man of the Match for his sublime innings of 329, was elated with the victory.

"It was a tough wicket to take 10 wickets but our bowlers were brilliant. I've spoken about consistency and our guys are doing that now. In any team you need experience and youth and I think now this Australian team has it. I was as relieved as Punt [Ponting]. His attitude around the group has been exceptional," Clarke said.

Clarke was also the one to deny Tendulkar the magical milestone of a 100th ton, when he had him caught by Michael Hussey at first slip for 80. "It [Tendulkar's wicket] is a very handy one to have," he said.

Carrying on from their overnight score of 114 for 2, India started off in convincing fashion through Tendulkar, who struck boundaries at will through the offside.

However, the visitors lost Gautam Gambhir soon after. A leading edge from his bat off the bowling of Peter Siddle ended in the hands of David Warner, who completed an easy catch at backward point. Gambhir departed after playing a useful hand of 83 from 142 balls, and struck 11 boundaries on the way.

Tendulkar continued to be in great touch, bringing up his 65th half-century in Tests with a glance down to fine leg and exhibited the 'daylight' that has existed between him and the rest of the Indian batsman in the series so far.

He and VVS Laxman were in complete control, taking the team's score to 243 for 3 at lunch. After losing just Gambhir's wicket in the first session, the turn of events post lunch was truly disastrous to the Indian cause.

With his score on 80, Tendulkar edged a Clarke delivery to Hussey at first slip which well and truly opened the floodgates. Laxman, who had brought up his half-century a little while earlier, was then cleaned up by Hilfenhaus, as he played across the line to a delivery that pitched on off-stump and held its line, to be bowled for 66.

The Aussie fast bowler got into the act again, getting the wicket of Dhoni (2) although there was some confusion as to whether it was a bump ball or not, but replays confirmed that Dhoni had scooped the ball straight into the hands of the bowler.

After terrorising the Indian batsmen in the first innings, Pattinson finally got his first wicket in the second essay by trapping Virat Kohli (9) lbw to a delivery that kept low. A few lusty hits by Zaheer Khan made for some interesting viewing, but with seven wickets down the writing was very much on the wall for the Indians.

The fireworks from Zaheer finally come to an end when he was dismissed by Siddle, who picked up his second wicket of the innings. Zaheer's innings lasted 26 balls which yielded 35 runs and included five fours and a six, before he backed away to a short delivery from Siddle only to hit it as far as Shaun Marsh in the cover region, who took a fine running catch.

Offspinner Nathan Lyon then got his first wicket of the match by trapping Ishant Sharma (11) in front of his stumps.

Meanwhile with wickets falling at the other end, R Ashwin, who had brought up his fifty (nine fours, one six), holed out to Lyon, who ran from mid-on to bring an end to India's misery. Ashwin made 62 before he became Hilfenhaus' fifth wicket.