Siddle and Starc sets Australia win over Sri Lanka at Hobart

Six wickets in a dramatic last session have guide Australia won in the 1st Test against Sri Lanka at Bellerive Oval. fast bowling made the damage, as 1st Peter Siddle and then Mitchell Starc cut through some brave Sri Lankan resistance to seal a 137-run victory with 10.4 overs remaining in the day.

This was the Australia's first Test victory of the summer - avoided a repeat of Adelaide, where the hosts side failed to take enough wickets on the last day to beat South Africa. Australia will go into the Boxing Day Test with a 1-0 lead in the Three Match Test series.

Starc take 5 for 63 following on from his brilliant performance in Perth against South Africa. Siddle was again star for Australia, taking important wickets as the final day wore on, keeping Australia in with a chance of victory. He got 4 for 50 to go with his first innings haul of 5 for 54 and was  named for the man of the match.

Clarke also joined the growing Australian injury list when he retired hurt in the 2nd innings with a hamstring injury.

The Sri Lankans had begun the day five at 2 for 65 facing an uphill task to secure a draw on a deteriorating wicket. The key to survival was the two veterans, Skipper Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara.

This pair frustrated the Australian attack for some time, taking the score to 2 for 112 before Siddle made the breakthrough, dismissing Jayawardene for 19 runs, caught by Michael Clarke at slip. The key wicket was Kumar Sangakkara, and when he was trapped in front by Siddle for 63, it looked like Australia was well on its way to win.

A resistant action by Thilan Samaraweera and Angelo Mathews showed Sri Lanka had other ideas, however. When Clarke threw the ball to Matthew Wade just before tea with Sri Lanka still four wickets down, it was clear the pressure was back on the Australian side.

Siddle came, who drew an edge to the keeper to remove Mathews (19), then produced an unplayable ball that swung late and stayed low to dismiss Samaraweera for 49, leaving the tourists at 6 for 218 and the tail exposed. Then Starc took over with a fine spell of bowling that leads for Prasanna Jayawardene for 21 and Nuwan Kulasekara for 9. Finally Sri Lanka all out for 255 runs. Peter named for the Man of the Match award.

Australia lead by 382 despite Kohli's ton

Adelaide: Australia were 50 for 3 in their second innings at stumps on the third day of the fourth Test against India in Adelaide, and overall lead of 382 runs. Michael Clarke was on 9 and Ricky Ponting on 1 when the players left the field for the day.

Virender Sehwag rolled the dice and opened the bowling with R Ashwin and he did not disappoint the skipper. David Warner was the first batsmen to be dismissed, giving a return catch to Ashwin for 28.

Shaun Marsh, who has had a disastrous Test series with the bat against India, failed to open his account when he was trapped in front of the wickets by Zaheer Khan. Three balls later, Ashwin claimed his second wicket of the innings trapping Ed Cowan for 10 to leave Australia in a bit of a bother at 41 for 3. But then the star duo of Clarke and Ponting saw off the day without any fuss.

Earlier, Virat Kohli proved that there is some life in the Indian batting order with his maiden Test century. However, his effort went in vain as it was not enough to stop India from incurring a 332-run first-innings deficit. Kohli top-scored with 116 as Australia decided not to enforce the follow-on.

Destined to lose the series after humbling defeats in the first three Tests and chasing Australia's 604 for 7, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman departed before lunch and India looked to be flirting with the follow-on. Having seen his more experienced colleagues depart all too easily, Kohli - with some help from Wriddhiman Saha - provided some much-needed resistance. Kohli and Saha put on 114 for the sixth wicket and lasted all but the entire afternoon session.

The duo mixed up aggression with patience as they forced the Australian bowlers to toil in the afternoon heat. Such was the comfortable nature with which the batsmen progressed that Clarke was left rushing through part-timers and spinners in an effort to bring about the arrival of the second new ball.

Ryan Harris gave the home side a timely boost with the new ball by removing Saha when the batsman shouldered arms to an in-swinger which hit his off stump in the final over before tea. With the resistance broken, Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus ran through the remainder of the order, with the former picking up his first five-wicket haul of the series.

With the option of sending India back in to bat, Clarke decided against enforcing the follow-on.

Australia ride on Warner ton to sink India on Day 1

Perth: David Warner blasted a 69-ball century to steer Australia to 149 without loss at stumps on the first day of the third Test against India in Perth, trailing by only 12 runs. Warner scored the joint-fourth fastest century in history of Test cricket with a massive six off the bowling of the debutant Vinay Kumar.

Warner was well supported by fellow opener Ed Cowan who was not out on 40 as the Indian bowlers looked helpless on a day when their team's batting line-up failed miserably. It was Warner's second Test ton and included 13 scintillating boundaries and three huge sixes. He and Cowan raced to a century stand for the first wicket in just 84 balls, with Warner's fifty coming up off 36 balls with the help of six fours and a six. The rest of the evening session did not get better for India who conceded runs at 6.77 an over.

Earlier, India's batsmen produced another awful first-innings display as they were dismissed for just 161 by Australia's quicks shortly after tea. Not a single Indian batsman managed to get a half-century as Ben Hilfenhaus was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets and Peter Siddle along with young Mitchell Starc picked three wickets each to destroy India's batting line-up.

With the WACA wicket sporting a green pitch and both teams going for all-pace attacks, luck was on Australia's side as skipper Michael Clarke won the toss and opted to bowl first. His bowlers backed him up nicely from the word go by removing Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid in the first half hour.

Sehwag went cheaply in the fourth over for a duck as he gently pushed a Hilfenhas outswinger to Ricky Ponting at third slip. India slipped to 32 for 2 when Dravid was bowled for the fourth time in the series. Sachin Tendulkar was looking in great touch until he played all around a delivery from Ryan Harris and was trapped lbw for 15 while Gautam Gambhir was caught behind just before the break for an 82-ball 31.

Virat Kohli and VVS Laxman shared a 68-run stand to settle some nerves in the dressing room, but it all went downhill after they were removed in quick succession by Siddle before tea.

India, who also chose to go with four quicks, handed Vinay his debut in place of spinner R Ashwin in an otherwise unchanged side from the first two Tests. Ashwin's batting was sorely missed after tea when Vinay (5) gave Starc his first wicket of the day and his captain MS Dhoni followied him to pavilion soon afterwards, caught in the slips off Hilfenhaus for 12. Zaheer Khan (2) was Hilfenhaus's fourth victim before Starc mopping up the final wicket when he had Ishant Sharma caught behind for three.

Already 2-0 down in the four-match series after heavy defeats in Melbourne and Sydney, India need a much better showing to get themselves back into the series.