Bangladesh beat India after Sachin's 100th

Mirpur: The most-awaited 100th international century by Sachin Tendulkar went in vain as India lost to Bangladesh by five wickets in their Asia Cup encounter on Friday.

Tendulkar's hundred (114), which came in 147 deliveries, took the Indian score to 289 and it looked a daunting total till a series of blitz by Shakib Al Hasan (49 off 31), Nasir Hossain (54 off 58) and skipper Mushfiqur Rahim (46 off 25) blew away the Indian challenge. Tamim Iqbal's knock of 70 and his 113-run partnership with Jahurul Islam (53 off 68) for the third wicket laid a solid foundation for Bangladesh.

After his 64 against Pakistan, Shakib once again shone with the bat, taking charge of the Bangladesh chase when things were looking difficult for the hosts. Just like Shakib, Hossain, too, was extremely impressive, taking the attack to the Indian bowlers from the beginning.

Opening the innings for Bangladesh, Tamim hit his second consecutive half-century. Praveen Kumar gave India an early breakthrough, picking up the wicket of Nazimmudin (5 off 15). But Jahurul, playing his 8th match, mixed aggression with caution. He got to his maiden fifty, before being caught at mid-wicket by Rohit Sharma off Ravindra Jadeja.

Hossain picked up where Jahurul left, clobbering the Indian bowlers from the outset. The wicket of Tamim although gave India a chance to claw their way back, an onslaught by Shakib took the game away from them. His partnership of 68 off just 48 balls with Hossain turned the game in Bangladesh favour.

Huge blows (3 fours, 3 sixes) by skipper Rahim towards the end of the innings sealed the victory for the home side. Indian bowlers went for plenty in death overs, leaking 36 runs off the last 14 balls.

Earlier, Sachin reached the much-awaited 100th century. A sigh of relief was palpable on the face of the veteran batsman who kissed the India emblem on his helmet after waving his bat towards his teammates.

He and Virat Kohli, who came together after the dismissal of Gautam Gambhir (11), shared 147 runs for the second wicket before Kohli was bowled by Abdur Razzak for 66. Suresh Raina was sent ahead of Rohit and the left-hander wasted no time in displaying his array of attacking strokes. His 51 off 38 balls gave the much-needed impetus to the Indian innings, which seemed to have lost momentum as Tendulkar neared the milestone. Rohit was run out while stealing a two at death.

Skipper Dhoni remained unbeaten on 21, along with Jadeja who contributed with 4. Mashrafe Mortaza, who picked up the wickets of Raina and Tendulkar in consecutive deliveries, was the best bowler for Bangladesh.

India will play archrival Pakistan, who have already reached the final, in a must-win game on Sunday.

Tendulkar timeline: 1989 and counting

New Delhi: Twenty-three years, every conceivable record, a World Cup medal, hundred international centuries - what more could Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar and millions of his fans have asked for. From the day he played his first game for India till today the man continues to baffle one and all with his class and consistency. Here's a quick timeline of Sachin Tendulkar's career so far.

1989: Makes his international debut in the away series against Pakistan under the captaincy of Krishnamachari Srikkanth as a 16-year-old and scores two half-centuries in six Test innings.

1990: Scores his maiden Test century (119 not out, 17 fours) against England at Old Trafford and helps India to save the match.

1991: Plays an impressive knock of 52 not against Pakistan at Sharjah which ended a series of defeats for India against their arch rivals at that venue. Also came into prominence in the same tournament as a bowler taking 4/34 against the West Indies which resulted in a comprehensive win for India.

1992: Plays a sublime innings of 114 in the Perth Test against an Aussie attack comprising of Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes, Paul Reiffel and Mike Whitney.

Plays a match winning innings of 54 not out against Pakistan at Sydney in the 1992 World Cup, gets the crucial wicket of Aamir Sohail and ends up with the man of the match award.

Becomes the first-ever overseas cricketer to represent Yorkshire in their County Championship.

1993: Bowls India to a memorable victory against South Africa at the Hero Cup when six runs were required to win off the last over.

Scores his first Test century (165) in India at Chennai during the home series against England.

1994: Takes the world by storm as he is asked to open for the first time in one day internationals (ODI) during India's tour of New Zealand. Goes on to annihilate the Kiwi bowlers on his way to 82 off just 49 balls at Auckland's Eden Park as India level the series after losing the first match.

Scores his first ODI ton in his 79th match during the Singer Cup against Australia at Colombo during a quadrilateral tournament involving hosts Sri Lanka, Australia and Pakistan.

1995: Signs first contract worth Rs 3.5 crore with WorldTel, for a five-year commercial endorsements and marketing deal.

1996: Scores a total of 523 runs in the World Cup hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka which includes two centuries. Also plays a major role in India's progress to the semi-finals.

Takes over the captaincy from Mohammad Azharuddin after India's tour of England and leads India to victory over Australia in the one-off Test at Delhi which was followed by a Test series win over South Africa at home. India also win the Titan Cup by beating Australia and South Africa under his captaincy.

Scores his 10th Test century (177) during the third Test against England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.

Scores his 10th ODI ton (114) during the Pepsi challenge match against South Africa at the Wankhede stadium.

1997: Leads India to a 4-1 victory over Pakistan at Toronto in the second edition of the Sahara Cup.

Wins the Wisden cricketer of the year award.

1998: Scores an unbeaten 155 against Australia during the third Test at Chennai and helps India to a massive 179-run victory.

Scores back to back centuries against Australia at Sharjah in a tri-series also involving New Zealand which helped India to go all the way.

Brings up his 20th ODI ton at Sharjah against the Zimbabweans.

1999: Completes 8,000 runs in ODIs in his 217th match at the age of 26 years and 45 days vs Pakistan at Manchester in the World Cup.

Scores his first Test double century (217 runs against New Zealand) in Ahmedabad.

Brings up his 20th Test ton vs New Zealand at Mohali.

Completes 50 catches in Test cricket in his 70th match vs New Zealand at Kanpur.

2000: Completes 9,000 runs in ODIs in his 242nd match at the age of 26 years and 330 days.

Completes 6,000 runs in Test cricket in his 76th match vs South Africa at Bangalore.

2001: Completed 10,000 runs in ODIs in his 266th match.

Becomes the first batsman in ODI history to score 10,000 runs.

Brings up his 30th one-day century at Johannesburg against South Africa.

Completes his 100 wickets in ODIs. Also completes a unique double of 10,000 runs and 100 wickets.

2002: Equals Sir Donald Bradman's record of 29 Test Centuries by scoring 117 vs West Indies at Port-of-Spain.

In his 99th Test appearance, surpasses Bradman's record of 29 centuries scoring 193, against England at Headingly, Leeds.

Only his mentor, Sunil Gavaskar is ahead of him at 34 centuries.

Scores his 30th Test ton against England at Headingley, Leeds.

2003: Makes 673 runs in 11 matches in the ICC World Cup – most by any batsman in a single World Cup that wins him the player of the tournament award.

Scores his 12,000th ODI run, while playing against Pakistan in the group match during the World cup.

2004: Equals Sunil Gavaskar's world record 34 Test centuries in the first match against Bangladesh.

Becomes only the third player in history, after Gary Kirsten and Steve Waugh, to score centuries against all Test playing nations.

Also becomes the first player in ODI history to win 50 Man of the Match awards.

2005: Completes 10,000 runs in Test cricket in his 122nd match at the age of 31 years and 326 days.

Scores a record 35th hundred on the first day of the second Test against Sri Lanka in New Delhi, surpassing Gavaskar's record.

2006: Sets a new world record by completing 14,000 one-day runs en route to his 39th century in the first one-day international against Pakistan in Peshawar.

Scores his 40th ODI century at Kuala Lumpur against the West indies during a tri-series competition also including Australia.

Time magazine rewards Tendulkar as one of the Asian Heroes.

2007: Rested for the first time in his career, for the three-ODI series against Bangladesh. Scores back-to-back

centuries in the two following Tests.

Plays in his 400th one-day international.

2008: During the second match of the CB series involving hosts Australia, India and Sri Lanka, Tendulkar becomes the first batsman to go past 16,000 runs in ODIs.

Tendulkar becomes the highest run-scorer in Test cricket at Mohali against Australia, surpassing Brian Lara's tally of 11953 runs.

2009: Becomes the first batsman to aggregate 17,000 ODI runs during his innings of 175 against Australia at Hyderabad.

2010: Becomes the first batsman to score a double-century, brings up the feat in ODI vs South Africa at Gwalior.

Becomes the most capped player in Test cricket, surpassing Steve Waugh's tally of 168 Tests. Brings up his 50th Test century at the Centurion against South Africa.

2011: Becomes the most capped player in ODIs with the World Cup opening game vs Bangladesh, surpassing Sanath Jayasuriya's tally of 444 matches.

Hits two hundreds and is first to score 2000 runs in World Cups as India win the World Cup beating Sri Lanka in the final at Wankhede.

2012: Becomes the first batsman in cricket hostory to score 100th interntaional ton. He reached the landmark on Friday, 16th March 2012 against Banglandesh at Mirpur.

List of Sachin's hundred international tons

Sachin Tendulkar completed his 100th international century against Bangladesh at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Friday. Here is a list of his centuries in Tests and ODIs.

List of Test centuries:

1. 119 not out vs England at Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester on 14 August 1990

2. 148 not out vs Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney on 6 January 1992

3. 114 vs Australia at WACA Ground, Perth on 3 February 1992

4. 111 vs South Africa at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg on 28 November 1992

5. 165 vs England at M A Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on 12 February 1993

6. 104 not out vs Sri Lanka at Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo on 31 July 1993

7. 142 vs Sri Lanka at K D Singh Babu Stadium, Lucknow on 19 January 1994

8. 179 vs West Indies at Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur on 2 December 1994

9. 122 vs England at Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham on 8 June 1996

10. 177 vs England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on 5 July 1996

11. 169 vs South Africa at Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town on 4 January 1997

12. 143 vs Sri Lanka at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on 3 August 1997

13. 139 vs Sri Lanka at Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo on 11 August 1997

14. 148 vs Sri Lanka at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on 4 December 1997

15. 155 not nout vs Australia at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on 9 March 1998

16. 177 vs Australia at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore on 26 March 1998

17. 113 vs New Zealand at Basin Reserve, Wellington on 29 December 1998

18. 136 vs Pakistan at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on 31 January 1999

19. 124 not out vs Sri Lanka at Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo on 28 February 1999

20. 126 not out vs New Zealand at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali on 13 October 1999

21. 217 vs New Zealand at Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad on30 October 1999

22. 116 vs Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne on 28 December 1999

23. 122 vs Zimbabwe at Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi on 21 November 2000

24. 201 not out vs Zimbabwe at Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground on 26 November 2000

25. 126 vs Australia at MA Chidambaram Stadium on 20 March 2001

26. 155 vs South Africa at Goodyear Park, Bloemfontein on 3 November 2001

27. 103 vs England at Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad on 13 December 2001

28. 176 vs Zimbabwe at Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur on 24 February 2002

29. 117 vs West Indies at Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain on 20 April 2002

30. 193 vs England at Headingley, Leeds on 23 August 2002

31. 176 vs West Indies at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on 3 November 2002

32. 241 not out vs Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney on 4 January 2004

33. 194 not out vs Pakistan at Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan on 29 March 2004

34. 248 not out vs Bangladesh at Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka on 12 December 2004

35. 109 vs Sri Lanka at Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi on 22 December 2005

36. 101 vs Bangladesh at Bir Shrestha Shahid Ruhul Amin Stadium, Chittagong on 19 May 2007

37. 122 not out vs Bangladesh atSher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur on 26 May 2007

38. 154 not out vs Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney on 4 January 2008

39. 153 vs Australia at Adelaide Oval, Adelaide on 25 January 2008

40. 109 vs Australia at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur on 6 November 2008

41. 103 not out vs England at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on 15 December 2008

42. 160 vs New Zealand at Seddon Park, Hamilton on 20 March 2009

43. 100 not out vs Sri Lanka at Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad on 20 November 2009

44. 105 not out vs Bangladesh at Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong on 18 January 2010

45. 143 vs Bangladesh at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur on 25 January 2010

46. 100 vs South Africa at Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur on 9 February 2010

47. 106 vs South Africa at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on 15 February 2010

48. 203 vs Sri Lanka at Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo on 28 July 2010

49. 214 vs Australia at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore on 11 October 2010

50. 111 not out vs South Africa at SuperSport Park, Centurion, on 19 December 2010

51. 146 vs South Africa at Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town, on 4 January 2011

List of ODI centuries:

1. 110 vs Australia at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, on September 9, 1994,

2. 115 vs New Zealand at IPCL Sports Complex Ground, Vadodara, on October 28, 1994

3. 105 vs West Indies at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur, on November 11, 1994

4. 112 not out vs Sri Lanka at Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah, on April 9, 1995

5. 127 not out vs Kenya at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack, on February 18, 1996

6. 137 vs Sri Lanka at Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi, on March 2, 1996

7. 100 vs Pakistan at Padang, Singapore, on April 5, 1996

8. 118 vs Pakistan at Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah, on April 15, 1996

9. 110 vs Sri Lanka at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, on August 28, 1996

10. 114 vs South Africa at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on December 14, 1996

11. 104 vs Zimbabwe at Willowmoore Park, Benoni, on February 9, 1997

12. 117 vs New Zealand at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, on May 14, 1997

13. 100 vs Australia at Green Park Stadium, Kanpur, on April 7, 1998

14. 143 vs Australia at Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah, on April 22, 1998

15. 134 vs Australia at Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah, on April 24, 1998

16. 100 not out vs Kenya at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on May 31, 1998

17. 128 vs Sri Lanka at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, July 7, 1998

18. 127 not out vs Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo, on September 26, 1998

19. 141 vs Australia at Bangabandhu Stadium, Dhaka, on October 28, 1998

20. 118 not out vs Zimbabwe at Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah, on November 8, 1998

21. 124 not out vs Zimbabwe at Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah, on November 13, 1998

22. 140 not out vs Kenya at County Ground, Bristol, on May 23, 1999

23. 120 vs Sri Lanka at Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, on August 29, 1999

24. 186 not out vs New Zealand at Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad, on November 8, 1999

25. 122 vs South Africa at IPCL Sports Complex Ground, Vadodara, on March 17, 2000

26. 101 vs Sri Lanka at Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah, on October 20, 2000

27. 146 vs Zimbabwe at Barkatullah Khan Stadium, Jodhpur, on December 8, 2000

28. 139 vs Australia at Nehru Stadium, Indore, on March 31, 2001

29. 122 not out vs West Indies at Harare Sports Club, Harare, July 4, 2001

30. 101 vs South Africa at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, on October 5, 2001

31. 146 vs Kenya Boland Park, Paarl, on October 24, 2001

32. 105 not out vs England at Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street, on July 4, 2002

33. 113 vs Sri Lanka at County Ground, Bristol, on July 11, 2002

34. 152 vs Namibia at City Oval, Pietermaritzburg, on February 23, 2003

35. 100 vs Australia at Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior, on October 26, 2003

36. 102 vs New Zealand at Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad, on November 15, 2003

37. 141 vs Pakistan at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi, on March 16, 2004

38. 123 vs Pakistan at Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad, on April 12, 2005

39. 100 vs Pakistan at Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar, on February 6, 2006

40. 141 not out vs West Indies at Kinrara Academy Oval, Kuala Lumpur, on September 14, 2006

41. 100 not out vs West Indies at IPCL Sports Complex Ground, Vadodara, on January 31, 2007

42. 117 not out vs Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, on March 2, 2008

43. 163 not out vs New Zealand at AMI Stadium, Christchurch, on March 8, 2009

44. 138 vs Sri Lanka at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, on September 14, 2009

45. 175 vs Australia at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, on November 5, 2009

46. 200 not out vs South Africa at Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior, on February 24, 2010

47. 120 vs England at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, on February 27, 2011

48. 111 vs South Africa at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur, on March 12, 2011

Asia Cup squad: Sachin in, Sehwag, Zaheer, Umesh rested

Mumbai: In a decision that is likely to polarize opinions, India's selectors have included Sachin Tendulkar for the Asia Cup that kicks off on March 12 in Dhaka. An out-of-form Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav have been rested from a 14-man team that does not look significantly different to the one that is struggling to qualify for the CB Series finals in Australia.

In one of the longest selection meetings in recent memory – it spanned nearly three hours – the selectors, who met at the BCCI headquarters today, also decided to recall Ashok Dinda, the Bengal fast bowler, and allrounder Yusuf Pathan. MS Dhoni has played non-stop cricket since the 2011 World Cup and looked jaded during the ongoing CB Series, but will captain the team which includes the struggling Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja. Virat Kohli, whose unbeaten 133 helped delivered India an improbable bonus-point win over Sri Lanka on Tuesday, has been named vice-captain.

Tendulkar – who did not play a single ODI from the World Cup final to the start of the CB Series this month – has been included despite managing just 143 runs in seven ODIs in Australia with a best of 48. He has been stuck on 99 international centuries since March 12, 2011 and it appears the selectors have given him the chance to reach the unprecedented landmark. Following the end of the Asia Cup on March 22, India are not scheduled to play international cricket until the end of the year.

Sehwag, 33, has been rested after scoring 65 runs from five innings at an average of 13 in the CB Series. Most worrying was his inability to provide starts; the longest Sehwag batted was the first ball of the tenth over, and each of his dismissals owed to Sehwag's poor judgment rather than good deliveries.

Zaheer has been rested after a long tour of Australia, in which he played all four Test matches but missed four ODIs. His place has been taken by Dinda, the second highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy this season and leading bowler in the Duleep Trophy. Dinda has played five ODIs and three Twenty20s for India, but last appeared in June 2010.

Yusuf's only game for India since a disappointing one-day series in the West Indies was a one-off Twenty20 international against England last October, but he marked his return to competitive cricket with a 78-ball 114 to power Baroda to a 52-run win over Saurashtra in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He has been rewarded with a recall.

Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar and Irfan Pathan have kept their places, while Jadeja has retained his allrounder's slot despite returns of 101 runs at 16.83 and three wickets at 109 apiece in the CB Series. Raina too has held onto his spot despite a tally of 182 runs from eight matches in the CB Series. Rohit (79 runs in five matches) was also persisted with.

India's first match of the Asia Cup is on March 13 against Sri Lanka. The other participating teams are Pakistan and hosts Bangladesh. The Asia Cup runs from March 12 to 22, with the final to be played in Dhaka.

India squad: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Rahul Sharma, Yusuf Pathan. Irfan Pathan, Ashok Dinda.

87-run defeat pushes India to the brink

Sydney: India's hopes of making it to the CB Series final are hanging by a thread after they suffered another massive defeat – by 87 runs – at the hands of Australia at the SCG on Sunday.

With four losses in seven games, India are at the bottom of the points table and they will not only have to win Tuesday’s encounter against Sri Lanka with a bonus point but also have to wait for the result of the last league match between Australia and Sri Lanka, which the latter should lose if India are to seal their progression.

It was another inexplicable batting display by India as they failed to chase down an Australian total of 253. None of their famed batsmen could get going as their innings finished at 165 in 39.3 overs. Australia, on the other hand, have qualified for the finals following the win.

As has been the case throughout the summer, Ben Hilfenhaus provided Australia the breakthrough by taking a return catch of Virender Sehwag (5), whose poor form with the bat continued. Sachin Tendulkar played some pretty shots before he fell prey to a moment of madness. The veteran batsman responded to a quick call for a single by Gautam Gambhir (23) but was well short of his crease at the striker's end and was run out for 14. Tendulkar showed his dismay as Brett Lee seemed to have obstructed his way by extending his follow through, but per the rules he had to walk back to the pavilion.

India's middle order then came a cropper. First it was Virat Kohli (21) who failed to keep his flick down and was caught at midwicket by Daniel Christian. Later it was Gambhir, who ended his painful 48-ball stay at the crease by playing on an away going delivery from Clint McKay. Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja justified critics questioning their stay in the Indian playing XI. Both scored eight runs each before leaving India in a deep lurch.

MS Dhoni had consumed 49 balls for his 14 before being trapped in front by Hilfenhaus. R Ashwin (26) and Irfan Pathan (22) hit a few lusty blows, but it was always going to be well short of what was required.

Earlier, the Indian bowlers had done well to restrict Australia to 253 after they had been well placed to reach 300. Umesh Yadav, who gave away 20 runs in his first two overs, came back strongly in his second spell to take the important wickets of Matthew Wade (56) and David Hussey (54), who were both caught behind. The wicket of Wade came at the right time for the Indians as he and Hussey were taking the game away from them with a partnership of 94.

Praveen Kumar made a good return to the side, providing two early breakthroughs. First he had the stand-in Australian skipper Shane Watson (1) caught at mid-on, and followed it up with the wicket of an in-form Peter Forrest (7).

The fall of wickets at the other end hardly affected David Warner, who continued batting in his aggressive style. He punished the Indian bowlers and brought up the Australian 100, along with David Hussey who joined Warner after the wicket of his brother Michael (10).

The dismissal of Warner gave India an opening but the magnificent stand for the fifth wicket between David Hussey and Wade didn't allow them to claw their way back. After an injury to Irfan, who was involved in a terrible collision with Raina while trying to take Warner's catch, Dhoni opted for an unusual choice of Sehwag's offspin in death overs.

Dhoni's gamble paid off until the 50th over when he went for 13 runs. In spite of that, he was the most successful Indian bowler, taking three wickets for 43.

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.