India's tail-enders fought back gallantly in the morning, but it was Australia who held the whiphand at the end of day 3 in the first Test at the Chinnaswamy stadium on Bangalore on Friday.
After gaining a 228-run first innings lead, the visitors swelled it to 355, scoring 127 for 4 in their second essay, by the end of the day.
At close, Damien Martyn was unbeaten on 29, with first innings centurion Michael Clarke on 11, after Australia opted against enforcing the follow-on despite India falling 28 runs short of the mark.
In the morning, Parthiv Patel (46) and Irfan Pathan (31) frustrated Australia with some spirited batting to give the Indian total some respectability.
Morning session (27 overs, 49 runs, 1 wicket)
Australia went into day 3 in complete command, and even the most pessimistic of their fans would not have expected an Indian fightback through Irfan Pathan and Parthiv Patel. The duo batted with a calm assurance that not only settled the nerves of those in the dressing room but also in the stadium.
A decent crowd turned up, expecting the Australians to wrap up the tail quickly and make the Indians bat again. Instead, they were greeted by the welcome sight of Patel and Pathan offering a broad bat to whatever the Aussies threw at them.
A few strokes were played but runs mainly came in singles. The Aussie bowlers, as usual, maintained a good line and length, hoping that the careless play the Indians displayed on day 2 would surface again.
It did not matter if the scoring was slow, because the time spent at the wicket by this pair could prove to be the difference between victory and defeat.
46 runs were put on in the morning session in this manner before Irfan fell, a victim of misfortune and Shane Warne's guile.
The ball did not turn as much as Irfan expected and, somehow, the inside edge seeped through between bat and pad to Adam Gilchrist, who completed a good catch. There was a huge element of doubt though about the dismissal as television replays later showed that Irfan might have missed the ball. (196 for 7)
A dejected Irfan stood rooted to the crease, starting at umpire Billy Bowden in disbelief. One hopes his act is not branded as dissent. Irfan scored 31 off 96 balls and put on a vital 60 runs off 27.2 overs with Patel for the seventh wicket.
That wicket ruined India's perfect morning. Australia's attack was blunted by Pathan and Patel. In the process, the young pair made a point to the senior batsmen in the side.
Kumble joined Patel shortly before India went into the lunch break at 199 for the loss of seven wickets. Patel was unbeaten on 31 and while Kumble was on 2.
Post-lunch session
(India: 18.2 overs, 47 runs, 3 wickets)
(Australia: 5 overs, 24 runs, 1 wicket)
After lunch, Kumble and Patel continued the good work of the morning session. Taking no risks, the duo put on 28 runs before the Australians claimed the new ball in the 82nd over.
Kumble's batting isn't what it used to be, but that does not mean he lacks the grit to stay at the wicket. It certainly was thrilling stuff; the huge hits that were seen during the Australian innings were not there, but it was entertainment of another kind. Rearguard action is just as absorbing to watch as fours and sixes, simply because the tailenders bat at a much higher level than what's expected of them.
The new ball, however, got the expected breakthrough. Patel was stuck in the forties and the pressure was starting to tell on him. He wanted to get to his fifty as quickly as possible, but a Gillespie delivery got the better of him. (227 for 8)
Patel leaned forward to drive the ball, which moved a little off the seam, took the inside edge and crashed into the timber. He was out for 46 after putting on 31 runs with Kumble for the eighth wicket.
Patel scores of his last five innings read: 62, 0, 62 not out, 69, 46, at an average of 59.75. Without doubt, he has grown as a batsman in the last year or so. The fact that there is competition for his place has spurred him no end.
Harbhajan walked in next, but such is his batting that one can never be quite sure how many runs he will make on a given day. True to form, he added 17 with Kumble before being deceived by a slower ball from McGrath. The right-hander was into the shot early and popped up an easy catch for Lehmann at short cover. (244 for 9)
India needed another 30 runs to avoid the follow-on as Zaheer Khan walked in. But they didn't get that far. After two runs were added to the total, Gillespie got Kumble with a good length delivery that pitched on off and held its line. Kumble played for the swing and was clean bowled.
The leg-spinner scored a gritty 26 and kept the Aussies at bay for 76 balls. Zaheer, at the other end, did not open his account. (246 all out)
Patel, Pathan and Kumble put on 103 vital runs that frustrated the Aussies. From 136 for 6, the trio lifted the Indian total to 227 for 8.
The Aussies, however, did not enforce the follow-on. The lessons they learnt from the Eden Gardens defeat in 2001 haven't been forgotten. Gilchrist has mentioned time and again that because of what transpired during that historic Test in Kolkata, the Aussies are much wiser.
Australia second innings
The Aussies were jolted in their quest for quick runs just four balls into their innings when Justin Langer was trapped leg before wicket with no run on the board.
Pathan pitched the ball outside the off-stump and angled it in. Langer pushed forward but was defeated by the angle. Umpire Steve Bucknor upheld the huge appeal even though there was an element of doubt because of the height. (0 for 1)
When tea was called, Australia had reached 24 for the loss of one wicket. Simon Katich, 18 off 15 balls, led the charge while Hayden was unbeaten on 6.
Post-tea session (37 overs, 103 runs, 3 wickets)
Katich continued to punish the bowlers and struck the ball with authority. The 81 he scored in the first innings afforded him the opportunity to spend time in the middle and now he was reaping the rewards.
Hayden, at the other end, was starting to open his shoulders against the bowlers. Ganguly, as had happened in the first innings, was forced to take Zaheer out of the attack after the latter conceded 21 runs in his four overs.
Harbhajan was thrust into the attack, and his very first ball turned a mile and beat Hayden's bat. If this was the kind of assistance the off-spinner was getting, the question in the minds of the Indian batsman would undoubtedly have all been about what Warne could accomplish on the fourth and fifth days.
In the first 11 overs of their innings the Aussies had galloped to 51 runs, at almost five an over. Their gameplan at this point was simple: bat till lunch on Day 4 and make sure that there is no chance of the Indians even thinking of victory.
They appeared to have taken the game by the scruff of the neck, but, as it so often happens in cricket, a wicket fell out of the blue.
Katich guided Irfan to the right of Harbhajan and set off for a quick single. It was the kind of single that the Aussies had regularly pinched during their first innings. But this time Harbhajan was alert and in a single action picked the ball and threw the stumps down even as Hayden struggled to make his ground. (65 for 2)
Hayden scored 30 off 53 balls and put on 65 for the second wicket.
His dismissal heralded the arrival of Damien Martyn to the wicket. This, in turn, led to an almost immediate decline in the run-rate.
Katich followed Hayden back to the hut after scoring 39 off 69 deliveries, including five boundaries. He chased a wide delivery from Kumble and edged it straight to Dravid at first slip. (86 for 3)
At the start of their second innings the Aussies were 228 runs ahead. That lead had steadily built into something that would be more than enough for them. But they did not want to give India enough time to try and chase the target.
With Clarke's superb performance in the first innings, the pressure was now on Martyn and Darren Lehmann to deliver. Both have looked horribly out of sorts so far.
Kumble and Harbhajan had, by now, found their range and were making batting tough for the Aussies. The first fifty of the Australian innings came in 11 overs; the second fifty took 21 overs.
Lehmann (14) just doesn't look convincing against spin. He looked a jaded player as he pushed and prodded at the ball. That's exactly what you should not do on a spinning track. Harbhajan got his man pushing forward to a ball that turned; the ball was deflected onto the pad and popped up to Chopra. (104 for 4)
Clarke walked in next, but there was none of the flashy stroke-play he displayed in his first innings; neither did he come down the wicket to the spinners. Maybe, he left that for tomorrow morning. He was unbeaten on 11, with Martyn keeping him company on 29.
Australia ended the day on 127 for 4, a lead of 355 runs and six wickets remaining going into the fourth day.
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