da heads bet： A continuation of Shane Warne’s fine individual form in the match, twocontroversial decisions by Umpire Daryl Harper, and some generallyunremarkable batting from the tourists have all combined to consignIndia to a troubled state after the third
da betcris： John Polack12-Dec-1999A continuation of Shane Warne’s fine individual form in the match, twocontroversial decisions by Umpire Daryl Harper, and some generallyunremarkable batting from the tourists have all combined to consignIndia to a troubled state after the third day of the First Testagainst Australia here at the Adelaide Oval. Following anotherrelentlessly tough day of cricket, the Indians face an overall deficitof 227 runs; Australia positioned at a scoreline of 71 for two in itssecond innings.For the second successive day, the principal star of proceedings todaywas Australian leg spinner Shane Warne. Although India is a nationagainst which he has generally struggled at Test level, the Victorianshowed no signs of being out of his depth at all today in thisparticular company as his teasing accuracy and control forced most ofthe batsmen to whom he bowled into a defensive mould. Closing in onDennis Lillee’s record for the most number of wickets ever taken by anAustralian in Tests all the while (he is now just eight short ofequalling Lillee’s mark of 355), he returned the figures of 4/92 in adue tribute to how intelligently varied his flight, his line and hispace. So efficiently did he bowl, in fact, that it looked very likelyfor a long period that he would ultimately be able to claim his firstever five wicket haul in an innings of an Adelaide Test.Possibly the highlight of Warne’s day came in the middle of thepost-lunch session when he bowled MSK Prasad (14) with a classicallyprodigious leg break. He had been threatening to make that particularincision for some time, and was duly ecstatic when he pitched adelivery well outside the right hander’s leg stump and spun it back instunning fashion to bowl a completely confounded Prasad around hislegs. And ranking not far behind it in terms of spectacle – andcertainly ahead of it in effect – was his dismissal of Saurav Ganguly(60). After an innings in which he had executed very few false shots,the lithe left hander advanced down the pitch shortly after lunch,only to be beaten by a ball which, having been deliberately directedwell outside off stump on a flat fast trajectory, stayed low,travelled under his defensive bat and presented Adam Gilchrist with agleefully accepted stumping opportunity.Nevertheless, for the first 90 minutes of the day, the complexion ofproceedings had looked entirely different. For this was the periodduring which India’s two key figures with the bat, Sachin Tendulkar(61) and Ganguly himself combined brilliantly to frustrate the hometeam. In stark contrast to some dull, overcast weather at the Ovalthrough the early morning, the duo constructed a lucent display. Amixture of front and back foot strokes were in evidence as they ventedtheir considerable skills upon anything even vaguely erring in eitherline or length. Two stunning shots in succession from Tendulkar fromthe bowling of Michael Kasprowicz just after the first drinks break ofthe day – one an imperiously directed shot along the ground to thebackward square leg fence and the other an audacious cover drive -were probably the enduring highlights, but their partnership of 108for the fifth wicket was littered with superb strokeplay throughout.In fact, it was only when Harper chose, 30 minutes before lunch, touphold an appeal for a bat pad catch against Tendulkar that theAustralians truly began to reassert their dominance in the game. Priorto Harper’s decision – which came when the Indian captain tried todefend a fast, flat delivery from Warne down the leg side – thevisitors had looked to be upon the verge of hauling themselves backinto a competitive position in the Test. It was a hard call for thelocal umpire, and exhaustive replays neither seemed to prove ordisprove the validity of his verdict that the ball had attracted thebarest of inside edges. Tendulkar looked to be attempting to simplyprod the ball into the leg side field before it crashed into his padand flew straight to Justin Langer at short leg. The Australians wereconvinced that they had their man but Tendulkar himself remainedunmoved until Harper’s finger was raised. Together with another callby the same umpire to deny a convincing Ajit Agarkar lbw shout againstJustin Langer before he had scored and with the Australians at 1/1 thesecond time around, it will likely prove a decision that will bedebated for some time. Unfortunately, it also shapes as one that mayhave significant ramifications in the match.This reality continued to be borne out after the Indians wereeventually dismissed for 285. Indeed, although little conviction wasevident in the Australian batting through the early stages of theirsecond innings, the Indians remained pinned to the ropes for the restof the day. They were able to induce Michael Slater (0) to fish at aJavagal Srinath leg cutter and afford Ganguly the chance to take anexcellent catch moving to his left at first slip; to encourage GregBlewett to play and miss repeatedly; and to force Langer (38) totickle a catch to short leg off Anil Kumble in the very shadow ofstumps but they were unable to translate this into the regular flow ofwickets they so desperately craved.
