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Tendulkar breaks lean patch
- Scorecard
 Sydney,
Jan 2: Sachin Tendulkar batted his way out of a prolonged
form slump with a defiant unbeaten 73 as India laid the
foundation for a big first innings total in the
series-deciding cricket Test against Australia here today.
Tendulkar began the New Year with better luck as he notched
up his first half century of the series to steer India to a
comfortable 284 for three at close on the opening day after
Virender Sehwag provided the momentum with a scintillating
72. Electing to bat, the Indian batsmen fought a battle of
attrition against a determined Aussie bowling attack and
were again well-served by their openers Sehwag and Aakash
Chopra (45) who put on a 123-run partnership to steal the
limelight in Steve Waugh's farewell Test.
The stylish
V V S Laxman was giving Tendulkar company on 29 at stumps on
a rewarding day for the visitors looking to create history
by winning their first-ever series on Australian soil.
Tendulkar, besides being back among the runs, made the knock
at the Sydney Cricket Ground doubly memorable as he
surpassed the 9,000-run mark in Tests when he reached 36 in
the innings. He is the fourth among the all-time run-makers
list behind Allan Border (11,174), Steve Waugh (10,807) and
Sunil Gavaskar (10,122).
 But
the Australians would like to take a positive note from the
fact that they sent back the in-form Rahul Dravid for a
relatively low score of 38. More importantly, the hosts
managed to pull back the Indians who were off to a flying
start when Chopra and Sehwag added 98 runs in the morning
session. Jason Gillespie, after an indifferent new ball
spell, returned to bowl an impeccable line and length in the
post-lunch session which saw the tourists score just 53 runs
for the loss of the two openers. The Indians were not short
of any tactics of their own. Sourav Ganguly pulled a punch
or two when he promoted V V S Laxman up the order and the
run-a-minute scoring rate in the third session helped his
team sustain the momentum.
Only their
survival instincts against the second new ball towards the
end of the day prevented the Indians from reaching the
300-mark for the day. Earlier, Australia almost had a
spectacular start but the Lee delivery off which Chopra was
caught behind turned out to be a no ball and Simon Katich at
gully dropped a sitter off the next. Chopra was on eight
then. The tide, however, quickly changed in Lee's sixth over
when Sehwag cut him over point boundary off another no ball
and then followed it up with two fours to collect 18 runs
off the over.
 India's
50 came in the 13th over and Sehwag, who hit a swashbuckling
195 on the opening day of the third Test at Melbourne,
reached his half century with a lofted drive against
leg-spinner Stuart MacGill. Then Waugh's men ploughed their
way back into the match, removing Sehwag and Chopra within
five runs. Sehwag was out caught behind off Jason Gillespie
after a 115-ball 72, which contained 10 fours and a six.
Chopra, after having faced 139 balls in 192 minutes for his
45, fell to Brett Lee with an expansive drive to a
full-length delivery that took an inside edge before
disturbing the timber. Tendulkar began with an on drive to
long-on off Lee but the rival bowlers stuck to their game
plan of testing his patience with a steady line outside the
off-stump.
The master
batsman was keen to get some runs under his belt and lived
dangerously in the initial stages. Although he flicked the
seamers off his pads and swept MacGill, he looked quite
unconvincing in his off-side strokes. Tendulkar was living
dangerously when he padded up against the leg-spinner and
was lucky not to be given out. Then, a thick edge fell short
of the slip fielder off the same bowler. Dravid then came to
Tendulkar's rescue and took the pressure off him with some
fluent boundaries after the tea break. Unfortunately, the
Indian vice-captain had to contend with Gillespie at his
best.
The South
Australian fast bowler, returning to the team from a groin
injury, brought one back in sharply to trap Dravid plumb in
front to break the third wicket partnership which was worth
66 runs. Tendulkar and Laxman then continued the brisk
scoring rate before they were bogged down by the second new
ball. Tendulkar began to play his shots with more confidence
while Laxman was less troubled at the other end. But the day
was not over without some drama when Tendulkar awkwardly
ducked into a short-pitched delivery from Lee and was hit on
the elbow. It brought back the memories of the blows to
Waugh and Ganguly at Melbourne, but Tendulkar batted on
without any sign of trouble.
The Indian
batsmen might have shown extra caution towards the end of
the day but the ghosts of two late order collapses in the
second Test could have haunted them. In the end, the
unbroken 90-run stand between Tendulkar and Laxman might
have made it a more satisfying day for Ganguly than Waugh.
(Agencies) Scorecard
Published:
Friday, January 2, 2004
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