KEY POINTS:
Australia was facing an uphill battle in the third test against India yesterday after losing two early wickets in its bid to score 417 runs for victory.
At stumps, Australia were 62 for two wickets after 15 overs.
The Australians, who are chasing a world record 17th consecutive
test win, finished off the Indian second innings after tea on the third day to leave themselves plenty of time to get the runs on a good batting pitch.
But history is heavily against them.
Only one side in 131 years of test cricket have scored more runs in the fourth innings to win a test.
The West Indies made 418-7 to beat Australia in Antigua.
No team batting last in Australia has scored 370 or more batting last to win on Australian soil
The Australians briefly looked as though they would be chasing a much smaller target when they ripped through the Indian top-order to reduce the tourists to 160-6 but they struggled to take the last four wickets.
Sachin Tendulkar (13), Rahul Dravid (3) and Saurav Ganguly (0) made a combined total of 16 runs but Vangipurappu Laxman, who has a knack of making big scores against Australia, was once again a thorn in their side.
He top-scored with a patient 79 and shared two vital partnerships, a 75-run stand with wicketkeeper Mahendri Singh Dhoni for the seventh wicket then a 51-run ninth-wicket stand with Rudra Pratap Singh to push the final margin past 400.
India then struck again with ball, taking two Australian wickets within the first nine overs.
First to go was opener Chris Rogers, caught by wicketkeeper MS Dhoni for 15 at the start of the fifth over after sending through a thin edge from left-hand speedster Irfan Pathan
Pathan struck again in the ninth over, having the other opener, Phil Jacques, caught in the slips for 16.
Earlier, Australia had fought their way back into the match when they ripped through India's top order to reduce the tourists to 160 for six before the familiar figure of Laxman swung the game back India's way.
Australia's fast bowlers demolished the Indian top-order, dismissing Virender Sehwag (43), Rahul Dravid (3), Sachin Tendulkar (13) and Saurav Ganguly (0) before lunch.
They finally got rid of stubborn nightwatchman Irfan Pathan (46) just after the re-start but could not get rid of Laxman, who shared a 75-run partnership with wicketkeeper Mahendri Singh Dhoni.
Laxman, who made a double century when India beat Australia in Calcutta in 2001 and another big hundred when his team won in Adelaide in 2003, held the Australians at bay for nearly three hours.
Dhoni was far more aggressive, hitting two huge sixes in his 38, but fell just before tea when the ball flicked off his bat handle and Adam Gilchrist took a diving catch behind the stumps off Andrew Symonds' bowling.
Symonds collected a second wicket in the same over when he dismissed Indian skipper Anil Kumble for a duck, caught by Michael Clarke, leaving India eight down at tea.
Strike bowler Brett Lee picked up two of Australia's four wickets before lunch and Clark and Mitchell Johnson one each on a bouncy Waca pitch still offering plenty of assistance to the paceman.
Sehwag added 14 runs to his overnight score of 29 before he was clean bowled by Clark for 43 with the total on 77.
India lost a second wicket in the next over when Dravid was caught by Gilchrist off Lee for three.
Dravid top-scored in the first innings with 93 but made an early exit this time when he got the faintest of edges to a short-pitched ball from Lee.
The express paceman also bagged the prize wicket of Tendulkar for 13, trapping him lbw.
Ganguly departed for a third-ball duck, when he got a thick edge off Johnson, leaving Pathan and Ganguly to carry through to lunch.
- REUTERS
