Cricket: Ponting scores Australia's winning runs - in both innings

MELBOURNE - Ricky Ponting scored a career-best 257 and then 31 not out to guide Australia to a nine-wicket victory in the third test against India yesterday.

The win levelled the four-match series 1-1.

Set 95 to win, Australia reached 97 for one when man-of-the-match Ponting swept a boundary 21 minutes before lunch on the final day.

Australia's hopes of regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy now rest with the fourth test in Sydney, starting on Friday.

That test will also be retiring captain Steve Waugh's farewell match.

Indian paceman Ajit Agarkar struck an early blow by trapping opener Justin Langer (two) leg-before with the total on nine in the fifth over of the morning.

But powerful left-hander Matthew Hayden hit nine fours in his unbeaten 53 to take the tension out of the match for Australia.

Waugh, 38, test cricket's most-capped player and most successful captain, led his side on an emotional farewell lap of the MCG before a crowd of 29,262, boosted by free entry on the last day.

"It's going to be a great occasion and there's a lot hanging on it," Waugh said of the fourth test.

Paceman Brad Williams took four for 53 to help bowl India out for 286 at the close on Monday.

Rahul Dravid scored a defiant 92, and said he was disappointed that his team could not put another 100 runs on the board.

Dravid, who dominated India's victory in the second test in Adelaide by making 233 and 72 not out, put on 87 for the third wicket with Sachin Tendulkar (44), and another 93 with captain Saurav Ganguly (73).

Australia took control when Ponting batted for almost 10 hours to anchor Australia's first innings of 558 in reply to India's 366, which included a magnificent 195 from opener Virender Sehwag.

Ponting, who also made a double-century in the second test, put on 234 for the second wicket in Australia's first innings here with Hayden (136).

India spinner Anil Kumble bowled a marathon 51 overs, taking six for 176.

But the match belonged to Ponting, who became the first player since Don Bradman in the 1930 Ashes series in England to score three double-centuries in a year.

Ponting is test cricket's highest scorer in 2003 with 1503 runs.

Only West Indian Viv Richards, with a mammoth 1710 runs from just 11 tests in 1976, and India's master opener Sunil Gavaskar, with 1555 runs in 17 tests in 1979, have previously achieved the feat of scoring more than 1500.

Ponting surpasses both those batting giants by scoring his runs at an average of 100.20.

Richards averaged 90 in his halcyon year, while Gavaskar averaged almost 60.

Ponting, 29, finished the year as the most prolific batsman in the world, well ahead of West Indian Brian Lara (1344) and team-mate Matthew Hayden, whose 53 not out yesterday gave him 1312 runs for the year.

Hayden is the first player in test history to score more than 1000 runs for three straight years.

His tally this year was thanks in large part to his world record innings of 380 in the first Test against Zimbabwe in Perth in October.

- AGENCIES