India win Mumbai Madness

On a day that saw as many as 20 wickets fall, India clinched a thrilling 13-run win over Australia, bowling them out for 93, while they were set a target of 107.

Harbhajan Singh and Murali Kartik were the chief architects of that collapse, picking up five and three wickets respectively.

Earlier, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar showed a glimpse of return to form, as they both knocked a half century, after India had lost two early wickets.

The hosts began the day at 5/0, and 94 runs behind on Australia's first innings score, but lost Gautam Gambhir and Virendar Sehwag before either got to double figures.

Initially, both Laxman and Tendulkar started off too cautiously, going into a shell and providing fuel to the fire burnt by the Australian bowlers, especially Glenn McGrath, who didn't concede a single run in his first five overs, plus picking up both the wickets.

The shackles did break though, with Tendulkar cracking three boundaries off a Gillespie over. Laxman followed suit, and provided a similar treatment to McGrath's next over. They brought up the 50-run partnership in 81 balls, the last 38 coming off 24.

Nathan Hauritz's introduction to the bowling couldn't slow things down on an evidently spinner-friendly wicket, as Tendulkar continued to blister his way to a well-made half century, classic Tendulkar style, not his new defensive self.

When things looked on the brighter side for India, Tendulkar made a critical error, top-edging a sweep off Hauritz to Michael Clarke, the Indian score at 105/3, and the partnership ending at 91 runs.

Rahul Dravid joined Laxman, with whom he swapped positions in the batting order, at the fall of Tendulkar's wicket. The duo played out the remaining three overs before lunch, during which Laxman registered his fifty.

Immediately after lunch, Dravid brought up 7000 runs in Test cricket when he launched Hauritz over the mid-wicket for a boundary.

Laxman shifted gears thereafter, smashing boundaries off Hauritz, reminding of the Laxman of 2001. However, the magic was short-lived as he gave a difficult caught-and-bowled chance to Hauritz, who was able to take a brilliant catch diving to his left. Laxman made 69, and the Indian score was at 153/4.

The runs started to dry up after the wicket, boundaries became hard to come, and one could sense a change in momentum, shifting definitely towards Australia.

Australia made the most out of that momentum, with Clarke picking up wickets-a-plenty, after being introduced into the attack in the 56th over of the innings. It took him 6.3 overs to wipe off the Indian lower-middle and lower order, finishing with 6/9, causing mayhem among the Indian batsmen.

First to fall was Dravid, incidentally Clarke's first wicket in Test cricket. Dinesh Karthik followed in the next over, caught brilliantly off a reflex catch by Ricky Ponting.

Kaif was the next to go, off a somewhat dubious LBW decision, as the ball looked almost likely to miss the stumps. However, not offering a shot didn't work in his favor, and titled the umpire's mind towards giving the bowler a favor for a change. Tea was called at the fall of that wicket, with the Indian score at 195/7, only 96 ahead.

Post tea, Clarke ran through the Indian tail end, reducing India to 205 all out, thus setting what could have been a cake walk of a target, despite the nature of the pitch, of 107.

Australia's chase got off to the worst possible start, losing Justin Langer off the second ball of the innings, caught behind for naught, and thus providing a glimmer of a hope for the hosts.

Ponting, yet to prove his mettle in India, had the perfect opportunity of laying the ghosts of 2001 to rest, by guiding Australia to a victory. However, it wasn't to be. It wasn't Harbhajan, Ponting's tormentor on the last tour who led to his un-doing, but the much criticized left-arm spinner Murali Kartik, who forced Ponting to edge off a beauty of a delivery, leaving the Australians at 20/2.

Kartik took the opportunity of bowling ahead of Anil Kumble with both hands, as he got rid of Australia's batting hero on the tour, Damien Martyn for a duck, trapped plumb in front of the wickets.

With the score at 24/3, one more wicket would have meant giving the Indians a perfect opportunity to dominate. Matthew Hayden, who looked dodgy during the entire span he was out in the middle put on a 24-run stand with Simon Katich, but both of them fell one after the other, without a run being added, to reduce the score to 48/5, throwing all kind of possibilities alive.

The very next over Clarke looked to take the attack on, coming down the wicket almost every ball to Kartik. However, a straight one from the spinner confused Clarke all ends up, rattling his stumps, the score at 48/6.

With Adam Gilchrist and Jason Gillespie in the middle, Australia still looked the favorites, as both of them could complement each other, especially in a situation like this. However, Gilchrist had no answer to the Indian spinners, top edging a sweep to Tendulkar at square leg, whose reaction said it all - India meant business.

With the score at 58/7, it looked as if India had the upper hand. However, two dangerous looking partnerships, both involving Gillespie, with Hauritz and Michael Kasprowicz respectively, brought the score to within 14 runs of the target.

With 14 runs left, and one wicket left, McGrath walked into bat. He managed to deal with the first ball. However, he edged the second one to Laxman at slip, with which India clinched the victory, regaining some pride, after having lost the series earlier at Nagpur.

Murali Kartik was named the Man of the Match for his seven wickets in the match, more importantly crucial ones of batsmen in form, while Damien Martyn was the unanimous choice as the Man of the Series, clearly head and shoulders above any other batsmen in the series.

India 104 ao & 205 ao
VVS Laxman 69, SR Tendulkar 55, MJ Clarke 6/9
Australia 203 ao & 93 ao
Harbhajan Singh 5/39, M Kartik 3/32
Man of the Match: M Kartik (Ind)
Man of the Series: DR Martyn (Aus)
India won by 13 runs.
Australia win the series 2-1.

Posted by Sudeep