Dazzling Tendulkar leads India

Genius. Sublime. Washed up. Whatever criticism blunted the praise of Sachin Tendulkar, few can truthfully deny his ability to turn a match on his day. And on the third day of the crucial second Test, the talismanic batsman cast aside all doubts for the moment and turned back the clock with a supreme unbeaten 154. It was as good an innings as any of his record 38 Test tons, and a very important one as it guided India to a lead of 69 on first innings.

There were all the aspects of a great innings in the mix. Tendulkar defended solidly when the situation called, but rarely hesitated to dispatch anything his mood allowed. Dazzling strokes lit up the SCG – one of Tendulkar’s favourite hunting grounds – and the little right-hander authoritatively declared that he is not a spent force. Such is the afterglow of the innings that it is difficult to remember the early parts of the day, when Sourav Ganguly stole the spotlight with his confident strokeplay and positive handling of the spinners.

Ganguly truly looked a man in form and left Tendulkar in the shade in his advance to 67 from 78 balls. But his anti-climactic downfall – holing out off the bowling of Hogg – left a sour taste in the mouth and opened the door for Australia regain their dominant footing. Such woe was compounded as Yuvraj Singh (12) and MS Dhoni (2) continued to struggle on tour and fell to Lee on either side of lunch. And by the time captain Anil Kumble nicked to Gilchrist off the same bowler, India had slumped to 345-7 and lost 4 wickets for 52 runs. On any day Australia would have backed themselves to wrap the inning up with a handy lead, but the Indian tail displayed the fight that has been so badly lacking from opposition teams in recent months and years.

Tendulkar continued unfazed through the collapse and the support granted to him by the tail was immeasurable in true value. In terms of runs it cost 187, the value of the final 3 wickets. And 129 of those came in a partnership between Tendulkar and Harbhajan Singh. As Harbhajan launched into a stunningly thoughtful counterattack of the Australian bowlers, Tendulkar advanced with confident ease. There was little Australia could do to blunt his scoring. Whatever length the bowlers tried, they were met with competence and desire. Whatever flaw they tried to exploit in Tendulkar’s technique, he refuted as non-existent.

Harbhajan raised his unlikely half-century to the disappointment of the Australians, but there was certainly far more appreciation for the milestone reached by Tendulkar when he scampered back for two runs off Stuart Clark. Tendulkar raised his bat in celebration of a Test hundred and the crowd stood with him, vocal in its praise and applause. After the stirring display, it was back to business in the middle and little changed. Even the departure of Harbhajan Singh for 63 was merely a change of supporting act in the Tendulkar show. RP Singh, and later Ishant Sharma, were given to face their fair share of the bowling. They responded with solid contributions of 13 and 23 respectively, and helped Tendulkar push the lead past 50. The innings ended with the lead at 69, and Tendulkar had scaled the heights of 154 with his wicket still firmly intact. His stunning record now stands at 455 runs at the SCG without dismissal and his overall average at the venue is 326.

In the five overs remaining, Phil Jaques (8 not out) and Matthew Hayden (5 not out) negotiated the Indian bowlers – all four of them – with relative ease. But the contest is alive with Australia resuming on day four trailing by 56 runs on first innings and India fired up. Australia leads the series 1-0.

Australia 463
Andrew Symonds 162*, Brad Hogg 79, Brett Lee 59, Ricky Ponting 55
Anil Kumble 4-106

India 532
Sachin Tendulkar 154*, VVS Laxman 109, Sourav Ganguly 67, Harbhajan Singh 63, Rahul Dravid 53
Brett Lee 5-119

Australia trail India by 56 runs on first innings with 10 wickets remaining in their second innings